Annual Review
2015/16

Welcome - from our board Chair and Chief Executive

Board Chair

I am pleased to bring you this Annual Review of Kibble's work, which outlines the range and diversity of the services we offer. This is my first Annual Review since taking over as Board Chair in 2015. As the first female Chair in Kibble's long history, I am confident that this reflects another step forward in modernising the organisation and making it relevant to contemporary Scotland.

The importance of good governance is recognised across the charitable sector, and we are working hard to ensure that our governance arrangements remain at the forefront of best practice. The Kibble service map lists details of both the formal Board structure, and the sub-committees that have been developed to provide additional professional expertise, insight and support to our services. I would like to especially thank these volunteers who give such unstinting service. The sub-committees allow us to continue to develop high quality, professional services and contribute greatly to both our ongoing sustainability and growth.

The Board continues to fulfil its statutory obligations, operating in a transparent way and meeting ten times a year. This high level of Board involvement reflects our commitment to making Kibble both responsive and adaptive to changing needs. Our finance and audit functions provide detailed scrutiny to ensure not just financial viability, but also sustainability and development. Changes in public spending of course impact on the work we do, and we continue to aim to be efficient and effective in the delivery of our services.

We are proud of our heritage, especially 175 years after Miss Kibble's original vision, but we are more concerned about being relevant and useful in supporting young people at risk in the years ahead. We look forward to continuing this social mission.

Marion Jackson
Chair of Board

Chief Executive

175 years ago Miss Elizabeth Kibble prepared her last will and testament, including in it a sum of money to be used for the 'reclamation' of youth. The words we use today in the support of young people may differ but the purpose remains the same - as does the need.

While we are proud of our heritage, Kibble continues to exist not because of our history but because services are provided that remain as vital today as they were in the middle of the nineteenth century. An understanding of the need for continuous adaptation is now built into the governance and management of Kibble.

There is of course a constantly changing social, economic and political landscape and an understanding, awareness and sensitivity to these enable the delivery of more effective and efficient services. Over many years Kibble has steadily strengthened expertise and leadership across the organisation, ensuring staff are trained, qualified and skilled to properly fulfil the responsibilities of their positions. This is overseen and supported not just by an effective Board but also by a wide range of sub-committees covering every aspect of Kibble's work.

As a national specialist service working with young people who have chronic, complex and often acute behavioural issues, Kibble aims to bring compassion and care alongside a comprehensive understanding of the supporting research and evidence of what we do and how we do it. As new research and understanding emerge, especially in our understanding of childhood trauma, we need to adapt the way our services are operated and delivered. Inevitably this brings its own pressures, tensions and challenges but with the ongoing commitment of staff and small but dedicated group of volunteers, this has resulted in services which remain at the front end of national and international practice.

I would therefore like to formally express my thanks to these staff and volunteers, regardless of what role they play. Kibble will never be an easy place to work and volunteer but the desire to help children and young people in need creates a level of commitment hard to find or replicate. Our aim is to make Kibble a 'great place to live, learn and work' and maintaining such balance remains a core objective. A key factor in this commitment is the charitable nature of Kibble's work - society profits by the work we do. An asset 'in trust' and effectively owned and operated by the community for so many generations is one to be carefully safeguarded and it is to the great credit of the volunteer trustees, directors and committee members that today Kibble is more robust than ever, underpinned by a strong asset and expertise base. I would also like to record my thanks to them - as 'critical friends' to Kibble their role of guidance and governance is more important than ever.

Although a national specialist organisation, Kibble is also mindful of its role in the local community. With its scale and scope, and roots firmly grounded in Renfrewshire, it is a community anchor organisation, aiming to deliver its core mission in a way that enhances and develops the social and economic fabric of the surrounding areas. Providing training and employment for young people locally is a key feature of this community involvement but this wider activity continues to grow and develop in parallel with overall organisational development. We will continue to increase and enhance our asset utilisation for better community benefit.

Going forward we know that continuous adaptation, improvement and effectiveness will be critical to Kibble's survival. With an exceptionally high demand for services and the need for substantial capital investment set against ongoing public sector austerity measures and centralised procurement, sustaining Kibble's services will be challenging. However with a quiet confidence in our ability, a certainty in the purpose of our work and a strong belief in the need for what we do, we look forward to the years ahead, serving the community and making it better for all.

Graham Bell
Chief Executive

Integrated Services - Improved Outcomes

At Kibble we aim to ensure the young people in our care are given the support they need to lead sustained, healthy and fulfilled lives. Through a range of integrated services, we help young people (aged 5+), many with complex social, emotional, behavioural and educational problems.

To make sure our services produce the best outcomes, young people take part in Kibble's Outcome Framework. This maps the individual outcomes for children and young people to the wellbeing indicators from the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) framework and Curriculum for Excellence.

During 2016 the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 will place aspects of GIRFEC on a statutory footing. Kibble already has robust procedures in place to ensure the framework is applied appropriately and consistently throughout the organisation. Over the past year we have also enlisted the help of staff, young people and independent advocates to review the current policies and procedures to ensure we are fully prepared for commencement of duties as detailed in the Act.

Within the framework, each young person has their own individual 'outcomes journey'. It is our belief that for a young person's outcomes journey to be meaningful, all significant others should be encouraged to participate in the process.

Our Residential and Secure Services

Kibble now provides 16 different residential services. These vary in size and function, across our secure, campus and community locations. All services work to the highest care standards while providing safety, structure, stability and support to young people at risk. We can accommodate children from the age of five in our primary age services, through to our range of services for young people of secondary school age and up to 18. These secure and residential units form part of our uniquely integrated array of services that aims to be both preventative and rehabilitative, and can be accessed at the point of greatest need.