Digital Strategy

For the Children’s Hearings System

Enabling better informed decisions about children and young people

2

Introduction 3

Context 4

Scope 5

Vision 7

Objectives:

VoiceoftheChild 10 DigitalSkill 12 DigitalTechnologies 14 SharingInformation 16

Principles 18

Makingithappen 20

Moreinformation 22

CONTENTS

PublicservicereformisdrivingchangewithintheChildren’sHearingsSystemwiththetraditionalwaysofdoingthingsevolvingintodigitaltechnologiesandconsiderationisbeinggiventohownewwaysofworkingmightbedevelopedwiththeincreasingavailabilityanddevelopmentofdigitaltechnologies.Increasinglythereisanexpectationthatalternativestotraditionaldeliverymethodswillbeavailablethroughonlineaccessandthatmanagementinformationwillbeshared.Children,youngpeopleandtheirfamiliescanaccessinformation24/7throughnotonlycomputersandlaptops,butnowthroughmobilephones,gameconsolesandtelevisions.TheChildren’sHearingsSystemsneedstoembracedigitaltechnologybytransforminghowwethink,howweengageandhowweinteractwithserviceusersandpartners.

DigitaltechnologycanbeusedtocollaborateandshareservicesandinformationsecurelythatimproveoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeopleinScotland,improveperformance,improveproductivityandcreateefficiencies.Partnershipworkingiskeytoensuringthattherightinformationisdeliveredtotherightpeopleattherighttimetoreducetheamountoftimechildren,youngpeopleandfamiliesspendbeingprocessedbythesystem.

TheChildren’sHearingsSystemhasapproximately3,000volunteerswhoarecriticaltoensuringthatchildrenandyoungpeopleinScotlandareprovidedwithhelpandsupport.Thenumberofcasesreachingthesevolunteersisanticipatedtoincreaseinfutureyearswithcasesbecomingincreasinglycomplex.ExpectationsplacedonvolunteersandtheChildren’sHearingsSystemasawholearerisingwithregardstheuseofdigitaltechnologieswithinChildren’sHearings.

TheChildren’sHearingsSystemDigitalStrategyfocusesonchildrenandyoungpeopleandgettingitrightforeverychild(GIRFEC).Allagenciesintouchwithchildrenandyoungpeoplemustplaytheirpartinmakingsurethatyoungpeoplearehealthy,achieving,nurtured,active,respected,responsible,includedand,aboveall,safe.Continuousimprovement,makingqualitydecisionsthatareproportionateandensuringthatallstaff,partnersandvolunteersarevalued,supportedandtrainedarekeyelementstosuccess.

Thedigitalstrategyfocusesonhowkeyprojectswillimprovetheservicetochildren,youngpeopleandfamiliesandincreaseparticipationthroughtheuseofdigitaltechnology.ThetimetakentojourneythroughtheChildren’sHearingsSystemwillbereducedandbetteroutcomeswillbeachievedbyimprovingtheinformationflowthroughthesystem.Accesstoonlinetrainingwillleadtobetterdecisionmaking.ImprovementswillbemadetoinformationgovernancetobringbetterefficiencythroughdigitalHearingsandtoreduceriskbystrengtheninginformationsecurity.

INTRODUCTION

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TheChildren’sHearingsDigitalStrategyhasbeencreatedtoalignwiththeJustice Digital Strategy in ScotlandwhichinturnsupportstheScottish Government Public Service Reform. TheChildren’sHearingsSystemDigitalStrategywillsupportScotland’s Digital FutureandwillworktogetherwithpartnersacrossothersectorstoimproveoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeopleinScotland.

PublicbodiesinScotlandarecollaboratingtoensurethatservicesarejoineduptomeettheneedsofserviceusersinScotland.BothChildren’sHearingsScotland(CHS)andtheScottishChildren’sReporterAdministration(SCRA)arecommittedtocollaboratingwitheachothertoimprovethechildren’shearingssystem.TheChildren’sHearingsImprovementPartnershipmulti-agencygroup(CHIP)iscommittedtodeliveringbetteroutcomesforchildrenacrosstheChildren’sHearingsSystemandwillprovideachanneltoengagepartnerstoadoptadigitalfirstapproach.

TheJusticeDigitalStrategyinScotlandwillusedigitaltechnologywherepossibletobroadenaccesstojustice,improvequalityofserviceandsafeguardtherightsofcitizensanduser.SCRAhasaroletoplayindeliveringtheoutcomesoftheprogrammewhichisunderpinnedbynationalpolicyandnationalsolutions.JusticeprojectswilldirectlysupporttheChildren’sHearingsSystemandasconnectedsystemsdevelopprovidethecapabilitytosharemoreinformation;provideonlinehelpandsupporttostakeholdersandbetterinformdecisionmaking.

CHSandSCRAwillensurethatcorporateplansarealignedwithnotonlyeachother,butalsowithpartnersinordertoachievebetteroutcomesandidentifyopportunitiestodevelopnewsolutionsthatwillallowustotransformtheChildrenHearingsSystem.

CONTEXT

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ChangeswithinthebroadertechnologicalworldhavecreatedanexpectationthatdigitaltechnologieswillbeavailablewithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem.Usershaveanexpectationthattheywillbeabletoaccessinformationonline,thatonlineusersupportwillbeprovidedandthatquerieswillberespondedtowithinamatterofminutes.

Personalisationoftheonlineexperienceisdrivingorganisationstobetterunderstandtheirwebsiteuserswithdataanalyticsconsideredtobeofmorevaluethaneverbefore.Thereisanincreasedawarenessthatalternativeinformationdeliverymechanismsshouldbeavailablewithtraditionalcommunicationchannelsseenasslowandinhibiting.

Technologyhasbecomeanintegralpartofeverydaylifewithaccesstoservicesavailablethroughamultitudeofdifferentdevices,applicationsandplatforms.

Childrenandyoungpeopledonotseebarrierstousingtechnologyandcanspendhoursusingtechnologytonotonlyspeaktooneanother,buttoshareideasandexperiences.Tabletdevices,mobilephones,laptopsandPCsareincreasinglyusedtoreplacetraditionalmethodsofcommunicationwithemail,videocallandinstantmessagingallavailableonthemove.

OverallperceptionsoftheChildren’sHearingsSystemfromchildren,youngpeopleandpartnersarethatmodernisationisrequired.ThereisalsoageneralappetiteforchangefrompartnerswhoareabletoidentifyhowtechnologycouldbenefittheChildren’sHearingsSystem.

Indefiningthescopeofourdigitalstrategyitisimportanttorecognisethatthefocuswillbeonuserandbusinessneed,asopposedtotechnology.TheScottishGovernmentDigitalStrategyhighlightsthatservicesneedtobere-designedtomeetuserneedsandtheChildren’sHearingsDigitalStrategyplacesthechildatthecentreofeverythingwedo.Wewillprovideamuchbetteruserexperienceforchildrenandyoungpeoplethroughtheuseofdigitalengagement.

ThewaythattheChildren’sHearingsSystemworks,theoperationalprocessesandproceduresthatarefollowed,willbere-designedtobeleanerandmoreefficient.

SCOPE

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OurChildren’sHearingsDigitalStrategyisabouttransformingtheservicebygatheringintelligencefromourusers,partnersanddatatoensurethatbusinessbenefitsareachieved.Digitaltechnologywillsupportthesechangesbutitisnotaboutdoingitdigitallybecausewecan.Itisaboutbeinginformedastohowwecanusetechnologytosupporttheprocesstoachieveourstrategicaims.

TheChildren’sHearingsSystemDigitalStrategyhasbeendevelopedbyconsultingwithchildren,youngpeopleandpartners,alongwiththestaffandvolunteerswhosupportthesystem.Everythingthatiscontainedwithinthestrategycamefromtheinitialconsultationexercise.

IndeliveringthedigitalstrategywewillneedtoensurethatthepeoplewhoarethekeystakeholdersintheChildren’sHearingsSystem–thevolunteers,staff,partnersandthepublic–continuetobeconsulted.

Anunderstandingofhowchildren,youngpeopleandfamiliesjourneyacrosstheHearingsSystemwillbedevelopedwithlifeeventsmappedintotheserviceredesigntoensurethatcontentisdevelopedasajoinedupjourney.Serviceswillbedrivenbytheneedsofserviceusers.

Serviceinteractionwillbebuiltfromknowledgegainedaspartofpilotexerciseswhichwillbeevaluatedbasedonconsultationwithusersontheirviewsandexperiencesoftheirparticipationthroughdigitalmeans.Theresultsofsuchconsultationwilldrivethedirectionofthestrategytoensureprioritiesarefocusedontheneedsofchildrenandyoungpeople.

Thevariousorganisation’sbusinessstrategiesfocusontheoutcomestheywilldeliver.TheChildren’sHearingsSystemDigitalStrategywillfocusonhowkeyprojectswillimprovetheservicetochildren,youngpeopleandfamilies,reducecosts,improveinformationgovernance,improvesecurityandimprovethetimescalestakentojourneythroughthesystem–allleadingtobetteroutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeople.

SCOPE contd

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The vision istocreateachildcentredhearingsystem,staffedwithdigitallycapablevolunteersandemployees,whoconfidentlyutilisedigitaltechnologiestoimproveoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeopleinScotland.

TheChildren’sHearingsDigitalStrategyhas4coreobjectivesandpriorities:

Voice of the Child–Childrenandyoungpeoplewillhavechoicesabouthowtheyengagewiththehearingprocessanddigitaltechnologywillprovidethemwithvariouschannelstocommunicatetheirviews.Ensuringthatthevoiceofthechildisheardwithinthesystemisofvitalimportance.ExtendingtheuseoftechnologywithintheChildren’sHearingsSystemwillnotonlymeettheexpectationsofchildrenandyoungpeoplebutwillalsoengagethemwiththetoolsthattheyincreasinglyuseaspartofeverydaylife.

Providingchildrenandyoungpeoplewithelectronictoolsthatgatherstheirviewscanhelptoincreasetheirparticipationwithinthehearingsystem.Traditionalthinkingsaysthatparticipationcanonlybeachievedthroughfacetofaceinteractionhoweverresearchisbeginningtoemerge(BPS,2015)thatitmaybelesstraumaticforsomechildrenandyoungpeopletoengagewiththeprocessthroughelectronicmethods.

VISION

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VISION

TheHearingsettingcanbeveryintimidatingforchildrenandyoungpeopleandifwecangathertheirviewsthroughlesstraditionalchannelsthiswouldassistwithhavingtheiropinionsheard.Decisionstakenaffecttheirlivesanditisvitalthattheirviewsarerepresentedinthedecisionmakingprocess.

Digital Skills–DigitaltechnologyhasbeenidentifiedasanenablertoimprovetheChildren’sHearingsSystembyincreasingparticipation,reducingriskandimprovingefficiency.StaffandvolunteerswithintheHearingsSystemwillbedigitallyenabledandconfidentthattheycanusetechnologyasasupportwithintheirrole.Traditionalmethodswillstillbethereforthosethatneeditandweshouldn’tbeproposingtoremovethose.

EveryonewithinthesystemwillneedtobesupportedinordertoachievetheexpectedbenefitstechnologycanbringandtheScottishGovernmentDigitalInclusionProjecthasbeendevelopedtoassistwithprovidingaccesstodigital.TouchdownspotsinbuildingswithfreeWi-Fiaccess,freedigitalskillsworkshopsandfreeonlinedevelopmentpackageswillensurethatthereiscomfortwiththetechnologiesinuse.Nooneshouldbeexcludedthroughalackofaccesstotheinternetordigitalskills.

Digital Technologies–ThedigitaltechnologyinusewithintheHearingwillbefocusedontheneedsofchildren,youngpeople,families,PanelMembers,Reportersandpartners.Thetechnologywithinthebusinesswillbeabletoadapteasilytosuitchangingrequirements.Technologywillbeusedtoimprovetheefficiencyofcommunicationwithpartnersandimprovetheserviceforchildren,youngpeopleandfamilies.

Digitaltechnologiesarepartofeverydaylifeandweneedtoensurethatwhenwere-designprocessesweconsidertheuseoftechnology.Technologyisanenablernotadriver.Weneedtodesigntheprocessandgetthetechnologytomeetitratherthantheotherwayabout.Itisnotaboutusingtechnologybecausewecanbutusingitbecauseitmakeslifeeasier.

Technologywillbringefficienciestothesystemandsavingswillbemadeintermsoftimeandcosthowevertherealbenefitwillbefoundintheimprovementtotheserviceweprovidetochildrenandyoungpeople.

Sharing Information –InformationisattheheartofalldecisionmakingwithintheHearingsSystemandbyimprovingthequalityandappropriatenessoftheinformationwithinthesystemwecanimprovethequalityofdecisionsthataremade.Gettingtherightinformationintothesystemthatgoestotherightpeopleattherighttimewillleadtobetterdecisionmaking.

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SCOPE

Havingthemostuptodateinformationwillbringalsobenefitsintermsoftime.Itislikelythatcaseswillprogressatafasterpaceasimprovedcommunicationwillreducethetimetakentomakeinformedandappropriatedecisions.

Reducinganxiety,reducingstigma,improvingthetimetojourneythroughthesystemandimprovingthedecisionmakingprocesswillimprovetheserviceforeverychildandyoungpersonwhoenterstheChildren’sHearingsSystem.

ThefollowingdiagramsummarisessomeoftheideasandthinkingontheChildren’sHearingsDigitalStrategy.

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OBJECTIVES

Childrenandyoungpeopleusetechnologyaspartofeverydaylifeandmanyeducationestablishmentsprovidetechnologywithintheclassroomwithhomeworkallocatedtobeconductedonline.

ThereisagrowingexpectationthattechnologywillbeusedwithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem.

ChildrenandyoungpeopleareatthecentreoftheChildren’sHearingsSystemandwewillensurethattheuseofdigitaltechnologieswillsupporttheincreasedparticipationofchildrenandyoungpeoplewithintheHearingsSystem.

Weneedtoensurethatthevoiceofthechildisencouragedandheardatallstagesthroughoutthesystem,bothfromtheperspectiveofbetterinformingthedecisionsaboutachildandfromlearningfromtheirexperiencewithinthesystemtoallowustoimprovehowwedothings.

InterviewsinvolvingchildrenandyoungpeoplewhohaveexperiencedtraumaticeventsarevideoedwithinScotlandinaninformalsettingandproducedatalaterdateasevidenceinproceedings.Theprocessisundertakentoaveryhighstandardwiththefocusonminimisingthetraumaonthechild.

Ensuringwemaintainasinformalanatmosphereaspossibleisvitaltoallowthevoiceofthechildtobeheard.ChildrencanbeveryintimidatedbyHearingsettingsandarenotconfidentthattheycanexpresstheiropinion.ThePanelMemberscanconsistofpeoplewhotheyarelikelytohavenevermetbeforeandtheHearingenvironmentcanfeelveryformal.

OFCOM data shows that

70% of children (5-15)

have access to a tablet

at home with 34% of

children (5-15) owning

their own tablet.

In the financial year 2013/14

there were 19,077 children

referred to the Children’s

Hearings System. There

were 38,200 hearings, 6,801

pre-hearing panels and

at the end of 2014 there

were 11,420 children on

Compulsory Supervision

Orders.

VOICE OFTHE CHILD

INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITHIN THE SYSTEM

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OBJECTIVES

InordertoencouragemoreparticipationofchildrenandyoungpeoplewithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem,thefollowingsolutionswillbeconsidered:

YoungPeople’sBoard–ThecreationofaYoungPeople’sBoardwouldprovidechildrenandyoungpeoplewithexperienceoftheHearingsSystemtheopportunitytohaveadecisionmakingandscrutinisingroleinthecontinuousimprovementanddevelopmentoftheHearingsSystem,usingtheirdirectexperience,knowledgeandperspective.

Pre-HearingOnlineIntroduction–Asingle,simplifiedonlinepresencetorepresenttheChildren’sHearingsSystemasawholewillenablegreaterclarityforchildrenandyoungpeopleabouttheprocess.OnlinefacilitiessuchaschatwithaReporter,getavirtualtouroftheHearingssuiteorviewyourPanelMemberbiographycouldbemadeavailable.

VideoStatements–ItispossiblethatchildrenwillfeelmoreabletoparticipatewithintheHearingiftheycangiveinformationintheformofavideostatementpriortothehearing.Thiscouldincludetherecordingofan“AllAboutMe”typemessage.

VideoConferencing–ChildrencouldattendtheHearingthroughvideotechnologyforcaseswheretravellingislikelytocausestressoranxiety.TraditionalvideoconferencingunitscanbeveryintimidatingforchildrenandalternativesareavailablethroughsoftwaredeploymenttotabletdevicesthatwouldmimicservicesprovidedbyFacetimeorSkypeinasecuremanner.

Digital“AllaboutMe”–Anonlineversionofthe“AllaboutMe”formcouldbemadeavailableonasecurewebsite.ThiswouldprovideanalternativemethodofcommunicatingwithSCRAinamannerthatmanychildrenarenowfamiliarwith.

DigitalWaitingRoom-TechnologycouldbeprovidedwithinthewaitingroomstorelaxchildrenandyoungpeoplebeforeenteringtheHearing.AttendingaHearingcanbeastressfuleventandtechnologycouldbeusedtokeeptheminformedofrelevantinformationandprovideafocustokeepthemoccupied.

ManyofthechildrenandyoungpeoplemaywishtoaccessinformationonlinewiththeirowndevicesandpublicWi-FiwithintheHearingsuitecouldbeprovided. 

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OBJECTIVES contd

Inordertogainthepotentialbenefitsthatthedigitaltechnologiescandeliver,weneedtoensurethatthepeopleinvolvedinthesystemcanusethetoolseffectively.

AcrossthevolunteersandstaffthatmakeuptheChildren’sHearingsSystem,wemustdevelopdigitalcapabilityandconfidence.Weneedtoensurethatweprovidetheopportunitiesfordevelopmentwhichwillallowtheachievementofadesiredlevelofcapability.

Thefollowingsolutionswillbeconsidered:

E-Learning–E-learningcouldbeadoptedasthepreferredchoiceforlearning,whereitisdeemedappropriate.Partnershaveindicatedthattheywouldwelcomee-learningpackagesthatprovideinformationonspecificareasoftheChildren’sHearingsSystemfornewandexistingstaffmembers.KnowledgeoftheHearingsSystemwithinthegeneralpublicislowande-learningpackagescouldbeprovidedviathewebsitetoraiseawareness.

EncouragingPersonalDevelopment–Inmanycasesthecoreskillstooperatedigitaltechnologieseffectivelyandefficientlyarecurrentlyunderdeveloped.Thereisaneedtoimprovedigitalskillsandimprovetheconfidenceofindividualsintheuseofdigitaltechnologies.Thehistoryoftheuseofdigitaltechnologieswithinthesystemhasnotalwaysbeenapositiveexperienceandthereisanopportunitytoprovidedigitallearningpackagesthatarefocusedondevelopinguserneedsandwants.

SkillsDevelopment–Asaminimum,weneedtoestablishaworkingbaselineofdigitalskills.ThefollowingbasicdigitalskillswillneedtobedevelopedinallthosethatwillberequiredtousetechnologywithintheHearingSystem.

DIGITAL SKILLS

ENHANCE THE CAPABILITY, CAPACITY AND CONFIDENCE OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

Scottish Government figures show

that the percentage of adults using the

internet for personal use in Scotland

has increased from 63% in 2007 to 80%

in 2013. The largest increases are in the

older age groups.

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EnhancedSkills–Itisanticipatedthatwiththerapidchangesintechnology,thattherewillbeaneedtocontinuouslyimprovetheskilllevels.ThereisashortageoftechnologicallyskilledworkerswithinthePublicSectorandwecouldencouragethedevelopmentofatechnicalgroupacrosspartnerswhowouldsharetheirdigitalskills.ThiswouldbenefittheChildren’sHearingsSystembyreducingtherequirementtoengageconsultantsfortechnologicalprojects.

DigitalChampions–TheScottishGovernmentDigitalChampionsDevelopmentProgrammehasbeencreatedtoinspireleadersaboutthetransformationalpotentialofdigitaltoolsandtechnologyandtogivethemtheconfidencetotakeactiontoreleasethatpotential.TheChildren’sHearingsSystemwouldbenefitgreatlyfrominvolvementinthisprogrammetodrivethesectorwideorganisationalchangeweareseekingtoachieve.Withthehighlevelofcollaborationplannedfrompartners,strategicleadersneedtoensuretheyaredrivingthedigitalagendatoimprovetheoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeople.

 

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OBJECTIVES contd

Digitaltechnologiesprovidethefacilityforpeopletoworkinmoreeffective,efficientandagilemanners.TechnologyhasbecomepartofeverydaylifeandwillbeusedtosupporttheHearingsSystem.

PartnershaveaccesstotechnologytoengagewiththeHearingsSystemandthiscouldbeextendedtothefollowingexamplesofuse:

ElectronicCourt–Inattendingcourt,accesstoinformationisvitaltoallconcerned.FromtheChildren’sReporter’sperspective,havingfast,easyaccesstoanumberofsourcesofinformationiskeytobeingabletoprovideanexcellentservice.

Havingamobiledevicewithcurrentcasedetailsavailable,alongwithaccesstopracticeandpolicyinformationwouldbeextremelyusefulandwouldmatchthetoolsusedbyotherpartners.

SecureElectronicTransmissionHearingspapersarecurrentlysenttoPanelMembers,children,youngpeopleandfamiliesinpaperformat.SendingHearinginformationelectronicallytoPanelMemberswouldhavesignificantbenefitsintermsoftime.

ThereiscurrentlyadelayofseveraldaysforPanelMemberstoreceiveHearingpapersthroughthepostalsystem.Ifsentelectronically,PanelMemberswouldhavemoretimewiththeinformationtoallowthemtopreparefortheHearing.Furthermore,thesecureelectronictransmissionofHearinginformationpackswouldreducetheriskofunintentionaldatabreaches.

The Global Stats Counter

for 2014 shows that over

a 12 month period the

use of mobile devices

to access the internet

increased by 67%. The

most popular means to

access the internet is the

desktop.

The BBC found that 69% of Primary

and Secondary schools in the UK use

tablet computers as a learning tool.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

USE TECHNOLOGY TO FACILITATE A MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SYSTEM

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SecureDataExchangePortal–Toimprovethelevelofdigitalcommunicationwithpartners,asecureportalcouldbecreatedthatwouldfacilitatethesecureuploadingandretrievalofappropriatecaseinformation.

Informationcouldbestoredonthesecureportalwithaccessprovidedasappropriateonaviewonlybasis.Thiswouldensuretheinformationassetownerretainedcontroloftheirinformationandduplicateinformationwasnotstoredinmultiplelocations.

Authentication–Inordertoshareinformationsecurelyandefficiently,itisessentialtohaverobustandsecureauthenticationmechanismsinplace.Weneedtoensurethatonlythepeople,whoshouldhaveaccesstoinformation,dohaveaccesstotheinformation.

The“myaccount”couldbeusedastheauthenticationmethod.

VideoConference–Partners,particularlythosewithinEducationandHealth,couldattendtheChildren’sHearingthroughtheuseofvideoconferencingtechnology.Teachersandhealthprofessionalswhoattendahearingcanfindthatthistakesupasignificantpartoftheirdayandcoverhastobearrangedforthem.

HavingtheabilitytoattendtheHearingbyvideoconferencehasbeenidentifiedasanareaofinterestandhasbeenrepresentedbyteachers.

TrackMyCase–Theabilitytoretrieveinformationonchildrenandyoungpeople’scasescouldbemadeavailableonline.Thiswouldallowchildren,youngpeopleandfamiliestocheckontheprogressoftheircase.Thisfacilitycouldalsobeextendedtowitnesseswhoarerequiredtoattendcourttogiveevidence.

TextService–PanelMembers,shouldtheychoosetobepartofthetextservice,couldreceiveupdatesaboutHearingsasandwhensentbySCRA.Textcouldalsobeusedasanothercommunicationtoolforbusinesscontinuitypurposesoronlineaccessvalidations.

 

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OBJECTIVES contd

SHARING INFORMATION

GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AT THE RIGHT TIME

ThroughouttheChildren’sHearingsSystemdecisionsaremadeinthebestinterestsofchildrenandyoungpeople.Inordertomakethebestpossibledecisionsatthekeydecisionpoints,weneedtoensurethatthebestpossibleinformationisavailabletothoseinvolvedinthedecisionprocess.

Theinformationneedstobeuptodate,accurate,comprehensiveandpresentedinthewayinwhichitismostusefultotherecipientoftheinformation.

Historicallywehaveexperiencedlengthydocumentscontainingagreatdealofinformationbeingpresentedtodecisionmakers,expectingthemtoanalysetheinformationthoroughlyandmakeappropriatedecisionsuponthis.Thishasprovedtobechallengingforallofthoseconcernedandmuchefforthasbeenputintoaddresstheissues.Digitaltechnologyofferspossiblesolutions.

Thefollowingsolutionswillbeconsidered:

UsefulandUsableInformation–Inconsideringthehandlingofinformationusingdigitaltechnologies,wecanmoveforwardinhowwepresentinformation.Nolongerareweconstrainedbypaperdocumentswhicharedifficulttodigest,retrieveandinterpretinformationfrom.Wehavetheopportunitytopresentinformationinawaythatismostmeaningfultotherecipient,structuringtheinformationinawaythatallowsthemtolocateinformationeasilyandquicklythroughhyperlinks,bookmarks,etc.

EqualityofAccess–Itisimportanttoensurethattheinformationweprovidetothosewhohavetherighttoreceiveithaveequalityofaccessandconsistencyofinformation.Thecontentofanydigitalinformationprovidedshouldmatchinformationprovidedinpaperformatbutweneedtoimprovethewaythatpeoplecanaccessrelevantappropriateinformation.

In the financial year

2013/2014 there were

32,316 referrals made to

the Children’s Reporter.

24,178 referrals came

from the Police, 6,389

came from Social

Work and 1,316 from

Education.

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StandardisedDataSharing–EstablishingnationalstandardsfortheexchangeofinformationwithintheChildren’sHearingsSystemwouldassistgreatlyinimprovingtheeffectivenessandefficiencyofthepartnerorganisations.Inordertoachievethisweneedtoworkwithpartnerorganisationstomoveawayfromthewritingoftraditionaldocuments,embracethemovementtotheChild’sPlanthroughGIRFEC(scheduledtocomeintolawinAugust2016)andlookathowwecanshareinformationmoreeffectivelyacrossthesystemusingstandardisedinformationformats.

InordertoachievethetruebenefitsthatdigitaltechnologiescanbringtotheChildren’sHearingsSystem,weshouldmovetosystemtosystemcommunicationofsignificanteventssuchasreferralandhearingoutcomes.Agreeddatastandardswouldallowsystemstocommunicatewitheachotherandautopopulateappropriatefieldsthatarecurrentlycompletedmanually.

HearingInformationPacks–Inaddition,byensuringthatweachievebetterinformationtheHearinginformationpackswillbemoreusefulandusablefordecisionmaking.PanelMemberswillbasetheirdecisionsonthemostuptodatedevelopmentsavailable.

HolisticView–TheNamedPersonrolehascreatedaneedtobeabletoviewinformationrelatingtothechildoryoungpersonwiththemostuptodatedevelopmentsavailable.AcentralsharingpointisrequiredthatallagenciescanfeedintothatwillallowtheNamedPersonaccesstoinformationincludingthechild’splan.SignpostingofInformationandServices–TheChildren’sHearingsSystemmustbepresentedonlineinawaythatprovidesclearandsimpleadviceandguidancetoanyoneinterestedinthesystem.Thisinvolveschildrenandyoungpeoplewhomaybelookingforhelp,adviceandadvocacyservices.Itdoesnotmattertothemwhichorganisationprovidestheinformationorservice.Simplyhowdotheygettheinformationandhelpthattheyneedtoensuretheirviewisgatheredandheard.

ManagementInformation–Keytothecontinuousimprovementofthesystemistheproductionofgoodqualitymanagementinformationsharedappropriatelyacrosspartners.ManagementinformationisbespoketoeachorganisationthatinteractswiththeHearingsSystemhoweveraholisticviewofappropriateinformationwherejustifiedwouldprovideamorerealisticandaccurateoverviewoftheHearingsSystemandachildoryoungperson’slifecircumstances.

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OBJECTIVES contd

DataStrategy–SCRAisanofficialstatisticsproviderandaround22datareportsaresenttopartnersonamonthlybasis.ThereisawealthofinformationwithintheHearingsystemandresearchisundertakenwithinspecificareas.Provisionofnon-sensitiveinformationthroughopendataisavailablethroughcorporatewebsites.Informationisnotcollatedacrosspartnerstoidentifytrendsorpatternsandthiscouldbeco-ordinatedthroughashareddatastrategy.

ThefollowingprincipleswilldrivetheuseofdigitaltechnologieswithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem:

Child-CentredThesolutionsappliedwithintheHearingsSystemwillfocusprimarilyonthewantsandneedsofchildrenandyoungpeople.Technologieswillbeusedforimprovingparticipationinthesystemandencouragingthevoiceofthechildtobeheard.Solutionswillbringpeopleclosertogetherandimprovethelevelofmeaningfulinteraction.

UserFocusedDigitaltechnologiesusedwithintheHearingsSystemwillbedevelopedwiththeenduserstoensurethattheyarefitforpurpose.Technologywillbeanenablernotadriverandfocusonuserneeds.Digitalsolutionswillbesimple,easytouseandintuitiveenoughthatuserssucceedfirsttime,unaided.

DigitalInclusionTherewillbeacommitmenttoretaintraditionalmeansofcommunicationandaccesstoservices.Wewillnotseektodisadvantageanyonethatdoesnothaveaccesstotheinternet.

Multi-ChannelChoiceChildren,youngpeopleandfamilieswillhavechoiceonhowtheyinteractandparticipatewiththeHearingsSysteminaconsistentlyappliedmanner.

PRINCIPLES

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PRINCIPLES

Theywillreceiveaconsistentandhighqualityserviceregardlessoftheirchannelofcommunication,includingface-to-face,phone,email,andon-line.Theappropriateassisteddigitalsupportwillbeinplaceandwewillprovidechoicesothatwearenotforcingdigital.

DigitalbyDefaultThedigitalchannelshouldbethefirstchoiceforaccessinginformationwithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem.Asustainablemulti-disciplinaryteamshouldbedevelopedthatfocusesonservicedesign,buildandoperatingtheservice.

SecureTheconfidentiality,integrityandsecurityoftheinformationwithinthehearingssystemwillbemaintainedatalltimes.Personaldatacollectionwillbeappropriatewithsecuritylevelsandlegalresponsibilitiesmet.Riskswillbemitigatedandinformationgovernanceadheredto.

ICTAlignmentTheICTandDigitaltechnologiesusedwillbealignedwiththebusinessvision,objectives,andstrategiesthatwillsupporttheChildren’sHearingsbusiness.Systemswillbeflexibletosupportbusinessneedsorchangingrequirementsofthebusinessorlegislation.TheywillbereadilyabletobeincorporatedintotheICTInfrastructurewiththeminimumofdisruptiontousers.

Cost/BenefitTheICTwillbemanagedtoensureitiscosteffectiveandprovidesvalueformoneywithouttransferringthecosttovolunteers,children,youngpeopleandfamilies.

SelectingtheMostAppropriateTechnologiesThetoolsandsystemsusedtobuild,host,operateandmeasuretheservicewillbeevaluatedtoensuretheyarethemostappropriate.Planswillbecreatedforthephasingoutofanyexistingalternativetoolsorsystems,whereappropriate.

BuildingandProtectingaDigitalFootprintThesystemswillimprovethevalueofinformationheldwithintheHearingsSystemandenablethecreationofadigitalfootprintforeverychildthatenterstheprocess.Itisimportanttoremember,whenconsideringtheuseofdigitaltechnologies,thatareviewofallsystemsusedshouldbeundertakenatleasteverythreeyearstoensurethattheycontinuetomeettheneedsoftheorganisationanddeliverthebestpossibleoutcomes.

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InordertoachievethevisionsetoutintheChildren’sHearingsSystemdigitalstrategy,appropriategovernanceandchangemanagementframeworksmustbeadoptedensuringthataholisticapproachistakentomanagingthechange.

GovernanceandManagementoftheDigitalProgramme–ThedigitalchangeprogrammewillbegovernedthroughaChildren’sHearingsSystemDigitalStrategyBoardthathasrepresentationfromChildren’sHearingsScotland,ScottishGovernmentandScottishChildren’sReporterAdministrationSeniorManagementTeams.ProjectsandinitiativesidentifiedwillbeformallysubmittedforreviewtotheDigitalBoardandaresubjecttoapproval.

Principles,policiesandframeworks–theproperdirectionandinstructionfromthegoverningbodyoftheprogrammeareessentialtoensuringthatitisimplementedeffectivelyacrossandwithinthestakeholderorganisations.Thisincludesbothinternalandexternalcompliancewithpolicies,legislationandbestpractice.TheprogrammewilloperateinaccordancewithScotland’s Digital Future - High Level Operating Framework.

ManagementofChange–Inordertoachievethenecessarychange,itisessentialthatathoroughapproachtochangemanagementisadoptedacrossthestaffandvolunteercommunitieswithintheChildren’sHearingsSystem.Thisneedstobeamulti-prongedapproachwithkeycommunicationmessagestoreassurethosewhofearthechangeandenthusethosethatsupportit.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

The following model of change should be considered:

Understandingtheneedforchangewithinthechanging environment.

CreatingawilltochangeandsharingtheambitionfordigitaltechnologiestosupporttheChildren’sHearingsSystem.

Improvingpeople’sknowledgeofthetechnologiesand digitaltransformation.

Ensurethatpeoplehavetheabilityandconfidencetousethetechnologies.

Sustainingthechange,buildingcultureandcompetence aroundthechange.

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StrategyDelivery–DeliveryofthestrategywillbechallenginghoweveracrosstheChildren’sHearingsSystemthereisstrongsupportfromallpartners.Relationshipshavebeenforgedthatwillbringexpertiseandknowledgefromallstakeholderswithinthesystem.

Programmeandprojectmanagementarrangementswillbefollowedtoensurethattherightexpertiseisappliedwhendeliveringobjectives.Projectsidentifiedinsupportofthestrategywillbeprioritisedfollowingfeedbackfromstakeholders.Consultationwillbeundertakenwithstakeholdersandchildrenandyoungpeoplewhilstrepresentativegroupswillbeformedwithpartnerstoensuretheirviewsarecentraltoallthatwedo.

ThegovernancearrangementswillcreateaChildren’sHearingsSystemdecisionmakingandresourceallocationbody.Aprogrammeofworkwillbedesignedthatidentifiestheownershipandaccountabilityofeachpartnertoensurecommunicationchannelsareopenanddependenciesclearlymapped.

Thefinancingofthestrategydeliverywillcreateopportunitiesforjointlyfundedprojectswithbenefitsrealisationmanagedandreportedagainstkeyoutcomes.Organisationswillaligntheircorporateplanstoensureajointdirectionoftravelandthecommunicationplan,toensurebuy-in,willbefocusedontheHearingsSystemandnotindividualpartners.

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MORE INFORMATION

MoreinformationaboutTheDigitalStrategyfortheChildren’sHearingsSystemwillbeavailableshortly.

Inthemeantimeifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontact:

ElliotJackson,DeputeChiefExecutiveOfficer,CHScommunications@chs.gsi.gov.uk

LornaMcNaughton,ImprovementProjectsOfficer(Digital),SCRAcommunications@scra.gsi.gov.uk

YoucanalsovisitChildren’sHearingsScotland’swebsiteandtheScottishChildren’sReporterAdministration’swebsite.