Updates to the Promise Story of Progress

Updates have been made to answer all three questions in the Promise Story of Progress.

There are three kinds of data that make up the Promise Story of Progress, each offer a different but equally important perspective, and link to the different questions: 

• At a national level, the data shows what is changing over time - answering the question: How is Scotland doing in its progress towards keeping the promise?
• At an organisational level, learning shows how those changes are happening – answering the question: How are organisations doing in their work to keep the promise?
• The experience lens shows whether those changes are being felt - answering the question: Does the care community feel the impact of the promise being kept?

The information is set out under 10 vision statements. These are taken directly from The Promise Report and set out the vision for where Scotland must be in 2030. They relate to areas of life where children, young people and care experienced adults identified change needed to happen, during the Independent Care Review. 

On their own, each question gives insight to one part of the story. Together, viewed through the vision statements, they help to understand what is happening, how it is happening and most importantly how it’s being felt by the care community.

While the data and learning vary across each vision statements, there is a clear message coming through from those with care experience that consistency, clarity and good communication can make positive differences.

When viewing the Promise Story of Progress, and bringing all these parts together, it’s important to remember that, following the conclusions of the Independent Care Review, Scotland made a national commitment to keep the promise in 2020, and we are all part of that national picture. There is a role for everyone to play ensuring the data and information in The Promise Story of Progress is being used to understand change, create change, and inform how this work continues.

The Promise Story of Progress will help practitioners, leaders and organisations by:

• Bringing together national data, organisational information and the impact felt by people with care experience to help users give context to their own data and learn how to make improvements, all while understanding how Scotland is doing.
• Checking whether their current practice is making a difference, understand what is working well, and see where change is still needed. It supports learning rather than performance management and keeps the focus on what matters to children, families and care experienced adults.

The What Matters questions can help people to use the information from the Promise Story of Progress as a tool for learning, helping users explore what might be happening in their own setting, encouraging curiosity and reflection about what support might be needed and what might need to change.

See the Promise Story of Progress here.