Working Together To Safeguard Children

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Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board
Working Together to Safeguard Children October
2006
www.worcestershiresafeguarding.org.uk
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SETTING THE CONTEXT

• Laming Report
• Keeping Children Safe
• Every Child Matters
• The Children Act 2004
• Local Safeguarding Children Boards
• Childrens Services and Childrens Trusts

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RELATED ISSUES

• Bichard Report
• Sexual Offences Act 2003
• Information Sharing Practitioners Guide
• Common Assessment Framework
• Integrated Childrens System

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Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006

• Executive Summary
• Chapters 1 to 8 Statutory Guidance
• Chapters 9 to 12 Non-Statutory Practice
  Guidance

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Chapter 1Working Together to Safeguard and
Promote the Welfare of Children and Families

• SAFEGUARDING
• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing impairment of health and development
• ensuring children grow up in environments of safe
  and protective care.
• The term child protection has not gone away.

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Chapter 1

• HARM has a new definition
• Ill-treatment or the impairment of health or
  development, including for example impairment
  suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment
  of another.
• PHYSICAL ABUSE definition remains the same.
• SEXUAL ABUSE is similarly defined, but the
  definition of rape is changed by Sexual Offences
  Act 2003

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Chapter 1

• EMOTIONAL ABUSE now includes
• Interactions beyond the childs developmental
  capability
• Overprotection and limitation of exploration and
  learning
• Preventing normal social interaction
• Seeing or hearing ill-treatment of another
• Serious bullying

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Chapter 1

• NEGLECT is the persistent failure to meet a
  childs
• basic physical/psychological needs, likely to
  result in the
• serious impairment of health or development.
• May occur during pregnancy as a result of
  maternal
• substance misuse.

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Chapter 1

• NEGLECT
• May involve failure to
• Provide food clothing and shelter
• Protect a child from physical and emotional
  harm
• or danger
• Ensure adequate supervision
• Ensure access to appropriate medical
  treatment

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Chapter 2Roles and Responsibilities

• Section 11 Guidance of Children Act 2004 lays out
  the statutory duties of agencies with regard to
  safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
  children.
• Safeguarding Children in Education Guidance
  published in 2004.
• National service Framework.

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Chapter 2Safeguarding Agencies

• Childrens services Authority (County Council)
• District councils
• Health
• Police
• Probation
• Prison services
• Youth Offending
• Connexions
• Secure training Centres

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Chapter 2

• All agencies must have
• Clear priorities for safeguarding stated in
  policy documents
• Clear commitment by senior management to
  safeguarding
• Clear line of accountability for safeguarding
• Recruitment procedures to take account of
  safeguarding role
• Procedures to deal with allegations of abuse
  against staff and volunteers

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Chapter 2

• All agencies must
• Ensure all staff undertake appropriate training
• Have policies and procedures for safeguarding,
  which include child protection policy and
  procedures
• Have arrangements to work with other
  organisations, including information sharing
• Listen to and engage in dialogue with children
• Have whistle blowing procedures

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Chapter 2Childrens Services, Social Care

• Childrens Social Care staff are the principal
  point of contact for concerns about childrens
  welfare.
• The need for support should be considered at the
  first sign of difficulties
• In significant harm cases, Childrens Social Care
  staff are responsible for co-ordinating the
  assessment of need and of parenting capacity.

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Chapter 2Health Services

• National Service Framework for Children, Young
  People and Maternity Services sets out the
  important role of health in safeguarding
• Highlights the role of health in safeguarding
  where there is domestic violence, mental ill
  health and substance misuse.
• PCT must have a designated nurse or paediatrician
  for safeguarding who provides advice and support
  to named professionals in provider trusts.

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Chapter 2Health Services

• It is important not to forget the role played by
• PCT and Acute and Mental Health Trusts
• GPs
• Ambulance trusts
• Independent sector
• Other Health Professionals
• Optometrists
• Sexual health services
• Speech and language therapists
• Pharmacists
• Psychologists
• Physiotherapists etc.

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Chapter 2Education Services

• Education Act 2002.
• Create and maintain a safe learning environment.
• Identify where there are child welfare concerns
  and take action to address them.
• PSHE important in making children aware of what
  behaviour towards them is acceptable and how they
  can keep themselves safe.
• Important role in prevention of bullying.

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Chapter 3Local Safeguarding Children Boards

• Developed from ACPCs and designed to ensure
  inter-agency working to safeguard children. Now
  on a firm statutory footing.
• The role is safeguarding and promoting, but
  should not focus on the wider role remit if
  protection is not adequate.
• The scope of the SCB has 3 broad areas of
  activity.

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Chapter 3Identify and Prevent Maltreatment

• Mechanisms to identify abuse and neglect
• Promote understanding of safeguarding amongst
  professionals and public
• Ensure safe recruitment procedures in agencies
• Monitor effectiveness of safeguarding
  responsibilities
• Ensure adults and children know how to get help.

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Chapter 3Proactive Work

• Developing thresholds and procedures for work
  where children are in need
• Safeguard and promote the welfare of more
  vulnerable groups of children, e.g. children
  living away from home, children in hospital

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Chapter 3Work to Protect Children

• Abused or neglected in their families
• Abused outside their families by adults known to
  them
• Abused by carers
• Abused by strangers
• Abused by young people
• Abused through prostitution
• Young perpetrators of abuse

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Chapter 4Training and Development for
Inter-Agency Work

• Training is a requirement for all those whose
  work brings them into contact with children.
• Training can be both multi-agency and single
  agency
• Different levels of training.
• Target audiences
• Regular contact with children and parents
• Work regularly with children and parents
• Particular responsibility for safeguarding

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Chapter 5Managing Individual Cases

• The procedures remain broadly the same.
• The principles of safeguarding are
• Child centred
• Rooted in child development
• Focussed on outcomes
• Holistic in approach
• Ensuring equality of opportunity
• Involving children and their families

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Chapter 5

• Principles continued
• Build on strengths as well as identify
  difficulties
• Multi and inter-agency approach
• A continuing process not an event
• Informed by evidence

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Chapter 5

• Being alert to childrens welfare is the
  responsibility of all those who have contact with
  children and their carers
• Those working with children
• Those working with parents and caregivers
• Those working with family members, employees or
  others who have contact with children.

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Child Protection Register

• The child protection register must go in January
  2007. It will however be replaced by children who
  have a child protection plan.
• This is in line with the Integrated Childrens
  system, of only having electronic records.

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Chapter 6Supplementary Guidance

• Children abused through prostitution
• Fabricated and Induced Illness
• Complex organised abuse
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Forced Marriage
• Allegations against a person who works with
  children
• Speed in dealing with these allegations
• Named senior officer responsible in each agency.

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Chapter 7 Child Death Review Processes
LSCBs have the following functions in
relation to the deaths of any children
resident in its area  (1) Collecting and
analysing information to identify   a.
Any case giving rise to the need for a serious
case review b. Any matters of concern
affecting the safety and welfare of children in
the area of the authority AND c. Any wider
public health or safety concerns arising from a
particular death or from a pattern of deaths in
that area.
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Chapter 7 Child Death Review Processes

• Putting in place procedures for ensuring that
  there is a coordinated response by the authority,
  their Board partners and other relevant persons
  to an unexpected death.
• Unexpected death defined as the death of a child
• which was not anticipated as a significant
• Possibility 24 hours before the death

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Key Elements

•  
• Establishment of a sub-committee of the LSCB
•  
• Chaired by the Chair of the LSCB or a LSCB
  Member
•  
• Permanent core membership of key organisations
  
•  
• Aggregate findings (nationally agreed data) to
  inform
• local strategic planning (CYPP).
•  
• Population covered should be greater than
  500,000
• Each partner agency should nominate a senior
  person
• responsible for advising on the
  implementation.

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Chapter 8 Serious Case Reviews
LSCBs should always undertake a serious case
review when A child dies(including death by
suicide) AND Abuse or neglect is known or
suspected to be a factor in the childs
death Irrespective of whether LA Childrens
Social Care is or has been involved with the
child and family.
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Chapter 8 Serious Case Reviews

• LSCBs should always consider a Serious Case
  Review where
• A child sustains a potentially
  life-threatening injury or
• serious and permanent impairment of health
  and
• development through abuse or neglect
• There has been serious sexual abuse
• Their parent has been murdered and a homicide
  review is being initiated (new process)
• The child has been killed by a parent with a
  mental illness
• The case gives rise to concerns about
  inter-agency
• working to protect children from harm

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Chapter 8 Serious Case Reviews

• Timing
• One month decision by LSCB Chair, following
  recommendation from Review Panel
• Completed within four months. unless alternative
  timescale agreed with CSCI
• Overview report Commissioned
• Independent person

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Chapter 9Lessons from Research and Inspections

• In considering the impact of maltreatment on
  children we are reminded that this can include
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Substance misuse
• Eating disorders
• Self harm.

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Chapter 9

• Sources of stress within families which can
  impact on children
• Social exclusion, e.g. poverty, poor housing,
  racism, poor neighbourhood
• Domestic violence
• Mental ill health of parents
• Parental drug and alcohol misuse
• Parental learning disability

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Chapter 10Implementing the Principles

• Family Group Conferences
• Advice and Advocacy
• Communication and Information
• Accessible information
• Interpreters
• Race ethnicity and culture

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Chapter 11Children who may be particularly
vulnerable

• Children living away from home- Essential
  safeguards
• Valued, respected and esteem promoted
• Openness of the institution
• Staff trained in safeguarding
• Childrens views and concerns listened to
• Children have ready access to adults outside the
  institution.
• Staff recognise the importance of childrens
  wishes and feelings and know how to communicate
  with children.

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Chapter 11Essential Safeguards continued

• Clear safeguarding procedures
• Bullying is effectively countered
• Rigorous recruitment and selection procedures
• Supervision and support of staff and volunteers
• Contractor staff checked and supervised
• Whistle-blowing, with clear procedures and
  support
• Respect for diversity and disability
• Awareness of risks to young people outside the
  home/institution from people who pose a risk.

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Chapter 11

• Specific situations of children living away from
  home
• Fostering
• Private fostering
• Children in hospital
• Children in custody

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Chapter 11Vulnerable Groups

• Children with disabilities
• Peer abuse
• Bullying
• Behaviour indicating a lack of control
• Race and racism
• Domestic Violence
• Witchcraft
• Children abused through ICT
• Children and families who go missing
• Victims of Trafficking
• Unaccompanied asylum seeking children

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Chapter 12Managing individuals who pose a risk
of harm to children

• Schedule One Offender
• The term, Schedule One Offender, is no longer
  used and has been replaced with
• Risk to Children
• Indicates the person has been identified as
  presenting a risk or potential risk of harm to
  children

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Chapter 12

• MAPPA Multi-Agency Public Protection
  Arrangements strengthened.
• MAPPA framework provides guidance on managing
  risk posed by these people.
• Three levels of risk, with procedures for
  managing these risks.

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Sexual Offences Act 2003

• Rape is now defined as any penetration of the
  anus or vagina by any object
• Penetration of the mouth by a penis is rape.
• Neither of the above are gender specific
• Offence of grooming
• Offence of abuse of position of trust. A sexual
  relationship between an adult in a position of
  trust, e.g. teacher, connexions worker, with a
  young person under 18 is an offence.
• Prohibition order.

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Information Sharing

• Information Sharing A Practitioners Guide
  Published April 2006.
• Clarifies the issue of sharing information when
  there is no clear case of child protection.
• You can share information to establish whether it
  is child protection or not. Without sharing
  information you will not have the full picture.
• Information should be shared if it is in the
  public interest

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Common Assessment Framework

• This is on the way. Must be in place by April
  2008
• Sets out a structure for early intervention and
  inter-agency working.
• Will provide guidance on how agencies can work
  effectively together to support children and
  families.