Edinburgh social work staff ‘worried about raising concerns about poor practice’ says report
Edinburgh social work staff ‘worried about raising concerns about poor practice’ says report.
A Care Inspectorate review discovered that staff were hesitant to raise concerns about poor social work practice, among other difficulties.
An evaluation of Edinburgh Council’s children’s social work leadership team revealed that the service lacked a ‘climate of trust’ among workers.
According to the Care Inspectorate study, several workers felt that allegations of inadequate social work practice were not being heard or addressed appropriately.
It also discovered that some employees lacked trust in the service’s senior leadership, and many believed that choices and actions taken by its senior leaders were not clearly explained.
SNP education, children, and family spokeswoman Euan Hyslop stated that the administration needed to take ‘rapid and decisive’ action to address the issues outlined in the study.
Education convener and Labour councillor James Dalgleish said he welcomed the inspectorate’s investigation and that the council was completely committed to implementing its recommendations.
He said that the report ‘demonstrates the path of improvement’ that the council’s children’s services team has gone through, as well as areas where the council’must continue to improve’.
A new senior leadership team was recently formed, and they are working to enhance how the program is run.
The inspectorate discovered that progress was being made in service leadership, and that work was definitely underway to enhance things even further.
It also discovered that ‘promising changes’ in the operation of the service had resulted in favourable outcomes for children and young people.
Furthermore, it stated that a ‘developing culture of trust and respect’ had been observed among staff members and line supervisors within the service.
However, the report stated that additional effort was required to ensure the ‘robust and safe’ delivery of care for children and adolescents.
Staff from the Care Inspectorate will now provide ‘ongoing support’ to children’s social care managers to ensure that reforms are implemented.
Scotland’s children and young people’s minister requested the examination following numerous ‘well publicised’ instances in Edinburgh in recent years.
Cllr Hyslop stated, “The recent Care Inspectorate report has highlighted numerous leadership failures within Edinburgh’s children’s social work services, including inconsistent senior leadership, ineffective governance, and low staff engagement.”
“It is apparent that the Labour administration must move quickly and decisively to address these major concerns and ensure that our children and families receive the care they need.
“We will be closely monitoring their response and hold them accountable for the necessary improvements.” Inspectors interviewed 65 people involved with the service, including councillors, senior leaders and managers, and distributed surveys to line staff and supervisors, receiving responses from 64% of them.
Inspectors stated in the report that their study focused solely on the service’s leadership, not on how well it met the needs of children, young people, and families.
According to the poll results, slightly over a third of staff believe there is a ‘culture of openness and transparency’ in the city’s children’s social work services.
Most employees claimed they were confident in their ability to report concerns about poor practice by those involved in providing children’s social work services.
However, less than half of those who did express concerns were sure that they were heard and that appropriate action was taken.
According to the report, there was a ‘pervasive attitude’ among certain staff that it was not safe to question or confront some of the service’s senior leadership decisions.
Some people also felt frightened using a whistleblower program that was created in 2024, fearing that the process would not be kept anonymous.
A third party operates the whistleblowing service, which is intended to be confidential and independent. Inspectors also discovered that councillors’ inspection of the service had been limited, with concerns concerning it receiving less attention on committee agendas than other subjects.
According to the paper, elected members will ‘inevitably’ have to prioritise things that require decisions during a meeting.
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