The Scottish Government want to make Scotland the best place to grow up. encourages everyone to work together to help children and young people. It provides a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of all children and young people. The framework is evidence based, internationally recognised and underpinned by a children’s rights-based approach through the
ɬ are committed to the Getting it Right For Every Child approach to ensure that all children “grow up loved, safe, and respected so that they realise their full potential”.
The ɬ Children and Young People’s Service’s Plan 2023 - 2026 currently prioritises the use of this approach to improve outcomes for our children and young people, bringing together and coordinating services so that children and young people get the help they need if or when they need it.
GIRFEC is a strength-based approach which seeks to realise children’s rights and is underpinned by a set of key values and principles :-
- Places the child or young person and their family at the heart, building solutions and promotes choice in decisions that affect them
- Working together with families to enable a rights-respecting, strengths-based and inclusive approach
- Understanding that well-being is about all areas of life including family, community and society
- Valuing difference and ensuring everyone is treated fairly
- Considering and addressing inequalities
- Providing support for children and young people and their families when they need it to help them reach their full potential
- Everyone working together to make things better for children and young people and their families
Getting It Right for Every Child is the foundation for work with all children and young people, including adult services where parents are involved. It builds on universal health and education services, from pre-birth through the early years and includes work with all children and young people.
When assessment, planning and action are needed, practitioners can draw on the GIRFEC and the four contexts for learning within the . This provides a framework and structure to support practitioners to understand a child or young person’s needs, strengths and pressures affecting them and then to consider what support they might need. It enables full participation of children, young people and their families in gathering information to assess what support they may need.
There are five questions practitioners need to ask when they are concerned about a child or young person:
- What is getting in the way of this child or young person’s well-being?
- Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?
- What can I do now to help this child or young person?
- What can my agency do to help this child or young person?
- What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?
The has four steps – note that the voice of the child should be evident at all stages (UNCRC, Article 12).
The are areas in which children and young people need to progress in order to do well now and in the future. They allow practitioners to consider information, which may identify needs and concerns, and to make decisions about what should be done to appropriately support children and young people. They are used to record observations, events and concerns and help in deciding if a Universal Child’s Plan (UCP) is required.
The helps us to understand a child or young person’s whole world. In an assessment process it can be used to explore strengths, needs and risks.
The can be used in more complex situations to help organise and analyse information when there is a perceived risk to a child or young person and will help structure and assist in the analysis of information.
Planning, action and review using the This can be used to develop and individual plan to provide support.
Further information is available through the following link -
ɬ GIRFEC contact details
Beth Wiseman - Senior Manager Child Health and Maternity
Email: beth.wiseman2@nhs.scot
Susan Galloway - Education Manager
email: education.asl@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Alan Chapman – Service Manager
