Scotland — Our Blog

Throughout our partnership with Inclusion as Prevention we’ve engaged with 98 young people to design and improve services, and early intervention for young people with experience of the justice system. It is estimated that a further 300 also participated through surveys and attending workshops. We’ve tackled challenges, overcome barriers, and learned together as a team to understand the system in South Lanarkshire, to ensure young people aren’t just supported when they enter the justice system, but that the services are there to prevent them from doing so.

Hard won lessons: A decade review bringing about systemic change in children's services

At the Lab, we’ve been developing and refining our approach to facilitating systemic change, by generating and integrating diverse evidence of what children and young people need and want. We have had varying degrees of success. We’re releasing our report from the Early Action Project in Renfrewshire to both reflect on our experiences of trying to bring about systemic change in children’s services and encourage others to learn from our approach, to support the long-term sustainability of systems change that is both wanted and needed.

News, Publications, ReflectionBLOG16 August 2023Kate, systems change, Early Action, Rachel Lily, Kate Tobin, Scotland, Renfrewshire

Incorporating youth voice into systems change in South Lanarkshire

Over the last five years we have been working to change the systems of support for young people who come into conflict with law in Scotland. We’ve been doing that through co-production with young people to re-imagine the kinds of supports that help keep them included in their communities and in the supports on offer to them. Too often young people are excluded from systems of support when they come into conflict with the law. This project fundamentally reframes the work of prevention and early intervention to be young-person centred and inclusive of their diverse experiences and needs.

Fed up with traditional Theories of Change? Try Dartington’s integrated approach.

There are many different approaches to producing a Theory of Change. It can be a tricky balancing act between bold ambition and feasibility. Go too big, and your Theory of Change feels unattainable and fails to become a useful tool. Get too boxed in by practicalities, and it feels uninspiring.

We’d argue for a Theory of Change to be useful, it must adopt an integrated approach. We talk about the strengths of an integrated approach in our strategy paper launched early last year. We have been attempting to further progress it ever since (with a lot of success, failure, and learning along the way).

The relationship between coercive control and mental health

Domestic abuse charities and campaigners have long highlighted the emotional impact of domestic abuse - and in particular the impact of coercive and controlling behaviours. We've seen the results of these hard years of campaigning and raising public awareness in Parliament testimonies, mainstream media, and ultimately in law and have more understanding now more than ever, of the devastating effects it can have on victims’ mental health. The ongoing Early Action Systems Change partnership work between Dartington, Renfrewshire Council, Engage Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership and a range of voluntary services, has highlighted coercive control in relationships can start before adulthood, and that this experience might prevent victims from accessing mental health support.

The Care Review: Putting our money where our heart is

Reflecting on the findings of the Independent Care Review: there’s a big idea at its heart that goes beyond improving outcomes for those with care experience, but are we ready for it?

ReflectionBLOG31 March 2020Maxwell, Care Review, Analysis, Reflection, Scotland

Early Action: Learning from young people

This year, the Lab, in partnership with Renfrewshire Council, Engage and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, hosted a Learning day for the Early Action Systems Change initiative in Renfrewshire. The initiative aims to address two priority challenges: emotional wellbeing of children and young people, and coercive control in adolescent relationships. Ruth Wallace, System Change Lead Officer, from Renfrewshire Council explores what was learned that day, and what is means for the future of the area …

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