ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 CHILDREN’S SERVICES

CONTENTSIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Our Vision for Children and Young People . . . 5

Priority 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Priority 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Priority 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Priority 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Priority 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

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The Children’s Services Plan for South Ayrshire community planning partners sets out our priorities for the three year period from 2017 to 2020. We are now into the final year of the plan and our aim remains to achieve our vision of closing the gap and achieving potential.This report has been prepared by the South Ayrshire Children’s Services Planning Group. Our inspection in February 2018 said that we had improved the leadership and strategic direction across services for children and young people. We remain strongly committed to delivering services that focus on our five key priorities which are to:

1. Ensure South Ayrshire’s children get the best start in life, it is the best place to grow up, and all children and young people are successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, and effective contributors

2. Reduce the gap in outcomes between the most deprived and least deprived children and young people in South Ayrshire

3. Ensure children and young people who are looked after or are care leavers are cared for and supported to improve their life experiences and life chances.

4. Ensure children and young people are supported to achieve and maintain good emotional and physical wellbeing

5. Ensure children and young people have a voice in influencing service delivery that affects their lives.

Over the past year we have focussed on Priority 5, to ensure children and young people have a voice in influencing services that affect their lives. We have asked children and young people about the priorities to check they are the issues that matter to young people.

Young people are also becoming embedded in the Children’s Services Planning Group and other strategic groups such as the Mental Health Strategy group. The Champion’s Board is also going from strength to strength, challenging all of us to be better corporate parents.

We have also consolidated our reporting and planning process to improve accountability and share responsibility. We welcomed representatives from Scottish Government to discuss our priorities and welcomed their positive comments. This year we have started work with the Scottish Government on Realigning Children's Services to make sure we have stronger evidence of people’s needs and to tell us about the services that will offer earlier intervention and support to those who need it most.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners who have contributed to our priorities, especially the young people themselves. I would also like to assure you that South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership is committed to getting the best possible outcomes for all our children and young people, especially the most vulnerable.

INTRODUCTION

Douglas Hutchison Chair, Children’s Service Planning Group

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In 2016, 19 (1.8%) of the 15% most deprived datazones in Scotland (1,046 datazones) were in South Ayrshire. This compares to 17 (1.7%) in 2012 and 18 (1.8%) in 2009.

In January 2019, 3.7% of the working aged population (aged 16 to 64) were claiming ‘Out-of-Work’ benefit. This compared to 2.8% across Scotland as a whole. Of those age 16+, the Claimant Count is 3.7% compared to 2.8% in Scotland as a whole.

There has been a decrease in the number of children registered on the child protection register. There were 60 children and young people (3.4 per 1000 of the 0 to15 population) in 2017, compared to 44 (2.5 per 1000 of the 0 to15 population) in 2018; this compares with 2.8 per 1000 in Scotland as a whole in 2018.

CONTEXTSouth Ayrshire is set in the south west of Scotland and covers an area of 472 square miles. It includes the towns of Ayr, Girvan, Maybole, Prestwick and Troon. Seventy per cent of the population of South Ayrshire live in the towns of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, while the rest of the population live in Girvan, Maybole, and the large rural area in the south of the authority.

In 2017 the population of South Ayrshire was 112,680; a slight increase from 112,470 in 2016. The population of South Ayrshire accounts for 2% of the total population of Scotland. Fourteen per cent of the population is aged 16 to 29 years, and 16% is aged 0-15 years. This is lower than Scotland where 18% are aged 16 to 29 years and 17% of the population are aged 0 to15. Since 2000, South Ayrshire’s total population has remained largely unchanged, while Scotland’s population has risen by 7% over this period.

By 2041, the population of South Ayrshire is projected to be 106,974, a decrease of -4.9% compared to the population in 2016. The population of Scotland is projected to increase by +5.3% between 2016 and 2041. The population aged under 16 years in South Ayrshire is projected to decline by -12.2% over the 25 year period.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018South Ayrshire Council 5.1 3.4 3.9 3.4 2.5Scotland 3.2 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.8

Children on child protection register: Rate per 1000 of 0 to15 population

At 31 July 2018 there were 355 children and young people looked after by South Ayrshire. This represents 1.8% of the 0 to 17 year population compared with 1.3% nationally (excluding Glasgow). The majority of looked after children and young people were boys (62%) and 22% were under five years of age.

2015 2016 2017 2018No. Looked After Children in Authority 330 384 370 355% 0-17 population 1.6% 1.9% 1.8% 1.8%

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Our Vision - Closing the gap and achieving potential

OUR VISION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE.

Our prioritiesThis year we consulted with children and young people what the five priorities mean to them and how could we make them more meaningful. They told us that the priorities meant this to them:

All children and young people in South Ayrshire deserve the chance to reach their full potential. We will support those who start at a disadvantage and remove barriers for those who are struggling, we will stretch those most able and protect and nurture all children, especially the most vulnerable.

Our aim is to reduce inequality in outcomes for children and young people, in particular, to close the gap in outcomes related to deprivation so that all can achieve their potential.

Give you the best start in life – making South Ayrshire the best place to grow up

You will be treated equally no matter your background

Children and Young People who are care experienced will be supported to be the best they can be

Opportunities to be healthy, both mentally and physically

Your voice will be heard

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PRIORITY 1 Ensure South Ayrshire’s children get the best start in life, it is the best place to grow up and all children and young people are successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributor.

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Give you the best start in life – making South Ayrshire the best place to grow up

To ensure the best start in life we have been working on a range of initiatives to improve health in pregnancy and early years.

Examples of these are:

FASD can have a major impact on child development. We are working to increase knowledge and awareness in our workforce by establishing the FASD training calendar. Providing to the public the Alcohol and Pregnancy leaflet and establishing a local FASD support group.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Safeguarding midwives have been identified

to undertake pre-birth assessment for families of unborn children where pregnancy is identified as high risk. A screening group is established between health staff and social care staff. Where it is identified that child protection support is not required pre-birth, a process has been developed where the health visitor and midwives are notified and provide support as required. Further work is required to ensure robustness of this process and to evaluate effectiveness. This has enabled a more appropriate level of response to families who require it.

High Risk Pregnancy Protocol

The ‘Universal Health Visiting Pathway’ has been fully implemented. Outcome data is currently available from reviews undertaken at 11-14 days, 6 to 8 weeks, 13 to 15 months and 27 months. This has led to increased contact with families which has enabled early intervention approached to be used.

Health Visitor Pathways

We have implemented Tobacco Control Action Plan 2018-21 to improve pathways for pregnant women to reduce smoking in pregnancy and maintain cessation following birth. Referrals have improved to the Quit Your Way service within the inpatient ward and early pregnancy assessment ward in Ayrshire Maternity Unit. Training has taken place in both inpatient and early pregnancy assessment and early signs show an increase in referrals as a result of this. It is anticipated that this will lead to the improvement of the health of women during pregnancy.

Smoking in Pregnancy

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27-30 Month ReviewThere has been a decrease from 76.6% to 67.9% of children who are reaching developmental milestones at the time of their 27-30 month review. Nationally there has been a decrease against this measure and South Ayrshire performs higher than the national average rate of 66.1%. As stated nationally in the ‘Child Health 27-30 Month Review Statistics Technical Report’, the methodology to collate this data has changed as a new domain around ‘Problem Solving’ was introduced during the reporting period and this has varied across partnerships in terms of the time it has taken for this to be established.

South Ayrshire - 67.9% | Scotland - 66.1% | Ayrshire and Arran - 69.5%

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South Ayrshire Council was the first local authority in Scotland to provide additional support to staff whose babies need hospital care after a premature birth and has been recognised by a national charity. The Council has extended paid parental leave for staff whose babies are born prematurely and as a result the Council has been awarded the ‘Employer with Heart’ by premature baby charity The Smallest Things.

Changes to the Council’s Special Leave Policy entitles female employees to seven days paid leave for every week a baby is born prematurely and in need of hospital care.

The additional time will be added on to the end of maternity leave, allowing mums to enjoy the quality time with their children often denied to them early on, due to the baby’s complex medical needs. Dads, partners and caregivers of premature babies at South Ayrshire Council are now entitled to two weeks’ paid additional special leave, following the birth of the baby.

Employers with Heart

Three breastfeeding peer support workers, employed by the Breastfeeding Network were in post by February 2019, and will target support in the immediate post natal period to women who breastfeed following caesarean section. The peer support workers are based at Ayrshire Maternity Unit and work closely with the infant feeding team. Work is underway to develop processes to ensure services including midwifes, health visitors and assistant nurse practitioners work in tandem to support breastfeeding families.

All schools and early years establishments in South Ayrshire have been encouraged to sign up to the Breastfeed Happily Here scheme. Across Ayrshire over 400 premises have signed up to the scheme demonstrating their support for breastfeeding women when they are out and about with their babies, helping to normalise breastfeeding in our communities.

Breastfeed babies

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Family Nurse Partnership (FNP)

The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) team continue to deliver the programme to first time parents aged 19 years and under. The FNP team are now in a position to be able to offer the programme on a concurrent basis with no gaps in service provision. Between October 2015 and December 2018, 67 young women from South Ayrshire were eligible for FNP programme and of that 48 have enrolled. The profile of parents being supported by the team show that two thirds live in an area of multiple deprivation, 83% have low income, 21% have previous care experience and 59% have anxiety or other mental health concerns. In South Ayrshire family nurses are based in Symington and North Ayr Health

Centre. The two family nurse supervisors are based in Mossblown Health Centre. Family nurses work alongside partners in their localities to support services and planning, for example:

• Working with Community Learning and Development (CLD) and Newton Primary School to deliver Parent Early Education Programmes (PEEP) parenting sessions

• Working with the Carrick Parenting and Family Learning Partnership.

Positive outcomes for the parent and child have been achieved:

• A higher percentage (28.1%) of mothers involved in the programme breast fed their babies compared with the general South Ayrshire population (20.5%)

• 50% of mothers smoked when they joined the programme. This reduced to 41% at 36 weeks gestation

• At 6 months, 100% of children had received their primary immunisations. By 24 months, 96% of children had received recommended immunisations.

Early Years Developmental MilestonesIn the early years sector children are making good progress in achieving developmental milestones in Health and Wellbeing, Communication and Language, and Maths and Numeracy.

Percentage of all children achieving all milestones

Early Years

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18Health and Wellbeing 67 71 73Comm and Language 46 50 49

Maths and Numeracy 47 51 57

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Girvan Early Years Centre visit a sheltered housing complex in Girvan with a small group of children on a regular basis. Both the children and elderly people really look forward to these sessions. Funding has

been secured from the Going Forward for South Carrick for a Drama Coach to become involved in delivering sessions with our children and elderly people. The focus will be on promoting literacy and movement.

Girvan Early Years Centre

Parenting Programmes

In session 2018 -2019 we delivered Parents Early Education Programmes (PEEP), Make and Taste, Bookbug and Family Walking sessions to early years centres across South Ayrshire. The team have delivered a 6 week block of PEEP to all 37 early years centres. Themed PEEP programmes have been developed to meet the needs of families and these are now on offer to all centres. These include Wonder of Words, Fun with Numbers, Learning Outdoors, Healthy Eating and Tears and Tantrums.

Barnardo’s South Ayrshire Families – Family Resource Service also provide a number of groupwork programmes including Mum’s Self Care; Dad’s Self Care; Children’s Therapeutic Group; Science groups; Baby Massage, Healthy Eating; Seasons for Growth; Promoting Positive Behaviour; Family time groups; Summer Activities and Mellow Parenting.

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In 2018/19 Community Learning and Development provided 225 learning opportunities for parents and children in community based settings.

32 programmes were delivered, which are open to parents with pre nursery children, and include Infant Massage, PEEP, Weaning and Parent Child Together programmes on subjects such as healthy cooking.

PEEP programmes covered learning around Health and Physical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Early

Literacy, Early Maths and Communication and Language. Programmes have been delivered in Girvan, Maybole, Colmonell, Dailly, Barassie, Lochside Community Centre, Wallacetoun Nursery, Newton Primary School, Braehead Primary School and Dalmillling Primary School.

Retention rates of parents completing programmes is very strong with a retention rate of 85%. Of the parents completing programmes, 15% of them gained accreditation.

Achievement of the Expected Level ACEL Literacy and Numeracy P1, 4 and 7

Attainment of all children and young peopleChildren achieving expected levels of literacy have increased slightly in all organisers in 2017-18 in P1, 4 and 7. To achieve the expected level of overall literacy children must achieve each of reading, writing, listening and talking. Children are less likely to achieve the expected level in writing. Achievement of numeracy (overall maths) has been consistent across the past three years.

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Achievement of SCQF Literacy and Numeracy Awards: School Leavers

South Ayrshire consistently performs above its virtual comparator in literacy, and at times above the comparator in numeracy. Young

people are more likely to achieve a Level 6 award (Higher level) in literacy than in numeracy.

We have completed the review of the team around the child model. Through consultation with parents and practitioners we have identified key actions towards improving our processes and planning

to meet the needs of children and young people. An action plan has been formed and will be implemented and monitored by our Children’s Services Planning Group.

Getting it right for every child

My personal experience is positive based on a well run meeting with agenda and accurate

record of actions agreed.

I have been very hands on through the process anyway so support was

necessary for me. I was informed who was

asked to attend.

Enough time should be allowed for the child's

needs to be discussed fully. I have had a positive experience

but I feel that this is due to being well informed myself and having a good team involved.

Assessments must be

shared and collated by all

agencies / parents and all

must work to achieving

the same goals.

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Campus Police Officers Campus Police Officers now work in every secondary school and also provide support if requested to cluster primary schools. As part of their core function to support Personal and Social Education (PSE) in schools, the officers focus on any national campaigns or trends that affect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. In 2018/19, campus officers delivered sessions on issues such as stranger danger and road safety for younger children and substance misuse as well as no knives better lives to older children. Campus Officers also ensure they cover internet safety with all primary and secondary children and young people. In addition some officers provide outside activities in order to engage with young people, breakdown barriers and improve relations such as the Horticulture Project at Ayr Academy, Rural Skills Intervention at Girvan Academy; Gardening Project at Kyle Academy; Cycling Club at Queen Margaret Academy and Marr College plus others. To date there has been positive feedback from all participants which has resulted in improved behaviour and better relations between young people and Police Officers.

Police Work Experience Programme

The Police Scotland Work Experience programme in South Ayrshire took place in March 2018 with a group of 15 young people from S3 to S6 and included ten boys and five girls. This was a one week programme where young people were given the opportunity to have an insight into what it is like to be an operational police officer. Within all secondary schools in South Ayrshire there was a high level of interest take part in the work experience programme.

As a result of the programme, five young people have indicated they are considering applying to become a Police Officer whilst one of the female participants has started the Police application process.

Due to the high level of interest, Campus Officers are increasing the programme from one week to two weeks.

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Young people continue to gain accreditation through the Youth Scotland Awards across South Ayrshire in both our schools and communities. The Awards include the Hi5 award, Dynamic Youth Award and the Youth Achievement Award. In 2018/19, 264 young people received a Youth Scotland Award for their participation in youth work.

Thirty two members of staff qualified to deliver the awards during 2018/19, this included staff from Community Learning and

Development, residential staff, Education and 3rd sector partners.

Youth Scotland Awards

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participation and completion rates are impressive and were highlighted during the recent inspection of Community Learning and Development. The scheme continues to be sector leading and have been maintained over the last three years, with increased emphasis on making sure all young people are encouraged and supported to participate, regardless of personal circumstances.

Number of new enrolments

Number of young people completing the awards

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Child Protection We have implemented new arrangements that are designed to support the Child Protection Committee (CPC).

There are now four sub-groups that will service the agendas of the Child Protection Committee and Adult Protection Committee. The sub-groups meet on a quarterly basis and are:

• Policy, practice and improvement• Service evaluation• Learning and education• Communication and engagement

Annual data provided by the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration (SCRA) helps provide a picture as to the extent and nature locally of children and young people’s involvement with the Children’s Hearing System.

Between April 2017 and March 2018, 323 referrals were made to the children’s reporter on non-offence grounds with the main reason for referrals over that period was ‘lack of parental care’. 91 referrals were made on this basis. This reflects a continued trend of decreasing number of referrals to the children’s reporter in South Ayrshire over recent years.

Referral rates to SCRA are higher than the Scottish average but recent work with the SCRA on thresholds for referral is bringing the rate down effectively. Early submission of reports continues to increase and work is ongoing within teams to keep improving this. Links with the SCRA have also been strengthened through the senior management team and trends are shared and analysed regularly.

Information from SCRA also shows a reduction in the number of Compulsory Supervision Orders (CSOs) in effect over

this period. At 31 March 2018, 304 children and young people were subject to CSOs compared to 350 from the previous year.

Through commitment to prevention, early intervention, and effective use of multi-agency meetings, support for individual children can often be put in place on a voluntary basis where families engage positively with services.

By implementing this structure we have strengthened our processes and systems for safeguarding and protecting children.

Support through the Children’s Hearing System

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Whole Systems Approach/Early Effective Intervention (WSA/EEI) (Police Scotland)

Our youth justice Whole Systems Approach is a multiagency intervention to prevent offending. The approach ensures that offence referrals are processed quickly and that appropriate and proportionate support is provided within a short timescale. We aim to:

• Divert the young persons from formal and statutory systems where appropriate

• Ensure the needs of that child, young person and family are met

• Ensure that the behavior and casual factors are addressed.

Where a child or young person is presenting as at high risk we aim to ensure that

multi-agency interventions are targeted to deal with high risk robustly and work on the premise that public protection is of paramount concern. In 2018: 594 referrals were reported on offence grounds. 172 of these received a formal police warning. 209 were referred directly to the Scottish Children’s Report Administration. The other 104 were dealt with through Whole Systems. This involved the following inputs appropriate the to the needs of the young person. The remainder were either given a Recorded Police Warning over 16 years old and not on Compulsory Supervision Order or reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

• Referral to Sacro,• Referral to Community Safety• Restorative Work by Campus Officer,• or via further meetings on Team

Around the Child/ Team Around the Young Person.

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Sienna’s life was spent in and out of care from the age of 6. At the age of 16, Sienna got involved with the wrong crowd and ended up drinking alcohol and taking legal highs. At this time, Sienna moved out from her foster carer’s home and went in to supported care and from there ended up in a homeless accommodation. Whilst in homeless accommodation, Sienna met someone, who was to become the father of her child, who she moved in with very quickly. Sienna’s partner became controlling and physically abusive towards her.

Sienna then discovered she was pregnant but her partner was not really interested. Around this time Sienna was invited out by relatives for the day and her partner started to make threats about what was going to happen to her when she returned home that night. Sienna was really frightened and decided that not to return and put herself and her unborn baby at risk so she went to stay with a friend. From there, Sienna moved into supported care/living.

It was when Sienna was staying with her friend that she was offered the Family Nursing Partnership Programme and decided to join. The programme made Sienna think about how she would bring up her baby. Sienna learned about babies’ brain development, feeding, caring for her baby and their health and how to look after her own health. One of the pieces of work Sienna did was learning about how smoking could affect her unborn baby. At this time, Sienna was smoking 20 cigarettes a day and decided to stop. Sienna’s baby is now 5 months old and she has not smoked since giving birth.

Due to the risks around Sienna and her baby, there was be a Pre- Birth Case Conference and there was a chance that Sienna’s baby may be placed on the Child Protection Register. Sienna

was really scared about the meeting and how it would go and was worried how she would be able to get across her thoughts and feelings. The Family Nurse helped Sienna to prepare for it by looking at the SHANARRI wheel. This helped Sienna feel more confident about what she was going to say and made her feel well prepared for the meeting. At the meeting they decided that the baby’s name did not have to go on the Child Protection Register. Sienna was so pleased.

Sienna’s baby is now 5 months old and she now looks forward to the future and family days out. Sienna has a really good friend but when she goes to college and mother and toddler groups, she knows that she will meet more friends. Sienna now feels really positive about her and her baby’s future.

Sienna is planning for her own and her baby’s future. She really wants to pass her driving test and would also like to get a part- time job and start night classes, eventually completing a course in beauty therapy. Sienna would also like to have her own home and give her baby a good happy and stable life.

good practice example

Sienna

According to Sienna: “I think the Family Nurse helps people to think about how they are going to bring up their child, learning about their child’s health and their own health. It helps people to make changes and builds your confidence and self- esteem. It makes you feel as if you have achieved something that you never thought you would do. I feel that I can really trust my Family Nurse and I can phone and seek advice or support from her whenever I need to.”

Family Nurse Partnership

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PRIORITY 2 Reduce the gap in outcomes between the most deprived and least deprived children and young people in South Ayrshire

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You will be treated equally no matter your background

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Poverty Action PlanA strong message from children and young people was the need to close the poverty gap and ensure that children are treated equally no matter what their background.

South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership is implementing the Financial Inclusion Pathway. This involves increasing knowledge amongst named persons, lead professional and multi-agency practitioner of the drivers of poverty and the impact. Using routine enquiry we will ensure that children and families can access support to ensure that they receive the benefits and supports that they are entitled to. Working with our forum for learning parents whose children have additional support needs we delivered information on benefits and entitlement for children and young people with additional support needs.

Holiday Meals ProgrammeHoliday meals provision has been delivered since summer 2017 in key communities with high levels of child poverty. In that time over 25,000 lunches have been provided. Initially the programme was piloted in North Ayr and Girvan where the Council partnered with Lochside Mission and Outreach, and the Glendoune Centre. From Easter 2018 the scheme was broadened out to include delivery in Maybole and Barassie, where Community Learning and Development staff delivered programmes along with the lunch provided. In the North Ayr area the Council provide support for the Lochside Mission 3:16 bus to deliver meals to five communities which were Lochside, Wallacetoun North and South, Dalmilling and Whitletts, this delivery method continues to be used in addition to providing meals at holiday clubs and sports activities. During Christmas 2018, Lochside Mission and Outreach partnered with the Council and Unity Grill (a local social enterprise) to provide hot meals and in Girvan Milestone Church provided the service. Over the last two years the scheme has been adapted to meet the needs of the communities it has targeted.During the Easter, Summer, October and Christmas holiday periods the total meals provided in 2018/19 were 15,232 in the undernoted areas:

North Ayr - 8492 Girvan - 4106

Maybole - 1233 Barassie - 1401

Cost of the school day

A number of recommendations have been put in place:• Encouraging families to apply for Free School

Meals(FME) and to enable the FME to be used at interval for snacks

• To provide stationary equipment in all classes to be accessed by pupils who need it

• To create a school clothing bank of new clothes purchased by school and through donations

• To have blazer bank which loans blazers to pupils who are representing the school at event – blazers are not part of the normal school uniform

• To remove the necessity to buy school brands uniform. Free ties given to all pupils.

• To ensure all school trips are planned as far in advance as possible and that these must be generally financially accessible. All trips must have a ‘paying up’ facility

• To fund school transport costs as much as possible or to have a very minimal charge

• To reduce the number of charity events, to keep costs to a minimum and to remove the expectation everyone needs to take part

• To provide homework support during and after school and to allow access to ICT during this time.

All schools are undertaking a cost of the school day audit, which could identify areas that potentially will relieve the financial burden on parents and families. Girvan Academy has established a Poverty Proofing school working group of staff members, who also liaised with the pupil and parent body and was a part of their equity work to close the attainment gap.

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Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) has empowered schools to work with stakeholders and the wider school community

to identify supports or approaches to close the poverty related attainment gap. South Ayrshire schools have benefited from £2.4 million targeted at improving educational outcomes for children and young people impacted by the poverty related attainment gap. Head Teachers have primarily focused this additional resource on additional staffing, resources, targeted interventions and wider opportunities for children and young people with clear expections on tracking and monitoring

the impact of interventions or approaches in place. Partnerships with local community and third sector organisations have further strengthened the support available to children and families.

Additional funding has now been made available to support care experienced children and young people. Going forward additional funding will be used to support transitions for care experienced young people in South Ayrshire and accommodated elsewhere in the country. The appointment of a virtual school Head Teacher and education welfare officers as part of the care experienced team in education will focus on improving outcomes for all care experienced children and young people.

Dental Health ProgrammeThe rapid progress made initially following the introduction of the Childsmile programme has slowed. Additional activity is needed to address the persistent oral health inequalities with children from more deprived backgrounds experiencing more tooth decay.

The NHS Ayrshire and Arran Activity Plan 2019-2020 is in development to include specific activity for targeted groups including care experienced children and young people, children from travelling communities and children with additional support needs.

In South Ayrshire, Fairer for Scotland funding provided Childsmile Fluoride Varnish Applications in five additional schools.

across Ayrshire and

The oral health of children in South Ayrshire has improved in recent years. In 2018

of children in Primary 1 had no obvious tooth decay, compared with

Scottish average.

Early Years - Uptake of provision for eligible 2 year old children

South Ayrshire provides access to high quality provision for eligible children aged 2-3 years. In 2017/18 the uptake of provision was approximately

the third highest in Scotland.

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Early Years Developmental Milestones

Early years developmental milestones is analysed using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). The analysis for 2016/17 and 2017/18 shows there is a gap in achievement of milestones at the start of primary school for young children living in the 20% most deprived areas. Achievement is lower in the 20% most deprived areas than children in other SIMD areas. The percentage of children living in the middle 60-80% SIMD areas achieving the health and wellbeing milestones has increased, however there has been a decrease in those living in the 20% most deprived areas. There has been a slight increase in the percentage of children living in the 20% most deprived areas achieving maths and numeracy, however there has been a significant increase in the 20% least deprived.

During 2018/19 funding for 12 early intervention (additional graduate posts)was received from Scottish Government to support Closing the Gap in early years.

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AttainmentPrimary SchoolsThe gap in achievement of literacy (reading, writing, listening and talking) and numeracy in the primary sector has narrowed each year since 2015-16, and is lowest in 2017-18. The gap in achievement is greater in literacy (21%) than numeracy (11%).

School Leavers - LiteracyOver the past five years there is evidence that the gap in achievement of literacy awards is closing. At level 5 or better in literacy the gap in achievement between the 20% most and 20% least deprived has reduced from 37% to 22% between 2013-14 and 2017-18. At level 6 or better the gap has reduced from 48% to 42%.

Percentage Gap in acievement of ACEL Literacy and Numeracy 20% Most and 20% Least Deprived

Percentage Gap in Achievement of SCQF Literacy Awards 20% Most and 20% Least Deprived School Leavers

NumeracyOver the past five years the gap in achievement of numeracy awards has fluctuated, and whilst the gap was lower in 2017-18 than in 2013-14, at levels 4 and 5 the gap has increased in 2017/18.

Percentage Gap in Achievement of SCQF Numeracy Awards 20% Most and 20% Least Deprived Leavers

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Community Learning and Deveopment Youth Work

The Community Learning and Development Plan was approved in September 2018. This plan highlights South Ayrshire Community Learning and Development (CLD) partnership activity that is planned over the next three years (2018-2021) and has been developed in line with ‘The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013’. The foundation of this activity is an assessment - in partnership with learners and communities - of needs, strengths and opportunities.It contributes to the priorities identified in the South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP):

• Closing the poverty-related outcomes gap for children and young people in South Ayrshire

• Supporting our older people to live in good health

Through the planned activity, CLD partners will strive to develop the resilience and ambition of individuals and communities, to combat the effects of economic factors which cause deprivation and inequality, ensuring that barriers to achieving better life chances are identified, understood and overcome and that communities are full partners in delivering practical solutions.

Community Learning and Development (CLD)in North Ayr and the villages of Annbank, Mossblown and Tarbolton was inspected byEducation Scotland during February and March2019.The inspection highlighted areas of good practicein the learning community. This included our targeted youth work across North Ayr where the number of young people living in lower income areas that registered with the CLD service increased over the last three years, from

86% to 95%

CLD Inspection

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In May 2018 following discussion with Ayrshire Police Division and South Ayrshire Council Educational Services, an agreement was made in relation to delivering initial awareness sessions throughout South Ayrshire with a target audience of both Police and Education in respect of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the impact of toxic stress. It was agreed that the sessions would use the format of the Resilience documentary followed by a panel discussion. The Resilience documentary shows how researchers have discovered a biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. It demonstrates how toxic stress and trauma affects the brains and bodies of children, putting them at much greater risk of poorer outcomes in life including addictions, imprisonment, homelessness and significant health issues. The evidence shows us that if a person experiences four or more such negative experiences, they are 14 times more likely to have been involved in violence in the last year and 20 times more likely to have been incarcerated. It’s estimated that half of the Scottish population have been affected by (ACEs).

A short life working group was created to assist with the planning and delivery of the events with representatives from Ayrshire Police Division, Education Psychological Service, Education and Barnardo’s. At the events, panel discussions took place with:

• Ayrshire Police Division• Ayrshire and Arran Public Health• South Ayrshire Education • Champions Board and Care Experienced

Young People• South Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug

Partnership.

A total of five screenings were delivered during the summer of 2018 in Annbank, Girvan, Ayr and Prestwick. All were delivered within local schools which resulted in a total of 748 people attended. Attendance was noted from a variety of partners including Police, Education, Health, Social Work, Council Staff, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Local Authority, Occupational Therapy, Parents and Voluntary Sector.

Evaluations from the screenings were positive and key themes from the evaluations included:• Build relationships• Multi-agency approach is required• Reflect on what this means for my practice.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Work has been taken forward with LGBT Scotland to create a safe space and forum for young LGBT+ people to be themselves. Young people have access to support relating to mental health, sexual health, lack of support from family, fear of judgement , discrimination, lack of understanding from education and healthcare professionals.

From April 2018 to December 2018; 34 LGBT+ youth work groups have been delivered, with 179 individual attendances and 10 new members. There has also been 34 one to one sessions from April 2018 to September 2018.

Young people have reported that they have gained a sense of belonging, better understanding of their rights, opportunities to attend local and national events and meet new people. Staff and young people have increased access to a range of LGBT+ resources with a dedicated LGBT+ page on the South Ayrshire Young Scot Website, information on social media and LGBT+ activity resource packs created. South Ayrshire Community Learning and Development and Prestwick Academy achieved the Charter Mark by increasing the understanding of LGBT+ rights and enabling young people to feel welcome, included, supported and valued.

“Within the senior club I took the lead in facilitating a workshop as part of International Homophobic Day. The young people discussed the issues they perceived young LGBT+ young people may experience, and designed a poster to raise awareness of these issues. I felt great that I had taken the lead on this workshop and that it had gone so well. I now feel confident that I can organise youth activities and workshops and know that I want to pursue a career in youth work.”

LGBT Scotland

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good practice example

Paul

Paul Reilly is currently volunteering at the Domain Youth Centre as a volunteer Youth worker.

Paul now 21, started attending the Domain Youth Centre when he was at primary school and continued to attend the senior youth groups before becoming a volunteer. When Paul left school he registered with the STEP project to try and help him secure employment however, Paul was diagnosed with diabetes and was unwell for around two years. During this period Paul hardly left the house and this set him back.

In 2015 Paul registered for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards through the Domain Youth Centre and completed the Silver Award. Through Paul’s participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards he became interested in archery. Paul got the opportunity to gain an archery instructors qualification, this qualification has allowed Paul to coach archery to other young people and adults with additional support needs. Paul gained the confidence to apply for college and completed the Princess Trust programme where he thrived.

In 2018 Paul became a registered volunteer with Community Learning and Development, in his role he volunteers at various youth groups in Ayr and supports youth work staff to plan and deliver community based and schools youth work programmes. As well as volunteering Paul also gained the confidence to apply to Ayrshire College and is due to finish his 24/7 course through the HIVE in May 2019. Paul has already been accepted on to the Ayrshire College Step In To Youth Work Course for next year while continuing to volunteer at the Domain and work part time in McDonalds. In 2018 Paul was nominated for a South Ayrshire Youth Forum Award and reached the final stages.

Paul is hoping to secure employment with Community Learning and Development as a Youth Worker in the future while gaining skills and qualifications that will help him secure full time employment.

“I can honestly say the opportunities that Domain has provided me with has helped me gain skills and confidence that helped me get in to college. Over the past year the experience I have gained through volunteering has helped me develop my leadership skills that will hopefully help me secure full time employment.” (Paul Reilly)

“Over the past 12 months Paul has volunteered in the youth centre and has used skills that he gained through the Duke of Edinburgh and the youth work in the Domain. Paul is a role model for other young people in the Domain and is well respected by staff and young people. Paul is an example of how youth work, youth awards and volunteering can help young people develop their skills.” (Brian Cooper CLD Officer)

Community Learning & Development Volunteer Youth Worker

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PRIORITY 3 Ensure children and young people who are looked after or are care leavers are cared for and supported to improve their life experiences and life chances

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Children and young people a who are care experienced will be supported to be the best they can be

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We have started work to improve health related outcomes of care experienced young people. There will be a series of interviews with care experienced young people to explore how we can address their health needs more effectively. We will prepare a health profile for care experienced children and young people (CECYP) in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. Integral to this is ongoing development to improve the delivery of child health assessment for care experienced children and young people; standard operational procedure (SOP) health safety check at the

point of accommodation; and oral health care pathway.

Revised guidance has been implemented within the service for completion for health assessments. A new format for data collection has been implemented from 1 February 2019 which will enable more robust reporting mechanisms to be established. This has led to more children receiving a review of their health needs more quickly and enabled interventions to be put in place.

Access to Leisure

The Access to Leisure scheme was launched on 18 May 2018, providing free access to leisure for looked after children and young people or carer leavers. To date 356 memberships have been issued. There have been 340 attendance across all leisure facilities and 13 children have joined the Learn 2 Swim/gymnastics or dive programmes

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AttainmentPrimary SchoolsThe gap in achievement of care experienced children has fluctuated over the past three years. The gap decreased in 2017-18 compared to the previous session.

Gap in Achievement of the Relevant Level P1, 4 and 7 Care Experienced and All Children

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Looked After Young People in the Senior PhaseThe gap in achievement of literacy awards at level 3 and 4 or better appears to be reducing, although there was an increase in the gap in 2017-18 compared to previous sessions. The gap at level 5 and 6 or better has increased. There is a similar gap for achievement of numeracy awards, although there is no increase at level 6.

Percentage Gap in Achievement of SCQF Literacy Awards Looked After and All Leavers

Percentage Gap in Achievement of SCQF Numeracy AwardsLooked After and All Leavers

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During the second phase of the project, partners and Education have engaged in workstreams focussed on four key areas of work. These have centred on promoting attendance, transitions, participation and engagement and process mapping. This work is leading to a number of small tests of change in the Belmont Cluster to identify and share high quality practice prior to considering further rollout across the authority. Specifically this has led to the establishment of a local Champions Board in Belmont Academy with care experienced young people engaged in decision making and participatory budgeting opportunities to benefit the wider care experienced community. Staff in all Belmont Cluster schools are engaged in developing approaches to support the enhanced transition process for care experienced and other vulnerable children and young people. In order to support improved attendance, Belmont Academy have completed a number of case studies identifying possible underlying barriers and supports to attendance. A care experienced lead has been identified in Belmont to directly support care experienced young people. Early indications show encouraging results.

South Ayrshire – Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children

in Scotland (CELCIS) Inclusion Project

Designated Managers’ NetworkIn South Ayrshire the Designated Managers’ Network is established and continues to support school staff in approaches to supporting care experienced children and young people.

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Corporate Parenting Plan 2018-21 (Corporate Parenting Group)

The Corporate Parenting Plan 2018-21 was developed by the South Ayrshire Corporate Parenting Group, which is made up of representatives from Community Planning Partners and third sector organisations. Part 9 Statutory Guidance for the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 identifies eight outcomes for Corporate Parents to work towards:

1. Providing safe, secure, stable and nurturing homes for looked after children and care leavers 2. Enabling looked after children and care leavers to develop or maintain positive relationships

with their family, friends, professionals and other trusted adults3. Upholding and promoting children's rights4. Securing positive educational outcomes for looked after children and care leavers5. Ensuring 'care' is an experience in which children are valued as individuals, and where

support addresses their strengths as well as their needs6. Ensuring physical or mental health concerns are identified early and addressed quickly7. Increasing the number of care leavers in education, training and employment8. Reducing the number of looked after children and care leavers who enter the youth and

criminal justice systems.

The outcomes are set out in broad strategic terms, and many will involve the development of more detailed plans of action. An action plan has been developed for Corporate Parents to make progress towards achieving the outcomes above. The progress of the action plan will be monitored by the Corporate Parenting Group.

The Health and Social Care Partnership have developed a policy framework for improving outcomes for young people leaving care. The purpose of the policy framework is to outline the required approach to supporting young people leaving care. It is based on the current legislation, local and national policy and a profile of care experienced young people in South Ayrshire. This document will be used to inform a new commissioning framework. This will be developed to prioritise the aftercare services provided to care experienced young people. Outcomes

for young people leaving care have been identified which follow the themes of the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant and were developed in consultation with partners and CELCIS. Close partnership working has taken place through the Improving Housing Outcomes for Young Care Leavers group. Officers from the Health and Social Care Partnership and South Ayrshire Council Housing Service and Corporate and Housing Policy are working on a collaborative basis towards achieving the best housing outcomes for young people leaving care.

Commissioning of support services for young people leaving care

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Campus officers and Locality Police Officers have been identified to take on the role as Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for children’s houses within South Ayrshire. Officers are proactively engaging with staff and residents within the houses in order to improve relations and build working relationships.

Single Point of Contact for Children’s Houses

Improving housing outcomes for care experienced young people

Work is ongoing to ensure all care experienced young people are provided with the opportunity to improve their life chances by making more positive life choices.

Positive progress is being made in South Ayrshire to support young people leaving care to develop the necessary life skills to live independently, hold down tenancies, avoid homelessness and reach their full potential.

The work underway is focused on four key areas – life skills, person-centred housing options, preventing the need to apply as homeless, and appropriate person-centred support – and ensuring these support the young people involved to achieve the best possible outcomes.

To support improved life skills, the Council is running two dedicated pilot programmes in conjunction with Ayr Housing Aid Centre, young people and carers:

• First Home focuses on money management, cooking and healthy eating, living as part of a community, looking after your home and improving and maintaining your home.

• Housing Education for Youths is aimed at young people 14-16 years thinking about taking their first steps towards independent living and covers areas such as housing options, the cost of running a household, the realities of moving out and homelessness.

To ensure that suitable and sustainable housing options are available to young people leaving care, a small group of young people are undertaking 'trial' tenancies. The trial includes scheduled reviews that help assess how well the tenancy is going, with the aim of converting it into a permanent secure tenancy.

Alongside this, a Housing First pilot is underway, providing a care-experienced young person with permanent accommodation as well as intensive wraparound support to meet their individual needs. It's hoped this approach will maximise the potential for the young person to successfully integrate into the local community and live a good quality life.

To help those who may not be quite ready to live on their own, the Health and Social Care Partnership is also working to expand the number of supported carers available. Supported carers provide young people with a supportive family setting while they prepare for living on their own.

Feedback from the young people benefiting from the Council's approach has been very positive. Arron (21) is taking part in the Housing First pilot – he said: "The programme is absolutely brilliant and has helped me so much over the past few months. If I didn't have the support from the programme, I don't know where I would be."

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This year our fostering and adoption services were inspected. The Inspection focused on the quality of care and support and the quality of staffing. The Care Inspectorate reported “South Ayrshire Adoption service had strengthened performance in adoption and permanence work since the last inspection”. It was also noted that the service was working with CELCIS to assist in improving timescales for children in need of adoption and permanence to good effect.

The Care Inspectorate reported that carers enabled young people to be safe and healthy by providing routines and boundaries. Supervising Social Workers provided support to the carers in addition to providing training and carer support groups. Relationships were supportive and caring in nature.

The Inspectorate observed that there were independent supports offered to young people to enable their views to be heard and joint visits with locality Social Workers offered consistency and safety for the young person. Inspectors also noted there was evidence of carers being respectful of birth families and in turn allowing young people to develop family relationships.

Inspection of Fostering and Adoption Services

A new purpose-built children's house in South Ayrshire is making a real difference for the young people who live there and supporting them to achieve positive outcomes.

Sundrum View provides care and accommodation for up to seven children and young people and is designed to allow them to grow, develop and meet their full potential in all aspects of their lives. Inspectors assessed the quality of care and support, the quality of staffing, and the quality of management and leadership as good, while the quality of the environment was rated as very good.

Sundrum View – Children’s House

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Post school trackingRegular meetings are held between social work, employability and skills and Skills Development Scotland to track the post school destinations of all looked after young people. Access to apprenticeship opportunities Our apprenticeship guarantee scheme has been developed to ensure all care experienced young people who are engaging with the Employability and Skills team have the opportunity to engage in pre-apprenticeship work placements . This will give them the opportunity to demonstrate competencies without having to go through a formal interview.

Post school destinationsWe will provide enhanced support to care experienced young people through the transition from school up to at least their 20th birthday into sustained post school destinations. Dedicated Employability and Skills officers provided through European Social Fund (ESF) will offer support and guidance.

Employability and Skills

Permanency planning

South Ayrshire is working towards becoming Permanence and Care Excellence Programme (PACE) ready. PACE is a whole systems approach to reducing drift and delay in permanence planning for looked after children and young people. This will enable us to identify areas where drift and delay occurs and use improvement science to drive improvement. All Children and Families Social Workers will attend mandatory five day permanence training. Two programmes have been delivered with two further programmes to be delivered in 2019.

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Champions Board

Twenty one young people aged from 8- 21 years take part in weekly group work sessions in Ayr and Girvan and a group of 10 care leavers aged 17-29 years meet every two months to progress key priorities. Monthly house visits take place to South Ayrshire’s two Children’s Houses for tea and Sunday brunch. The Champions Board team lead on Children’s Rights work stream of the CELCIS inclusion project with Belmont Academy and feeder primary schools.

Four showcasing events have taken place involving young people and their corporate parents, with each event attracting over 100 participants.

The events have showcased young people’s voices through, artwork, photography, film and presentations. Young people also vote for a corporate parent who has gone above and beyond to receive an award at the showcasing events.

One of the key actions is the development of a Champions Board Steering Group to ensure compliance with Statutory Guidance on Part 9 (Corporate Parenting) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and contribute to support the vision of closing the gap and achieving potential. The steering group is co-chaired by a young person and SAC Depute Chief Executive. It has had an initial meeting and is scheduled to meet quarterly and has a remit to :

• Meet with care experienced young people and listen to their priorities for change

• Agree in collaboration timescales and a plan for improvements

• If required work thematically (e.g. on themes such as housing, education, legal issues, employability, rights and participation etc.)

• Support collaboration, sharing of resources and good practice

• Review updates and monitor progress against Champions Board work-plan.

Four key priorities have been established to determine the work of the Champions Board for the coming year. These are relationships, rights, mental health and housing. The Champions Board also support young people to design and steer an Individual Small Grants programme for care experienced young people across South Ayrshire - 40 small grants totalling £8346.16 have been distributed to date. One young person with care experience continues to sit on South Ayrshire’s Fostering and Adoption Panel as part of their Participation Assistant role.

The Champions Board continues to support care experienced young people from South Ayrshire to link in with national initiatives such as 1,000 voices root and branch review of care and National and Regional Champions Board activities facilitated by Life Changes Trust.

Champions Board

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good practice example

Sonia Employability and Skills

Sonia was identified as being at risk of not reaching a positive destination and a care experienced young person. It was discussed and agreed that it would be beneficial to Sonia to engage with the Employability and Skills Team which began in September 2015.

Sonia took part in the Work Out! programme whilst she was a 4th year pupil at Belmont Academy. The Work Out! programme allowed Sonia to do a work experience placement at Newton Primary for one day per week, over the full academic year. She was supported throughout this programme by the Employability and Skills Team. Sonia really enjoyed her Work Out! Placement.

On leaving school Sonia continued to engage with the Employability and Skills Team and registered on the Activity Agreement programme. The team spent time with Sonia developing her employability and life skills through the various groups on the Activity Agreement programme, such as the Cookery Group and Personal Development. Sonia was living in supported accommodation, receiving support from services to develop her independence and key life skills. Sonia was supported through individual meetings, group work, arranging and attending appointments, advocating her views at meetings when she felt she couldn’t, and championing Sonia’s rights as a care experienced young person. The Employability and Skills Team helped Sonia to focus her attention on getting herself to a point where achieving employment was a reality. There were many ups and downs throughout this time, however after years of Employability and Skills engagement Sonia indicated in September 2018 that she was ready to enter employment. She had worked in a restaurant for a summer whilst at school as a kitchen porter. From this experience, she opted to try this line of work and took it upon herself to source a work experience placement at Unity Grill.

Sonia started doing one shift per week in a kitchen porter capacity. She found it difficult at first to deal with her nerves, nonetheless she persevered and continued to attend and get involved with

the work. Angela Iver (Owner of Unity Grill) worked to ensure that Unity Grill was a supportive placement for Sonia. Sonia began to grow ever more confident in her ability to trust others. Sonia exceeded the high expectations that she had set for herself and after a few months Angela approached the Employability and Skills Team about the possibility of offering a paid position to Sonia. Employability and Skills were happy to offer Unity Grill a wage incentive to assist in offering Sonia a paid position. Sonia agreed to this but laid out fears she had about losing the support of Employability and Skills. Since beginning employment the team have continued to support Sonia in various ways. Speaking about her journey through the Employability and Skills team, Sonia said “Everyone at Employability and Skills has been really helpful to me and have played a big part in helping me to get where I am now. Working with the team was good because they didn’t put pressure on me to get into a work placement when I wasn’t ready. They helped me to learn about work first, which looking back was far more beneficial to me. Things in my life have been gradually improving. I am really thankful for all that Employability and Skills have done and continue to do for me.”

Sonia is now working full time for Unity Grill and is being given more responsibilities in her role, which is also being reflected in her pay. She has also recently been granted her own flat by South Ayrshire Council which she has moved into and is now living independently. Furthermore, Sonia is now learning to drive through an Employability and Skills programme for care experienced young people. Sonia is looking forward to the future and seeing what further opportunities come her way. Employability and Skills would like to congratulate Sonia on all of her hard work and wish her every success for the future. Remember Sonia, our door is always open to you!

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PRIORITY 4 Ensure all children and young people are supported to achieve and maintain good emotional and physical wellbeing

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Opportunities to be healthy, both mentally and physically

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Healthy start

Partnership working continues to promote the uptake of healthy start vitamins for eligible parents and families. There continues to be success in the Girvan Locality including Girvan Early Years Centre and Children 1st increasing and maintaining the number of Healthy Start vitamins distributed to parents/carers. The work in Girvan is still supported by the Assistant Nurse Practitioner. 126 bottles of vitamins were distributed between June 2018 and January 2019. Work will continue in the Girvan area to plan the rollout of this programme. Information and link to Healthy Start scheme for children aged two is available on the South Ayrshire website.

All key participating Early Years Centres met to discuss next steps of the work. Healthy start champions in each centre will be responsible for coordinating the scheme with support from Health Improvement and South Ayrshire Early Years team.

Healthy weight by P1

Play on pedals programme is helping to develop children’s skills to progress quickly to a pedal bike and also their general health, wellbeing and self-esteem. Partnership working with Cycling Scotland, South Ayrshire Council Road Safety and Ayrshire Roads Alliance is supporting practitioners to deliver the messages from ‘Play on Pedals’.

In 2017/18, 20 children in South Ayrshire completed a ‘JumpStart’ evening programme, and 202 children completed a JumpStart school based programme. The evening programme runs for eight weeks and participants take part in physical activity for 45 minutes at each session as well as being encouraged to be more active between sessions. The percentage of Primary 1 children with a healthy weight increased slightly in 2017/18.

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Active Schools Through the Active Schools Programme there continued to be opportunities for children and young people to participate in sport and physical activity sessions offered across 46 different activities outwith the school day. The activities on offer include athletics, badminton, basketball, boccia, boxercise, cheerleading, country dancing, cricket, curling, cycling, dance, dodge ball, fitness, golf, gymnastics, handball, hill walking, hockey, martial arts, mountain biking, netball, orienteering, rugby, sailing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball and yoga.

• 518 (an increase of 22%) volunteers providing physical activity sessions, including 274 qualified adults and 147qualified secondary aged young people

• Five leadership programmes in secondary schools supporting young people to become coaches and ambassadors for sport

• One leadership programme in a primary school with P6/7 children taking part in the Junior Coaching Academy

• Pathways developed with a total of 80 different clubs.

Get Up Girvan

Active schools worked in partnership with Community Learning and Development and Girvan Primary to organised a Parent and Child Breakfast Club two mornings a week. The families attending took part in half an hour of physical activity followed by a healthy breakfast and key health messages. Two sessions a week were delivered one for P1-P3 and one for P4 to P7. Eight families attended with a total of 11 children getting active with their families: “We are thoroughly enjoying coming to Get Up Girvan as it’s a break from normal routine and lets us have some fun and enjoy breakfast together (Girvan Primary Parent)”

Social ActivitiesA number of opportunities exist to support participation in activity based social support:• Carrick Sensory Group – for children and families who experience barriers to accessing community

resources• Come 2 – Whitletts Activity Centre Friday Fun Activity Sessions for children with additional support

needs• Unique Youth Club Venture , Ayr – Disco for teenagers with disability and additional support needs• Ayr United Community Football Coaching – Football Sessions for children and teenagers with

disabilities and or complex additional support needs• Children and Families Disability Team Rainbow Buddies Group – for children impacted by physical

disability• Children and Families Disability Team Girls Youth Group – for teenage girls with complex needs.

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Lawn Bowls Project

In promoting local opportunities for children to play sports all the bowling clubs within the Girvan Cluster delivered 4-6 week bowling sessions after school to local primary schools, followed by a competition. 39 pupils took part and five pupils have now joined their local bowling club.

“We enjoy having the Primary pupils up at the bowling green. It gives them the experience of having a shot at bowling without having to join the club or go to any expense with the purchase of bowls. We have had kids interested in joining after they have been up with the after school club” (Ballantrae Bowling Club)

Active schools in partnership with South Ayrshire Community Safety and Turnberry Golf Club organised a six week golf coaching at Turnberry Gold course delivered by the PGA Pro’s. 30 pupils, 10 girls and 20 boys participated in this and learned how to chip, putt and drive.

“I enjoyed the golf a lot and would love to go again if I could. I loved it as it was new and interesting” (Declin P4)

“My daughter Sophie really enjoyed the session and loved that she was golfing on one of the best courses in the world. I feel it’s a fantastic opportunity for the kids from Girvan to take part in.” (Joanne, Girvan PS Parent).

“Golf at Turnberry Golf Resort has been an amazing experience for the children on the golf driving range and the putting greens. The coaching has been so well planned that both groups wanted their block of lessons to continue. The coaches have been superb role models to the groups, and this has helped them to develop an understanding of the code of conduct and the dress code.” (Mrs Shennan, Girvan PS)

“It has been a fantastic opportunity for Trump Turnberry to work with South Ayrshire Active Schools to develop Golf within South Ayrshire. Our long term goal is to grow junior golf in the local community and provide a solid foundation of tuition here at the club.” (Oliver Foster, Golf Professional Trump Turnberry)

Turnberry Golf After School Club

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We have started to implement the Carers Scotland Act integrating with core GIRFEC approach. New pathways have been developed to support young carers identified through school and primary care routes. We have developed the format of our Young Carers Statement.

Young Carers Strategy

We have taken key steps to support children and young people to maintain and achieve positive mental health. Crucial to this is the implementation of preventative resources and support. South Ayrshire Youth Forum through their SAY IT Out Loud initiative has made a significant contribtution to raising awareness and informing services of the supports that our children, young people and parents require. This group has led on the design of a wellbeing website, youth work resource pack and family information leaflet. The resource pack was promoted in local youth clubs which enabled young people to engage in activities to promote positive mental health and encourage “chatting things through”

Our family leaflet was designed to offer support to parents on how best to engage young people in discussion relating to their feelings, emotions and mental health. The leaflet signposts parents to where they could access resources to support their child’s health.

We have created a mental health and wellbeing section on the South Ayrshire Young Scot website. The mental health and wellbeing website features a range of information and support, tailored Spotify playlists, feel good activities and specific apps.

We have also implemented the Say It Out Loud Charter for schools. The Charter is a positive environment checklist for South Ayrshire primary and secondary schools to recognise the ongoing commitment that schools play in supporting children and young people to learn the skills they need to develop their mental health and wellbeing, build resilience and manage life’s challenges. The charter is based on NHS Ayrshire and Arran Whole School Approach to support mental health and wellbeing guidance for schools.

In the Carrick and Girvan areas Community Planning Partners have been working on a proposal to create a mental health support service for young people which will be available five day per week, 52 weeks per year. The service will be accessible and available to young people at the point when they need it. 75% of the funding has now been agreed in principle for a 3 year period.

Emotional and Mental Health

“I think this leaflet is great, it has useful

information and love that it is created by local young people – I would definitely read this if my child took it

home” Local Parent

“It makes me happy knowing that there are so many others that feel the same as I do”

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good practice exampleMental Health Awareness - A Starter for 10

Our school vision is:

“Belmont Academy is a nurturing learning environment

which inspires every learner to reach their potential.”

The school identified stigma associated with mental health as a significant barrier to providing a nurturing learning environment. Reflecting on local and national data regarding occurance of mental health conditions we want to develop and implement practical, relevant and effective mental health policies and procedures. Through this we we will achieve a safe and stable learning environment for the many young people who attend Belmont Academy are are affected both directly, and indirectly by mental ill health.

At our school, we have formed a mental health action group whose main aim is to promote positive mental health for every member of our whole community. We will pursue this aim using both universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable young people.

We want to deliver a health and wellbeing strategy to: • Promote positive mental health in all staff

and young people • Increase understanding and awareness of

common mental health issues • Alert staff to early warning signs of mental ill

health • Provide support to staff working with young

people with mental health issues • Provide support to young people suffering

mental ill health and their peers and parents/carers.

Our Actions - Year One• Carry out an audit of how we teach about

Mental Health (PSE) • Engage with partners/train staff to be able to

sign post effectively our young people and families to appropriate support

• Train all staff to be able to look out for the warning signs which indicate a young person is experiencing mental health or emotional wellbeing issues – this will be supported by the NHS and the Kris Boyd Charity

• Working better with parents/carers to provide more all-round support.

• Raise awareness of mental health through fundraising activities – first charity will be the Kris Boyd Charity.

In October 2018, the school launched the Belmont Bee and had a week of events for every year group to promote positive mental health. The bee has become the school logo for the year to brand the mental health awareness work and to raise the profile in the school to let everyone know that it is good to talk and not to bottle things up.

This project involved partnership working with parents and workshops were available from other providers, offering parents an awareness raising session on such topics as self harm, anxiety management, active body/active mind and pros and cons of social media. Community Support

Barns Medical Practice were involved with the school to benefit our young people and we will work in partnership to better support our young people with their mental health.

The message from the Belmont Bee – Action Group is “it is a starter for 10. Hopefully you will bee positive about what we are trying to do and of course thank you in advance for bee-ing supportive”

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PRIORITY 5 Ensure children and young people have a voice in influencing service delivery that affects their lives

Your voice will be heard

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The introduction of the SEEMiS child's plan format makes provision for the gathering of children's and the views of their parents integral to the completion of the plan. The Team Around the Child process creates a forum where we gather the view of our children, young people and parents. In terms of other vulnerable groups Hear 4 U advocacy service, Viewpoint, Who Cares? Scotland advocacy service and Having Your Say are in place to gather views. The accessibility strategy group is looking in particular to develop work to gather the views of children with complex communication issues. We have made arrangements to implement Young Carers Statements that will specifically canvass the

views of young carers. The Wellbeing Wheel is also being used regularly to gather the views of children in relation to the seven GIRFEC wellbeing indicators.

The local authority has started the work of realigning children’s services and all young people aged 8 - 16 have been surveyed on local needs. Pupils voice continues to be strong element in improvement planning within school. Young people and youth groups have been involved in participatory budgeting. Our Champions Board continues to promote the rights of looked after children and young people. Work is also in progress in relation to LGBTI and Young Carers.

Pupil SurveyEach year an annual survey of children and young people is carried out. In 2017/18, 3,681 children in primary schools and 1,268 young people in secondary schools completed the survey. The survey demonstrated that generally children and young people are very positive about their educational experiences.

We have completed our survey regarding the priorities of our Children’s Services Plan. Around 900 young people completed the surveyand told the Community Planning Partnership that priorities outlined in the plan are still relevant to them. They told us that we are good at the following.Young people felt that currently, South Ayrshire Community Planning partners are good at:

• Providing afterschool clubs and opportunities to take part in a range of activities

• Ensuring young people have a voice and are listened too

• Supporting young people• Providing young people with education

The top 5 areas young people feel the children service plan should focus on are:

• Mental health and emotional health

• Bullying• Education with particular reference to

Personal and Social Education • Increased youth opportunities • Equality for all and meeting children and

young people’s rights.

The improvement identified by our children and young people will be integrated into the refresh of our Youth Strategy and the revised Children’s Services Plan

Big Ask

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The UK Youth Parliament Make your Mark figures over 3 years show a significant increase in young people taking part in the ballot vote on what they think are the top issues that should be addressed. In 2018, 5,073 young people

took part in South Ayrshire, which is 50% of young people that are aged 11-18, which was the highest number in local authority in Scotland.

Make Your Mark 2018 Make Your Mark 2017 Make Your Mark 2016

5073 young people took part 4159 young people took part 1891 young people took part

Top 3 Issues Top 3 Issues Top 3 IssuesMental health (1231)Equal pay for equal work (758)Let’s tackle homelessness (640)

Mental Health (699)Transport (682)Protect LGBT+ people (503)

Votes at 16 (334)Transport (256)Mental health (220)

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We continue to seek the views of children and young people in our educational establishments. The number of schools participating in the UNICEF Rights Respecting School (RRS) programme remains high, with all schools involved at some level. South Ayrshire has reached

the target of 90% of schools achieving the bronze award and there has been in increase in the number of schools achieving gold. Three schools have registered, 16 have achieved the Bronze award, 20 have achieved the Silver award and 12 the Gold Award.

Rights Respecting School

Unicef UK Rights Respecting Schools Programme Director, Frances Bestley, said: “We are very pleased to be awarding Annbank Primary School Gold: Rights Respecting, the highest level of recognition we award. It is clear that the whole school has embraced a culture based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Annbank is a very inclusive school where children report feeling valued and safe irrespective of their background. Pupils also have many genuine opportunities to have their views heard and influence key aspect of school life, in turn creating a positive learning environment. It was also clear that children had an excellent grasp of children’s rights and social justice, and so did school staff, parents, carers and the school’s governors. Everyone should be very proud of their achievement.”

Additional Support Needs (ASN) Parents Forum

In the past year we have developed our ASN Parents Forum and formed a steering group of parents to work with us in setting the agenda of how we offer support. From this work we have identified entitlement and benefits advice, advice on emotional and mental health support, assistive software and devices to assist literacy and activities and opportunities for leisure and recreation with children and young people. The group provides an invaluable reference group to advise the Community Planning Partners on how we can meet the needs of children and young people with additional support needs.

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Champions Board

The Champions Boards provide platforms for young people to talk directly to Council staff, elected members and service providers to discuss the challenges that being in care can bring, and how these challenges can be faced and overcome with the right support. Between November 2017 and February 2019 ‘Champions for Change’, South Ayrshire Champions Board has designed and delivered corporate parenting awareness sessions to 1,005 corporate parents across South Ayrshire, participants include:

• Elected members• South Ayrshire Head Teachers and targeted

groups of teaching staff• Locality Planning groups• SAHSCP Integration Joint Board• Police Scotland• CAMHS• Community Planning Partnership• Voluntary sector colleagues and partners

including Barnardo’s Girvan Youth Trust Community Learning and Development teams

• Human Resources• Procurement

• Health and social care parnterhsip planning policy and performance team

• Children’s health care and justice teams• South Ayrshire Foster carers• Employability and Skills team • Skills Development Scotland• Housing teams including teams from

Viewfield Gate and Succession House, Maybole and Girvan, Troon, Housing Options and housing staff based in Riverside House.

All sessions closely reference The Scottish Care Leavers Covenant and have been developed and are delivered by young people living in South Ayrshire with lived experience of care. The sessions provide a platform for young people’s voices to be heard through animation and film with a focus on developing local solutions to local issues using a strengths based approach.

An online module has been developed for all South Ayrshire Council staff as mandatory induction training and this module is almost ready to be implemented.

South Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) commissioned Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) to undertake consultation activities with young people to identify the support needs for young people (8 – 25) affected by problematic substance use (their own or a family member). The consultation work engaged with over 250 young people and staff through a series of workshops, interviews and electronic surveys. The findings will provide an evidence-base for the ADP to identify and develop the most appropriate support for young people affected by substance use.

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good practice exampleParticipatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting (PB) events have taken place across South Ayrshire during 2018-19. Groups were able to apply for up to £1,000 and voting was open to anyone who lives, works, volunteers or studies in the local area aged 10 years plus. Many projects that support children and young people were allocated funding to improve the outcomes of those living in the local community. Examples of the groups that were allocated funding:

Girvan Youth Football Club

Funding received for equipment, upkeep and coaches training to enable an increase in year groups.

£1,000

1st Girvan Girls Guides Funding received to part fund a 2 day residential to Dolphin House. The aim of this residential is to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for all 18 girl guides that will attend.

£1,000

Girvan Youth Trust: Music on the Prom

Funding was received to assist with costs of hiring bands and musicians for Music on the Prom, an 11 week programme showcasing 50’s, 60’s and 70’s music on the promenade between 1-5 pm every Sunday from June to August.

£1,000

St Patrick’s Fundraising Group – Fitness 101

Funding will contribute towards sports equipment and sports lessons. The Group aims to include those children who would not usually have the opportunities to take part in sports and fitness activities due to cost contraints, deprivation, disabilities and to break down social barriers and make sports accessible for all.

£750

Dundonald Primary School and Parent Council Friendship Garden

Funding will support the development of the friendship garden and the activities that will run. This will promote enjoyable intergenerational learning.

£750

Heathfield Primary Parent Council Playground Project

Funding is to develop a more inclusive and stimulating playground environment; to enhance social interaction and promote health and wellbeing.

£1,000

Monkton Community Council

Funding will facilitate the formation of a youth forum and associated activities and events. Funding will help towards set up costs and resources for Ready Steady Cook competition and cooking workshops.

£875

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Conclusion

We hope that you have found this report and the information indicative of the strong level of partnership working and our clear focus on improving and providing services of the highest quality. In the past year, we have strengthened our consultation with children young people and their families by working in partnership and listening to their voices, we are assured that our

shared priorities are still significant. Combined with a clear leadership commitment we are confident that we can collaborate, co-design and co-produce the best services possible for children and young people in South Ayrshire to achieve our vision of closing the gap and achieving potential.

South Ayrshire Council Contact Centre 0300123 0900