Inspection Process
Our programme of in-depth inspections is designed to provide an independent evaluation of local authority social work services. Our reports and reviews will be used to help in the development of policy and the spread of good practice.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT HANDBOOK 2009-10
The initial performance inspection programme of all 32 local authority social work services will be completed in the course of 2009-10.
Whilst the purpose of SWIA inspection remains unaltered, the method by which we carry out inspections is changing significantly.
Our revised methodology, set out in the performance improvement handbook, has three key components.
· It is fully compliant with the Scottish Government’s approach to inspection, as shaped by the work of the Crerar review. This means a proportionate, risk-based approach to inspection. Our intention is to operate with minimum impact on councils, with a planned overall reduction in direct scrutiny of between 30% - 50%.
· It marks the transition from the previous programme of performance inspection to a new approach - performance improvement. This includes both scrutiny and supported self- evaluation. As a result, this handbook is intended to cover the period 2009-10 only.
· It feeds directly into the Audit Scotland-led shared risk assessment process. As such, this will enable us to work collaboratively with other scrutiny bodies – both in terms of assessing risk /improvement need, and cutting down on external scrutiny by developing more innovative, joint approaches to inspection.
The performance improvement handbook will be revised to take account of the changes arising from this first operational year of the new arrangements. An updated version will be available early in 2010.
Please note change to ISLA scrutiny levels set out on page 23 of the Performance Improvement Handbook - reduced from four to three. This change is with effect from November 2009.
Further developments, including detail on how we will report the outcome of scrutiny activity, will be added to the website later in the year.
We would welcome your comments on the handbook content.
Your Comments
SWIA Performance Improvement Handbook (PDF,515kb)
SWIA Self Evaluation Guide (PDF,421kb)