The Fraser of Allander Institute has published a blog which outlines how Scotland can use data to Keep The Promise. It states that Keeping The Promise to care experienced children and young people requires a rethink of the data Scotland collects on them and that it needs to be centred around the things that matter most to them.
In February 2020, the Independent Care Review reported its findings of a root and branch review of the care system in Scotland. The outcome was The Promise to care experienced children, young people and their families that “every child grows up loved, safe and respected, able to realise their full potential”. It recognises that keeping The Promise requires a long-term programme for change in Scotland’s care system.
One of the review’s findings was that the data Scotland collects is too focused on measuring what matters to ‘the system’ and not on what matters to children and families within the system.
For example, the criminal justice system collects administrative data about the children who interact with it, but there might be less known about how they were treated, whether they felt listened to and their experiences after their involvement with the system.
Looking to the future the blog highlights that the ambitions behind The Promise require an overhaul of the type of data that is collected on children and families across the entirety of Scotland’s public sector. It will need public bodies to carefully consider how data can be leveraged to better inform them about the things that matter to children and families.
