Local Safeguarding Children Board

Business Plan

April 2007 - March 2008

• Section 1 - Purpose and Function
• Section 2 - Annual Review 2006/07
• Section 3 - Performance
• Section 4 - Budget 2006/07
• Section 5 - Links to Other Plans
• Section 6 - Work Plan 2007/08

Section 1: Purpose and Function

Introduction

The Local Safeguarding Children Board is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.

The work of Local Safeguarding Children Boards is part of the wider context of children's trust arrangements that aim to improve the overall well being (i.e. the five Every Child Matters outcomes) of all children in the local area.

Whilst the work of Local Safeguarding Children Boards contributes to the wider goal of improving the well being of all children, it has a particular focus on aspects of the ‘staying safe' outcome.

Objectives

The main objectives of the Local Safeguarding Children Board are set out in Section 14(1) of the Children Act 2004 as follows:-

• To co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority; and
• To ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for that purpose.

Terms of Reference and Membership

The detailed terms of reference for the Tameside Local Safeguarding Children Board are set out in the document "From Area Child Protection Committee to Local Safeguarding Board: Terms of Reference 2005/06" and in the document "Tameside Local Safeguarding Children Board Sub Committee Terms of Reference: December 2005".

Local Safeguarding Children Board Functions

• Policies and Procedures
  Developing policies and procedures in relation to:
  • Action to be taken where there are concerns about a child's safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention
  • Training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children
  • Recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children
  • Investigation of allegations concerning persons working with children
  • Safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered
  • Co-operation with neighbouring children's services authorities and their Board partners
  Other policies and procedures:
  • Dealing with professional differences of view
  • Attendance at child protection conferences
  • Attendance at family group conferences
  • Involving children and family members in child protection conferences
  • Decision making process at child protection conferences
  • Handling complaints from families about child protection conferences
     
• Communication and Awareness Raising
  Communicating the need to safeguarding raising awareness of how best to do it.
   
• Monitoring and Evaluation
  Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness individually and collectively of what is done.
   
• Participating in Planning and Commissioning
  Participate in order to ensure safeguarding taken into account.
   
• Child Deaths
  Collecting and analysing information about deaths to identify:
  • Matters of concern including the need for case review
  • General public health concerns Procedure to ensure and co-ordinate responses to an unexpected death.
     
• Serious Case Reviews
  Undertaking reviews and advising on lessons to be learned.

Section 2 - Annual Review 2006/07

LSCB Annual Review April 2006 - March 2007

Priority : New legislation guidance and regulations

Tameside ACPC was active in promoting the development of the ACPC into a local Safeguard of Children Board. The Board was formally launched in September 2005 with the following in place:

• Membership which meets the statutory requirements
• Agreement about the budget and multi-agency funding
• Terms of reference for the Local Safeguarding Children Board
• Terms of reference for Sub Committees
• All Sub Committees have terms of reference and are operational
• 3 new posts have been created to support the work of the Local Safeguarding Children Board and those appointed began work in March/April 2006
• The Common Assessment Framework has been implemented and new guidance is being written.

Priority: Improved Policies, Procedures and Guidance for all Agencies working with Children and Young People

• Guidance has been facilitated and agreed in respect of:
  • Forced marriage
  • Core group working
  • Children missing from home
  • Working with Sexually Active under 18 year olds
  • Information for parents and carers in respect of Child Protection Conferences
  • Children and young people in Madrassahs
  • Safe Parenting
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board, jointly with all 8 mosques in Tameside, launched "The Straight Path", guidance for Madrassah's in respect of safe caring and learning for children and young people.
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board Conference in November 2006 focussed on the topic of "resilience" in children and young people and featured a guest speaker Robbie Gilligan. The work of the sub committees was also highlighted and attendees were given the opportunity to focus on priorities for action during the coming year.
• The LSCB Development Day in March 2007 was facilitated by Dorothy Lewis and provided an opportunity for clarifying priorities for the forthcoming year
• Work has already commenced in respect of a new set of Safeguarding Procedures and this has taken place under the auspices of the Policy and Procedures sub committee. It is anticipated that a first draft of the procedures will be available to the LSCB in May 2007 for consultation. Chairing arrangements have also changed in respect of the Performance Monitoring and Policy and Procedures sub committee.
• Work is ongoing with Allegations management Advisors (AMA's) Located in Government Office North West (GONW) in respect of Safe Working Practice Guidance, the role and scope of the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) and referrals to the POCA (Protection of Children Act) List
• A model template for Child Protection policies has been developed to assist the voluntary sector and private providers with their safeguarding responsibilities.
• The Safe Parenting Handbook has been revised and is due for publication before the end of the financial year.
• Work is ongoing in respect of developing the LSCB website
• The LSCB newsletter has been revised and is regularly published

Priority : Quality Assurance and Performance Monitoring

• The Serious Case Review Panel met to consider 2 cases
• Work was completed on a Case Review Action Plan
• Data and information reporting in respect of key safeguarding issues is presented to the LSCB on a quarterly basis
• An Audit in respect of safeguarding standards is currently being completed and will be available to the LSCB before the end of the financial year
• Work is currently ongoing in respect of achieving standard 5 of the National Service Framework Standard 5 in respect of safeguarding
• Licensing applications have been scrutinised with respect to safeguarding children and young people from harm. Over the past 12 months 97 applications have been received. Two have had to be amended to ensure safeguarding issues have been addressed.
• Draft protocols in respect of child deaths and Serious Case Reviews have been completed under the auspices of the overview panel
• A process for all child deaths, which includes a reporting process, has been established
• Basic dataset has been developed and data has been collected for all child deaths from April 2006
• Analysis of information to identify concerns has been established
• Quarterly reports of all child deaths to LSCB
• Draft procedure for case reviews has been written
• Draft procedure for Rapid Response to unexpected deaths has been written and consulted on
• Resource identified and post advertised by PCT for Paediatric contribution to Rapid Response
• Relationship established with key services: Coronial Service, TMBC engineers
• Information a bout role of OP for website drafted

Priority: Service User Participation

• Advocacy for parents has been commissioned and implemented
• There has been an increase in the number of children whose views are considered at Child Protection Conference
• Consultation work is being undertaken in respect of service user views at Child Protection Conferences

Priority: Use of Management Information

• Improvements have been made to the availability and presentation of information

Priority: Training and Development

• LSCB development and training strategy delivered including:
  • Awareness raising
  • Foundation training
  • Refresher training (specific issue modules)
  • CAF/C+F training
  • Induction for LSCB members
• Improvements to monitoring of training uptake
• Review of Single Agency training against LSCB agreed criteria established
• Research into Basic Awareness e-learning materials undertaken and provider identified

Section 3 - Performance

Detailed information about Child Protection Conference and Register activity is contained in the quarterly report to the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

The information in this section is based on 4th Quarter data, which is the latest available at the time of writing.

This indicator shows variation within the normal range.

This indicator now shows consistently good performance

This indicator shows variation, which is within the normal range.

Section 4 - Budget Report

Revenue Monitoring Statement - 01/04/06 - 31/03/07

Projected Expenditure 2007/08

The budget for the Local Safeguarding Children Board was set and agreed in September 2005 when the Board was launched. Contributions have remained at the agreed rate for 2006/07. It is anticipated that the level of activity that the LSCB is undertaking in 2007/2008 may necessitate the need to review agency contributions, particularly for 2008/2009.

Section 5 - Local Safeguarding Children Board Links to Other Plans

• The Local Safeguarding Children Board will contribute to the development of Services for Children & Young People and to meeting the five Every Child Matters outcomes. The Local Safeguarding Children Board will play a major role in meeting the Staying Safe Outcome. However, although the Local Safeguarding Children's Board's sphere of interest is broader than that of the ACPC previously, the Local Safeguarding Children Board's stated priority is to ensure the safeguarding of children in the child protection system and those children in need who require services in order to prevent significant harm.
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board will contribute to the eleven priorities for children and young people in Tameside, in particular:
  • The effect of drugs and alcohol on parenting
  • The effect of parental mental health issues on children
  • The effect of domestic violence on children
  • Support to parents in relation to safeguarding their children
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board will lead on the implementation of the NSF Standard 5 (Safeguarding Children). Key priorities for this are the development of procedures, evaluation of effectiveness and the role of the Overview panel.
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board will need over the next twelve months to develop its links into the emerging commissioning framework for the Children & Young People's Strategic Partnership Trust.
• The Local Safeguarding Children Board will also need to develop its relationship to the Children & Young People's Strategic Partnership Trust as a whole. The Local Safeguarding Children Board is a statutory body and as such is not subordinate to the Children & Young People's Strategic Partnership Trust. Mechanisms will need to be developed which assist its integration into planning structures and ensure the independence of its voice.

Section 6 - Local Safeguarding Children Board Work Plan 2007/08