Section 2 - a better future

Stay safe

Lead Officer - Kevin Peers

Reference Group - Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)

Key Links - parenting, children in care, reducing bullying

What’s the story?

Keeping all children and young people safe and free from harm is everyone’s responsibility. Our responsibilities as a Children’s Trust extend across the range of universal to targeted services, from promoting awareness, information and advice, through prevention, to specific responsibilities for vulnerable children. Links with other partnerships such as the LSCB and Devon County Council’s Adult and Community Services are key.

Children who are being abused or bullied, or simply left to look after themselves, are unlikely to be as healthy or to achieve at school to the same level as children who are properly cared for. Staying safe is fundamental to wellbeing.

In any classroom 2-4 children are likely to be living in a home where domestic abuse takes place.
Many children live with parents who misuse substances.
Many infants miss their developmental checks and immunisations, despite
reminders to parents by health service staff.
Children and young people consistently report bullying or fear of bullying.

The statutory responsibilities in The Children Act 2004 apply across all sectors, agencies and organisations working with children and young people. Collectively and individually as organisations or places where things happen, we are all
responsible for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare; and this means all children, with a particular focus on the vulnerable. Parenting, and the mental and physical health and wellbeing of parents, is also critical and so it is important to have close links with services to adults.

The Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) provides the focal point. It has spent 2007 developing and preparing for new statutory responsibilities, including private fostering and safer recruitment practice, and establishing the Child Death Review Panel.

We have made great improvements in our processes for securing the safety of our most vulnerable children. Driven by feedback from the Joint Area Review 2006, we have concentrated on getting the basics right, such as making sure that:

all children in care are allocated to a qualified social worker
initial and core assessments are completed on time
children and families get a timely response
consistent and lower thresholds to social care are applied.

The significant progress made since December 2006 was recognised by Ofsted in the Annual Performance Assessment in November 2007. Improvements must now be sustained as normal practice on which we can build.

The key will be effective information sharing and action planning to support early
intervention wherever possible. Issues will not then escalate, and we can make the best use of the collective resources available.