Practitioner Discussions

1. What does it mean to you?

Practitioners tell us what Quality and Continuous Improvement mean to them.

‘Something we should all be concerned with – not what somebody else is doing to us’

What the panel thinks. Quality is:

• about what we do
• about outcomes
• about practice and doing it right
• making a difference
• about sharing and innovation
• about being clear and having support
• about not being complacent

Continuous improvement is:

• about the process – quality is the outcome
• about gathering evidence and learning the lessons
• about doing things better
• about reflecting and sharing with colleagues
• about being needs-led, not resource-led

2. Why does it matter?

‘You can’t improve services to people unless you improve the people providing the services’.

What the panel thinks: It matters because:

• We work with vulnerable people – we need to help them be more resilient, not more dependent
• We work in a challenging world where we need to show the difference we make
• Our work is constantly changing and we need to be sure people get the quality they deserve
• It is the bridge between knowledge and practice, and it enhances our understanding
• It helps you be sure that what you produce is relevant and useful
• It helps affirm what you are doing
• It helps make sure that scarce resources are well-targeted for long-term impact

3. What does it look like?

‘a thriving and exciting place to be’

What the panel thinks: You know it’s there when:

• Both organisations and practitioners are working together to improve
• Good practice being shared across Scotland and across different areas of work
• People are using the tools and frameworks purposefully
• Service users see and feel the difference
• Service users being listened to and heard
• Service users recognise provision as good and relevant
• The service is responsive, providing what people want
• You can see it in the culture – not just the services
• It’s backed up by good support and supervision
• Good tools are available and used to encourage reflective practice
• best use is made of available systems and processes

4. What would improve quality and continuous improvement?

‘without coherent purpose how can we move forward? Without evidence, how will we know we have moved?’

What the panel thinks: The challenges for further improvement are –

• embedding reflection and evaluation into our practice rather than being an add-on
• making it proportionate at all levels – volunteers, sessional workers, professionals, managers
• Being clear, providing the time, providing support
• Gathering evidence, reflecting critically, learning lessons
• Finding more innovative ways to gather evidence from young people
• Using technology
• Recording longitudinal information across Scotland so the whole sector can learn and improve together
• A supportive management environment
• Peer support and critical questioning
• A coherent sense of purpose