@Safeguarind in the community - learning from laming

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Safeguarding in the Community Learning from
LamingNone of Lord Lamings proposals alone
could have prevented the death of Baby P. But all
of them together add up to a step change in
frontline child protection. No barrier, no
bureaucracy, no buck-passing should ever get in
the way of keeping children safe.

• Brenda McLaughlin

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Key Message/Challenge for all Services

• It would be unreasonable to expect that the
  sudden and
• unpredictable outburst by an adult towards a
  child can be
• prevented.
• But that is entirely different from the failure
  to protect
• a child or young person already identified as
  being in danger
• of deliberate harm.
• The death of a child in these circumstances is a
• reproach to us all. It is essential that action
  is now taken so
• that as far as humanly possible children at risk
  of harm are properly
• protected
• The Protection of Children in England A Progress
  Report

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58 recommendations!

• The appointment of a new Chief Adviser on the
  Safety of Children, Sir Roger Singleton, ( a
  report in September)
• A new cross-Government National Safeguarding
  Delivery Unit to drive continuous improvement in
  front-line practice across all services. To
  include a new inspection framework for schools it
  will apply from September 2009 so that it will
  have a stronger focus on safeguarding, with a
  grading on a scale from 1 (outstanding) to 4
  (inadequate) for a schools safeguarding
  arrangements
• Any school which receives a grade of 4 will
  likely to be awarded an inadequate grade for its
  overall performance and will need therefore to
  make urgent improvements
• This is in line with the commitment in the 21st
  Century School strategy that creates a framework
  for early intervention with a priority given to
  safeguarding

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..Continued

• The inspection improvement regime that schools
  are proactively involved in safeguarding, so for
  example, offering multi-agencies on site, make
  sure that all staff understand referral
  processes, and continual involvement by
  attendance at case conferences
• The entire school system will need to change, and
  individual schools will need to look beyond
  traditional boundaries, be outwards facing and
  work in close partnership with young people,
  parents, other schools, and with other childrens
  services
• Local Safeguarding Boards must ensure that
  schools are adequately represented on the board
• A schools strategy will be developed to create a
  clear national framework for early intervention

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..Continued

• Recognition that schools and early years play a
  vital role in early identification (the last SCR
  analysis 68 of school age children who died,
  there was poor school attendance.)
• Recognition of the significant problem of joint
  working across organisation boundaries
  cultures, sharing information, a lack of feed
  back when professionals raise concerns about a
  child. Good examples rely too often on the
  commitment of individual staff and this happens
  despite rather than because of organisational
  arrangements
• To address this All referrals to Childrens
  Services from other professionals will lead to
  an I.A. and include direct involvement with CYP,
  plus direct engagement with and feed back to the
  professional
• Formal procedures in place for managing a
  conflict of opinions between professionals over
  the safety of a child

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..Continued

• Core Group meetings, reviews case work
  decisions must include participation of all
  professionals. Records must be kept and include
  the written report of those unable to attend
  clear that schools must send a representative to
  all formal meetings and must provide written
  reports
• The named Governor must ensure that the DSP is
  fully supported in their role, worth mentioning
  that the DSP role for CLA may be put on a
  statutory footing under Care Matters
• LA must ensure that children in need (sec17
  CA1989) have early access to effective specialist
  services, CAF?

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Key Post Laming Challenges

• Rebuilding trust with the community
• Avoid becoming risk adverse
• Sort out thresholds for intervention
• Confusion and misunderstanding of thresholds, a
  preoccupation
• among agencies with eligibility criteria for
  services, rather than a
• primary concern about a child (SCR findings)
• Longstanding tensions between services designed
  to protect children and services designed to
  support families
• Work force shortages with inevitable tensions
• Issues around access for all families
• Resource implication for all agencies and anxiety
  about responsibility and accountability
• Effective communication

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What works not everything works, but not
everything fails.

• Targeted family support services, with clear
  goals can create sustainable change
• Early intervention not only with the under fives
  but with teenagers who are starting to disengage
  schools should be aware of the signs and know
  how to respond Laming 2009
• The power of a sustained professional
  relationship is key to managing change with
  vulnerable parents. In longstanding neglect
  cases social care often failed to take the
  history into consideration and adopted the start
  again syndrome (SCR findings)
• Working across multi-disciplinary boundaries is
  highly correlated with improved outcomes as long
  as things are managed well and each discipline
  is clear about and respected about role and
  boundaries

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What works cont.

• Retention of staff stable workforce
• Staff able to sift through information, analysing
  need and making and taking action on decisions.
  what is done with information, rather then its
  simple accumulation that leads to more analytical
  assessment and safer practice.
• Partnerships based on challenge and trust!
• Holistic approach working with the whole family
  system not just the problem
• School attendance and inclusion
• Good quality supervision and support for staff

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What works cont.

• Working in partnership with parents but
  understanding who the client is
• Overall professionals appeared to tolerate the
  lack of progress on the protection plan over the
  yearsthere were periods where mother agreed
  the protection plan, complied with some aspects
  .. for short periods, and ignored others,
  usually with excuses that focused on immediate
  and urgent problems e.g. illness, domestic
  violence, housing arrears, deaths of siblings and
  family members. In this situation of apparent
  compliance it is extremely difficult for
  professionals directly involved in the family to
  sustain an objective view of a lack of progress
  in safeguarding children's welfare. The role of
  managers and particularly the conference chair is
  critical in ensuring that these cases do not
  drift. (SCR findings)

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What works cont.

• Understanding levels of risk and the need to make
  timely interventions
• The co-existence of domestic violence, parental
  mental ill health and substance misuse increase
  the risks of harm to children but do not predict
  death or serious injury children living in these
  circumstances will have poor outcomes. (over half
  the children in the SCR sample were living in
  households where these 3 problems coexisted
• If you are not sure then ask!

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House of Commons

• In the wake of Lord Laming's review of
  safeguarding, we hope the important contribution
  made by universal and preventative services to
  keeping children safe will be reaffirmed.we are
  convinced that better early intervention is vital
  to reducing the likelihood of child misery and
  ensuring childrens wellbeing. (House of Commons
  Select Committee on Children, Schools Families.
  20th April 2009)