Leadership
The future of leadership in Scotland’s social services has been outlined through these reports: Changing Lives: Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review, Investing in Children’s Futures (National Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce: Scottish Executive Response) and the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA)’s performance inspections.
These have identified that effective leadership is essential to good quality outcomes for people who use social services and their carers. Scottish Government has asked the Scottish Social Services Learning Networks (SSSLNs) and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to take forward the strategic direction for leadership in social services. This statement sets out our approach.
Key objectives for 2010-11
The SSSLNs and the SSSC aim to build on the achievements of leadership activity to date in the sector through the Changing Lives Leadership and Management Group and its partner organisations. These include the Leading to Deliver leadership development programme, leadership communities, the leadership framework for social services, the Standard for Childhood Practice and the Chief Social Work Officer guidance.
With financial support from Scottish Government, the emphasis for the coming year is on consolidating these achievements and engaging with the sector to set out the vision for leadership in social services. Key objectives for Learning Network West include:
- Engaging with social services workers, employers and people who use services to identify development needs in relation to leadership.
- Mapping existing leadership activity and promoting awareness of existing resources.
- Further developing leadership communities.
- Developing senior leadership capacity within social work services and collaboratively across sector boundaries.
- Building on strategic links between leadership activity in social services, health and education.