The SHANARRI wellbeing indicators provide a structured way to understand outcomes for children and young people. For those working with looked-after children in Scotland, this framework is particularly important.
While progress has been made, data continues to show significant inequalities in outcomes for children with care experience. Understanding this data is essential for professionals seeking to improve support and deliver better outcomes.
The Current Picture in Scotland
Scotland continues to support thousands of looked-after children across residential care, foster care and community-based settings.
Key trends highlight ongoing challenges:
- Lower attainment levels compared to peers
- Higher rates of school exclusion
- Increased likelihood of mental health concerns
- Reduced access to employment and further education
These outcomes are not inevitable. They reflect systemic challenges that SHANARRI is designed to address.
Understanding Wellbeing Through SHANARRI
SHANARRI provides a way to understand these outcomes in context. Rather than focusing on isolated data points, it allows professionals to assess wellbeing across multiple areas.
For example:
- Educational outcomes linked to Achieving
- Emotional wellbeing linked to Nurtured and Healthy
- Social participation linked to Included and Respected
By considering these indicators together, professionals can build a more complete picture of each young person’s experience.
Where the Gaps Remain
Despite the framework being widely used, gaps remain in how wellbeing is recorded and understood.
Common issues include:
- Inconsistent recording across services
- Limited visibility of patterns over time
- Information held in separate systems
- Difficulty linking actions to outcomes
These gaps can make it harder to identify where support is needed and whether interventions are effective.
The Importance of Consistent Data
Improving outcomes for looked-after children requires consistent, structured data. Without this, it is difficult to track progress, identify trends or demonstrate impact.
Professionals need to be able to:
- Record observations clearly and consistently
- Link information to SHANARRI indicators
- Share information across teams
- Analyse patterns over time
This is essential not only for day-to-day practice but also for inspection and accountability.
Closing the Gap in Practice
Addressing these challenges requires a combination of clear frameworks and effective systems.
Geco Connect supports organisations by organising information within the SHANARRI framework, allowing teams to build a clearer understanding of wellbeing and track outcomes more effectively. This helps reduce fragmentation, improve communication and support more informed decision-making.
Moving Towards Better Outcomes
The data on looked-after children highlights the importance of continued improvement. SHANARRI provides the structure needed to support this, but its impact depends on how it is applied in practice.
By strengthening how information is recorded and used, organisations can:
- Identify needs earlier
- Coordinate support more effectively
- Monitor progress over time
- Improve long-term outcomes
See SHANARRI in Practice
If you would like to see how organisations are improving outcomes for looked-after children through the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators, Geco Connect can help.
Book a demo to see how it works in practice.