News

Need support to find and use evidence to inform practice? 

Today, we launch ESSS, our free evidence search and summary service. ESSS will help you find and use evidence from research, practice and experience to inform service improvement and continuous learning.

The service is led by our Knowledge Manager, Lauren Smith, who will be happy to support you with your enquiry.

Find out more.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has recently updated its social media guidance for the workforce. It's great to see and is welcomed by Iriss given that we've been promoting the use of social media for learning and development purposes.

In a recent Third Force news article, Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive at SSSC speaks of the benefits:

As part of Self Management Week 2017 (2-6 October) a cross-sector group of information and library service staff will be coming together to promote the various ways in which people living with long term conditions can access information to support their health and wellbeing.

Today we launch a ‘Grow Your Personal Learning Network’ online course / workshop for social services staff.

It is for anyone interested in learning more about the web and social media to support them build personal and professional networks and promote lifelong learning. 

Do you know of a good example of community social work? If so, we'd love to hear from you – or colleagues you know. We want to celebrate community social work in Scotland, showcasing what it is and can offer in 2017 and beyond.

Have you used our Outcomes & CO tool?

We’d love to hear what you thought of the tool, how it was (or will be) used and any other feedback you’d like to share.

Your feedback will inform further developments and will help us understand the difference the tool is making. 

Those who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for a free, tailored workshop on the tool. 

Complete the survey.

We're looking forward to launching our new Evidence Search and Summary Service in the coming weeks.

As part of The Right Decision campaign - which aims to raise awareness of the role of the NHS librarian in providing the right evidence, at the right time, to support decision-making in health and social care - two WebEx (online presentations) are being held.  

Both WebEx presentations will bring sector staff up to speed with the specialist librarian services available. They will cover:

Held in June at Crieff Hydro, the Social Services Awards 2017 celebrated the breadth of inspiring and life-changing work carried out by the sector. From the 155 organisations, teams and individuals who entered, to the final ten winners, everyone has made a valuable contribution.

The awards were jointly compered by the Minister for Childcare and Early Years and Scottish Broadcaster, Sally Magnusson.

Some video footage from the ceremony and a slideshow of pictures from the event has been made available. 

This year, Iriss is working with the new Standards for Health and Social Care Implementation Team to help test out some of the standards in practice. We are working to build an evidence base that bridges the new standards with practice in a variety of settings.

We were delighted to work with the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice (CYCJ) to produce Journey through Justice, an online resource that will help children and young people understand the journey through the youth justice system, following being charged with an offence by the police.

The name of the resource, as well as its look and content, was devised by young people from a number of settings, working closely with CYCJ and Iriss. Claire Lightowler, Director of CYCJ, said: