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APPENDIX 3 Inspection methodology and process

The team conducted the inspection using the SWIA performance inspection model ( PIM). Senior social work service managers in Argyll and Bute were asked to consider the following six key questions and complete a self-evaluation of their performance. The same six key questions were used to structure the fieldwork in Argyll and Bute. This report reflects the PIM, with a chapter examining each of these questions.

1. What key outcomes have we achieved?

We gathered evidence on the actual difference that social work services had made to the lives of individuals, families and communities. SWIA defines outcomes as the improvements in people's lives directly resulting from the social work services they receive.

2. What impact have we had on people who use our services and other stakeholders?

We looked at the direct experience and perceptions of the people who use social work services as well as those of employees and other stakeholders.

3. How good is the delivery of our key processes?

We looked at the day-to-day planning, management and delivery of services from initial contact with the person using the service through assessment and care planning.

4. How good is our management?

This involved examining managers' and staff's understanding and implementation of broad national and local strategic plans and objectives, their dissemination, monitoring and review of organisational strategy, along with performance, integrated working, staffing and financial responsibilities.

5. How good is our leadership?

We looked at corporate vision, values and aims, the ability to work together across council resources, organisational culture and the leadership and management of change.

6. What is our capacity for improvement?

We brought together all the evidence and reached an overall judgement about the capacity for improvement, taking into account both strengths and areas of weakness.

Details of the inspection process

The lead inspector for the performance inspection of social work services in Argyll and Bute was Rosie Lawrence (telephone: 0131 244 3690).

We began the inspection process by asking the local authority's senior social work managers to complete a self-evaluation questionnaire about how well they were meeting the six key questions of the performance inspection model.

We also asked for a range of background information including strategic plans, policies, guidance, procedures, commissioning arrangements and information relating to performance, finance and quality assurance. We read the reports relating to Argyll and Bute from other regulatory bodies and inspectorates such as Audit Scotland, the Care Commission and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education ( HMIe).

We sent out questionnaires to staff, adults who use services and carers. We sent out 500 questionnaires to staff, 500 to adults who use services and 500 to carers. In return, we received 212 from staff, 138 from adults who use services and 69 from carers. 20 stakeholder organisations also completed a survey.

Together with six members of staff from the social work department, we spent four days reading a total of 113 files from across community care and children's services. In addition we read 30 files of older people who were using social work services.

We then spent three weeks in Argyll and Bute examining aspects of both the services directly provided or services commissioned from the private and voluntary sectors. We looked at services for children, young people and their families including youth justice, services to adults relating to physical disability, learning disability, mental health and substance misuse, criminal justice social work services and services to older people. We also examined strategic planning and support services. We did not inspect those aspects of services which are already regulated by the Care Commission.

We examined services in a number of ways

• meeting people who use social work services and their carers
• interviewing staff at all levels of the organisation, both individually and by bringing them together in focus groups
• meeting with elected members and with staff and managers from other parts of the council
• meeting with partner organisations and voluntary organisations providing services
• observing relevant meetings and visiting a range of services
• following up some examples from case files which we had earlier read in the case file analysis

The table below sets out the number of sessions we undertook.

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