All health and social care services in Scotland have a duty of candour. This is a legal requirement which means that when things go wrong and mistakes happen, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and that organisations learn how to improve for the future.

An important part of this duty is that we provide an annual report about the duty of candour in our services. This short report describes how Whalsay School has operated the duty of candour during the time between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022. We hope you find this report useful.

1. About Whalsay School ELC

Whalsay School ELC is a local authority provided day-care service for children based in Whalsay.  The setting offers 1140 hours per annum to our users.

2. How many incidents happened to which the duty of candour applies?

In the last year, there have been no incidents to which the duty of candour applied.

3. Information about our policies and procedures

Where something has happened that triggers the Duty of Candour, our staff would report this to the Head Teacher, who has responsibility for ensuring that the Duty of Candour procedure is followed. The Head Teacher records the incident and reports as necessary to the Care Inspectorate. Should an incident happen, the Head Teacher and staff would set up a learning review, allowing all staff involved to review what happened and identify learning outcomes and changes for the future.

In any instance of a severe incident we will seek occupational welfare support to help any member of staff who has been affected by a Duty of Candour incident.

In any instance where parents/carers, children or other service users are affected by the duty of candour; we have arrangements in place to provide welfare support as necessary.

4. Other information

If you would like more information about the Duty of Candour please do not hesitate to contact us.