This guide to self-evaluation and improvement builds upon the advice given in the publication A Guide to Evaluating Services for Children and Young People Using Quality Indicators1 (A summary of the quality indicators (QIs) is reproduced in Appendix I). People who are responsible for providing services for children and their families can use How good is our corporate parenting? to help evaluate and improve their corporate parenting capacity and skills. It should be read alongside These Are Our Bairns — a guide for community planning partnerships on being a good corporate parent2 which is designed to provide guidance and support to local authorities in exercising their legal duties and to other agencies in supporting them to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people. It recognises the joint responsibility for corporate parenting of all council services including social work, education, culture and leisure, and housing. It also recognises the critical contribution of partners from health, police and voluntary sector services in meeting the needs ofall looked after children, including:
The aim of this self-evaluation guide is to assist services to evaluate and improve the quality of their corporate parenting and improve outcomes for each looked after child.
Of the 14,886 looked after children in Scotland at 31st March 2008, 43% were looked at home by their parents and a further 16% by other family members (kinship care). Twenty nine per cent were cared for by foster carers and 11% were cared for in residential accommodation, including secure settings.