Improvement Service (IS) - Pledge

The Improvement Service (IS) is the 'go-to' organisation for local government improvement in Scotland. We aim to help councils and their partners to improve the health, quality of life and opportunities of all people in the geographic area, through community leadership, strong local governance and the delivery of high quality, efficient local services. All of the IS’s work is under-pinned by our values of Equality and Diversity; Leadership and Collaboration; Innovation and Creativity; Wellbeing and Growth and Accountability and Integrity As the national improvement organisation for local government in Scotland, we pledge to raise awareness of the benefits of adopting a trauma-informed approach both across our own organisation and through our programmes of support for councils and their partners. We commit to highlighting how a trauma-informed approach across services, systems and the workforce is vital for improving outcomes for communities across Scotland, and to raise awareness within our organisation and with partners that anyone can be affected by trauma and that reducing the impact of trauma is everybody’s business. We will do this by providing opportunities for our staff and leaders to learn about a trauma-informed approach and access relevant training and support to model good practice across our range of work. We recognise that many of our own staff may have been affected by trauma. We will continue to prioritise staff wellbeing, and work to ensure that our policies and practice help ensure our staff feel safe, supported and valued. We commit to reflecting the trauma-informed principles of collaboration, choice, empowerment, safety and trust in our work with each other and in our work with our partners. We will do this by ensuring our organisation’s values reflect the trauma-informed principles, by continually seeking feedback from our staff about where our policies and practice can be strengthened, and by raising awareness with our staff about the impact of trauma and how to access further support.