Angus Community Planning Partnership has received a very positive evaluation from the Care Inspectorate for services supporting children and young people at risk of harm.
The Care Inspectorate joint inspection awarded a rating of ‘Very Good’ for the impact of services on the lives of children and young people. This reflects the effective work of the Angus Community Planning Partnership, which includes Angus Council, NHS Tayside, Angus Integrated Joint Board, Police Scotland and a wide range of third sector organisations.
This multi-agency work is overseen by the Angus Chief Officers Group for Public Protection, who work collectively to ensure a coordinated, safe, and supportive response to children and families across the area.
The inspection, carried out between September 2024 and March 2025, involved listening to the experiences of children, young people, parents and carers.
The report highlights the major strengths in how partners across services in Angus are working together to make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people at risk of harm.
Strengths highlighted in the report include:
- Children and young people were being kept safe as a result of effective support.
- Children and young people were able to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives.
- Most children and young people had trusting, positive relationships with staff, helping to keep them safe and get support when needed.
- Children and young people’s wellbeing was improving as a consequence of early help and preventative approaches. Universal and third sector providers are working well together to ensure timeous support.
- Life chances for most children and young people were improving as a result of the support they were receiving from a range of services. A confident, well-trained workforce were effectively reducing risk for children and young people.
The report identified two main areas for improvement that the partnership will work on to ensure consistency in experience and outcomes for children and young people. The report found;
- A range of services were providing children and young people with support to meet their emotional needs. However, not all children and young people had timely access to support to address mental health and wellbeing concerns.
- The partnership were taking action to address challenges in recruitment and retention which were affecting the continuity of some relationships.
Ewen West, Independent Chair of the Protecting People Angus Strategic Committee said:
“The report is a strong endorsement of the hard work, compassion and commitment shown by everyone involved in supporting and protecting children and young people across Angus.
“It highlights the strength of our partnership approach and the professionalism of the workforce, alongside the value placed on listening to children and families whose voices help shape the services they rely on.
“We will continue to work together to build on this, with a clear focus on enhancing access to mental health and wellbeing supports and bringing greater stability to the social work workforce. Our shared goal remains to ensure that every child in Angus can grow up safe, loved and respected.”
Nicky Connor, Chair of Angus Chief Officers Group for Public Protection and NHS Tayside Chief Executive said:
“Our teams across Angus are dedicated to supporting children and young people in our area, and this report recognises how hard they work to provide a coordinated, safe and supportive response to children and families.
“The report reflects the positive relationships and strength of partner agencies working together across our services to make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people.
“We welcome the findings of this joint inspection which highlight the effectiveness of this multi-agency partnership working, as well as the importance of ensuring that children, young people and their families are meaningfully involved in shaping the services that support them. We will continue to work together across services to improve and further strengthen outcomes for children and young people at risk of harm in Angus.”
You can view the published Care Inspectorate inspection report and their press statement on the Care Inspectorate's website.
The Care Inspectorate young inspection volunteers have also produced a video which is intended to explain our findings to children and young people.