The Importance of Inclusion and Improving Outcomes for Children

For Local Authorities and charities delivering services to children and families, it is important that staff on the front line feel able to deliver the very best services that meet the needs of the children, young people and parents who rely on such services.  A recent Guardian article talked about the pressures for social workers involved in child protection cases, so imagine working in such stressful and sensitive environments with the added pressure of not being supported to be who you are within your workplace. 

If Local authorities and charities really do want to improve outcomes for children we must make sure the people who work with them feel fully supported by their managers and are able to not only be themselves but feel encouraged to develop new ideas and concepts.  An organisation that has a diverse mix of people from different backgrounds is more likely to develop more imaginative, innovative and radical ideas.  Imagine how boring it would be if everyone you worked with looked the same, thought the same and worked the same.  

So a diverse workplace seems obvious in terms of maintaining a motivated workforce, but we all know this is difficult to achieve and the reason why Stonewall developed the Workplace Equality Index eleven years ago.  The Stonewall Equality Index provides a framework and benchmarking tool for organisations to check how well they are supporting their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff and to ensure equality and diversity are embedded throughout the organisation. How does the Workplace Equality Index help Local Authorities and charities to deliver the best services for children and help improve outcomes for some of the Wales’ most vulnerable children and young people? 

A workplace that enables employees to feel comfortable to be themselves, think creatively and feel supported to do so, will ensure that staff will ultimately be more productive, motivated and encouraged to think innovatively.  This can only be beneficial for service delivery, which is the core mechanism for improving outcomes for children and young people.  

The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index not only provides a framework for ensuring organisations  are at least working towards an inclusive organisation, it takes things a step forward and provides benchmarking for procurement, staff training and development and even staff networks. Again, why are these issues important when striving to be an inclusive organisation that promotes, supports and encourages diversity?

Reviewing whole systems to ensure inclusivity really gives organisations the opportunity to ensure the principles of equality and diversity applied to their own staff is applied by organisations that are procured.  It’s about having that conversation with organisations that Local Authorities and third sector organisations procure, such as a commitment to equality and diversity policies and even training.   Having these conversations and stretching organisations to ensure inclusivity at every level puts equality and diversity on the radar of corporate services within Local Authorities and charities, which can often feel  quite far from front line services.  

An annual review of an organisation’s policies, training, procurement procedures, staff network and community engagement ensures organisations are always striving to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment for all staff so they can feel able to develop ideas within a motivating environment.  Not only will Local Authorities and commissioned services ensure the best talent and most committed social workers stick around for many years, but ultimately the aim of improving outcomes for children will be achieved.  

Siobhan Corria is Head of Inclusion for Action for Children.