Social work team delivering positivity in North Ayrshire

The report, presented to North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday, shines a spotlight on the wide range of social work activity carried out over the past year .

It also reveals the ways in which delivery of services are helping both North Ayrshire Council and North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) to achieve their priorities.

The partnership is now in its second year of implementing the Signs of Safety model, which places parents, children and those naturally connected to the child at the centre of the assessment, decision-making and planning process.

This has contributed to the number of newly-accommodated children and young people in North Ayrshire reducing from 61 in 2022-23 to 46 in 2023-24.

The Children and Adolescent Specialist Support Team (CASST) have taken on a modern apprentice thanks to funding from charity the CORRA Foundation.

This post was aimed at a young person with lived experience of substance use and allows them to use that experience to deliver positive interventions to those supported by the CASST team, who are either involved directly in substance use themselves or live within a household where there is problematic substance use.  

Progress over the past year on delivering the The Promise has seen activities including the creation of a new Instagram channel aimed at sharing relevant information with care experienced young people.

Caroline Cameron, director of Health and Social Care Partnership (Image: NAC)

Care Experienced Youth Groups have also been set up within all North Ayrshire secondary schools to give a safe space to communicate with staff and each other.

The North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Service has continued to demonstrate high levels of performance by meeting national and local standards and targets over the past year, including access to treatment waiting times, provision of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs), the roll-out of Naloxone supplies and increasing patient choice regarding Opiate Substitution Therapy (OST) medications.

An expanded support service for unpaid carers was launched in November. This substantial investment in North Ayrshire Carers Gateway will see a number of positive changes, including a three-fold increase in the number of support staff, increased routes to carers assessments and support, and the development of more community-based outreach services to improve access.

NAHSCP’s Money Matters team supported some of the most vulnerable people in our communities to access entitled benefits to the incredible sum of over £20m in 2023-24 - an increase of over £1.5m from 2022-23.

And an innovative new partnership between NAHSCP and charity Dads Rock in 2023 saw designated Dads Worker Ryan Warren join the Children and Families Health Team.

Ryan is now providing support for dads in the Three Towns to give their children the best possible start in life through a number of activities, including practical parenting workshops.

Caroline Cameron, Director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “While great progress has been made by North Ayrshire Council in its ongoing commitment to eradicating poverty, North Ayrshire is still ranked the fifth most deprived council area in Scotland. This places great pressure on our health and social care services.

“As this demand for services continues to increase against a backdrop of diminishing resources, our social work services are working consistently to ensure that available resources go as far as possible, and that those most in need of support are prioritised.

“Despite the ongoing challenges, these positive examples of the impact social work services are having in improving the lives of North Ayrshire residents are down to the hard work and commitment of our staff, and we will continue to ensure that we work in a way that puts our residents at the centre of their care.”