Executive to refocus on recruitment problems

Scotland’s minister for education and young
people Cathy Jamieson acknowledged that the Scottish executive had
been slow to address the country’s acute social work recruitment
problems.

Jamieson said the executive was
now eager to improve the situation, particularly in children’s
services where the most serious recruitment problems
lie.

“We
have not made progress as quickly as we’d have liked in improving
workforce issues,” she said. “But I have made it clear we want to
catch up.”

Jamieson announced an action plan
last month to address the number of vacancies in social work posts,
which she said totalled 350 with a 5 per cent vacancy rate in home
care posts.

She
has also commissioned an economic analysis to look at children’s
services.

Describing the executive’s
efforts to improve “patchy” support services for looked-after
children, Jamieson said that not all schools had a teacher
dedicated to ensuring that the special needs of looked-after
children were catered for.