Progress made in support for young people

A NEW report highlights continued progress in supporting children, young people and families across Dumfries and Galloway, while acknowledging ongoing pressures on services.

Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway have published their Joint Annual Report on the Children’s Services Plan (2025–26), setting out key achievements over the past year.

Shared priorities included early intervention, improving outcomes for those most in need, and involving families in decisions about their care.

Progress has been made across six areas, including mental health, child poverty, care experience and family support.

More young people are now accessing mental health support locally. Over 3200 one-to-one sessions were delivered in secondary schools, alongside 1500 participants in primary wellbeing programmes. Drop-in sessions saw 2300 attendances.

Early help and family support has continued to grow, with 1481 children supported during the year. Parenting support has also expanded, with trained staff now delivering programmes across the region.

Support for care experienced children has strengthened, with around 300 families supported through kinship care and a new Intensive Support Outreach Team helping prevent family breakdown.

In addition, five new key workers are now supporting families in the most disadvantaged communities. While local child poverty levels have improved slightly to 22.7 per cent, this remains a significant challenge.

Despite progress, demand for services continues to rise, driven by cost-of-living pressures, increasing poverty and growing mental health needs. Workforce and recruitment challenges also remain.

The priorities for the next Children’s Services Plan (2026–29) will focus on safety, early support, health and reducing barriers to learning.

Commenting, Councillor Tracey Little, convener of Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: “We’re seeing the impact of strong partnership working, with more families getting the right support at the right time.

“While challenges remain, particularly around poverty and mental health, we are making real progress in strengthening early help and improving outcomes for children and young people."