Welcome to Social Work Scotland

Welcome to the Social Work Scotland website. This website was set up by the Scottish Government in 2006 to enable users to access a wide range of information about Changing Lives – the change programme for social work services in Scotland, based on the 21st century review of social work.

The Changing Lives team work with a wide range of individuals, organisations and groups with an interest in social work services. This includes service users and carers, local authorities, voluntary and private organisations, umbrella and partner organisations (including health, education and justice services), universities and colleges and other Scottish Government departments.

Transformation of social work services to better meet people's needs requires major cultural change, as well as visionary leadership at national and local levels. It will need concerted effort, collaborative working and for every one of us to play our part, and be willing to challenge and to be challenged to ensure delivery of the services needed for the 21st century.

The Core Products

A number of ‘core products’ are being worked on to support the key aspiration of Changing Lives – to improve outcomes for individuals and communities - by building capacity to deliver services and developing a confident, competent, valued workforce. Below are links to those products already launched:

• Continuous Learning Framework (Workforce)
• Shared Understanding of Personalisation (Service Development)
• Principles and Standards of Citizen Leadership (Service Development)
• SWIA’s Self-evaluation guide (Performance Improvement)
• Guidance on the Role of the Chief Social Work Officer
• Personalisation Papers

» Scottish Government Links

The Changing Lives programme has links with a number of Scottish Government areas.