In our last bulletin in September 2024, we shared with you some of the progress that had been made by the various workstreams in our Bairns’ Hoose Delivery Group. You can find our previous bulletins at Bairns' Hoose News.
As Aberdeen City progress towards the opening of our Bairns’ Hoose site, this bulletin will share our continued progress and some of the operational aspects of our Bairns’ Hoose.
Taking Shape
The construction of our Bairns’ Hoose began in January 2025 and is quickly taking shape with our Bairns’ Hoose expected to become incrementally operational by Summer 2025. Significant alterations to the building have been made taking on board the feedback from Children and Young People who told us what they liked and what they didn’t like. They told us they thought the ceilings were too high which felt intimidating, and that they didn’t like the yellow tunnel that connects two areas of the building. As a result of their feedback, the ceilings have been lowered, the windows in the tunnel have been replaced, and the yellow will soon be gone.
Participation
The Bairns’ Hoose Thematic Fund has provided us with an opportunity for a Participation Worker to integrate children & young people’s participation into the development of our Bairns’ Hoose. Led by Children First, this has provided us with an opportunity to explore creative approaches through planned activities with groups and individuals which is informing and influencing the shape of our Bairns’ Hoose. This work has also created the foundation for embedding a young people’s advisory group, Changemakers. You can read more about the participation work that has taken place so far at Bairns' Hoose - Participation.
Processes
Our Bairns’ Hoose Coordinator, Emma Cowieson, and Children First have been collaborating on our recovery approaches. We are committed to ensure that children, young people and families who have experienced or caused harm, receive consistent and holistic support to recover from those experiences. We recognise that we must develop a collective understanding of what recovery means in Aberdeen City. Recovery will be the theme of our next bulletin.
We have refreshed our Pan Grampian Interagency Referral Discussion (IRD) template to further enable us to capture the views of children and families as a child protection investigation progresses. Similarly, we are undertaking a test of change of ‘choice’. Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) Interviewers, where appropriate, will aim to offer a choice regarding the location of a Joint Investigative Interview (JII) for children who have been assaulted by a parent/carer.
Improvement activity has commenced to enhance the health element, and the health pathways connected to our Bairns’ Hoose. This will see activity to improve both the responsiveness of support to children and young people who have been abused or harmed but also enable an increasing preventative lens to the health needs of children who connect with the Bairns’ Hoose. Additionally, we will expand a test of change to explore how we further enable children with complex communication needs to give best evidence through the support of the Speech and Language Therapy service.
Evaluation by University of Edinburgh
Between 25 November 2024 and 6 January 2025, a research survey was conducted to examine professionals’ perspectives on current systems and services responding to reports or disclosures of abuse in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire local authority areas. 243 professionals across social work, education and early years, police, health, justice and the voluntary sector shared their views. This survey is the first of its kind in Scotland to gather information from multidisciplinary professionals involved in child protection, justice, health and recovery systems supporting children after identification of harm prior to the implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose model. The survey highlights pressure points in the system particularly around follow-up resources and helps identify where partnerships should focus time and resources to make the system improvements required for Bairns’ Hoose to be successful. The full report can be found at Preparing for Bairns Hoose in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Who can access Bairns’ Hoose services?
In Aberdeen City we are still in the early stages of understanding the criteria required for accessing the support offered. We want to remain open and flexible in respect to our referrals, in order that we can ensure the right support is provided to those who require this, in a timely manner.
At this time Bairns’ Hoose referrals are generally for children who have been victims or witnesses of crime, or who may have been victims or witnesses of abuse or violence. If a child has disclosed that they have been a victim or witness to a crime, or it is believed they have been a victim or witness, a referral can be made to the Bairns’ Hoose for individualised support for them and their family.
Children under the Age of Criminal Responsibility whose behaviour may have caused or risked causing significant harm or abuse are also eligible for Bairns’ Hoose support where they will have access to trauma informed recovery, support and justice.
Pathways to access Bairns’ Hoose (Advocacy, Rights and Recovery Support Service) in Aberdeen City
- Interagency Referral Discussion (IRD) / Reconvened IRDs
- Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) Interviewers
- Childrens Social Work (SW) / RFA
- Self-Seeking Requests
It is believed that these will be the main routes to access advocacy, rights and recovery support, however, will retain flexibility as we test and learn this approach to ensuring accessibility to this support. We recognise that flexibility will be exercised with our other partners such as Victim, Information & Advice (VIA), Health and Education.
There is currently a referral form that we ask is completed to access support through the Bairns’ Hoose. This form ensures that we capture relevant information which allows us to identify the most appropriate support for the child/young person and their family.
All referrals should be sent to the Bairns’ Hoose email address (Bairns’Hoose@aberdeencity.gov.uk) where they will be allocated by the Bairns’ Hoose Co-ordinator.
Next Issue – Recovery & Health