Agenda item

Working Together 2018 stated that partnerships must produce an annual report “at least once in every 12 months period.” The report must set out what they have done as a result of the arrangements, including on child safeguarding practice reviews, and how effective these arrangements have been in practice.

WT18 also stated that the report should include:
1. evidence of the impact of the work of the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, including training, on outcomes for children and families from early help to looked-after children and care leavers.

2. an analysis of any areas where there has been little or no evidence of progress on agreed priorities.

3. a record of decisions and actions taken by the partners in the report’s period (or planned to be taken) to implement the recommendations of any local and national child safeguarding practice reviews, including any resulting improvements.

4. ways in which the partners have sought and utilised feedback from children and families to inform their work and influence service provision.

These requirements formed the chapters for the annual report that was submitted and considered by Cabinet.

RESOLVED –

That the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2022-23 be NOTED.

Working Together 2018 stated that partnerships must produce an annual report “at least once in every 12 months period.” The report must set out what they have done as a result of the arrangements, including on child safeguarding practice reviews, and how effective these arrangements have been in practice.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education introduced Walter McCulloch - Independent Chair, Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership. The Partnership was a multi-agency partnership including police, fire, NHS, Thames Valley Rehabilitation Service and National Probation Service which dealt with 124,000 children. The main vision of the Partnership was to hear the Voice of the Child. 

The Independent Chair reported that the report was work in progress and represented his first six months as Chair. He commented that the report should included:

1. evidence of the impact of the work of the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, including training, on outcomes for children and families from early help to looked-after children and care leavers. This should include looking at data to see if actions were having a positive impact on children, looking at the qualitative assessment, what staff would say across the Partnership and listening to the voices of those with lived experience.

2. an analysis of any areas where there has been little or no evidence of progress on agreed priorities.

3. a record of decisions and actions taken by the partners in the report’s period (or planned to be taken) to implement the recommendations of any local and national child safeguarding practice reviews, including any resulting improvements.

4. ways in which the partners have sought and utilised feedback from children and families to inform their work and influence service provision.

This information had helped the Partnership develop the Business Plan and narrow down the priorities which include:-

·       developing the Partnership further so that Partners could hold each other to account and to increase collaborative working

·       the collective front door and managing demand through the different agencies

·       learning through Case Reviews and the evidence for change

·       learning from the lived experience

The Independent Chair thanked Public Health colleagues for the assessments relating to the Child Death Overview Panel, which was a statutory requirement as part of the partnership and stressed the importance of analysing the cause of any tragic deaths. There would be a progress report in 2024 which would show that the Partnership was up to date with their statutory duties. The training needs analysis was work in progress.

These requirements formed the chapters for the annual report that was submitted and considered by Cabinet.

Next steps for the Partnership

• To agree a new business plan with measurable priorities and ensure this was

shared with the sub groups for action.

• To review the current membership and structure to ensure that it could deliver

what was required.

• To agree and implement a front line staff and residents engagement plan.

• To re-establish and strengthen the links between the relevant Partnership

Boards.

• To implement and measure the impact of the revised training offer.

• To review the evidence based from practice reviews and ensure that the learning

was shared.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·       Reference was made to the 170 children missing from education, which meant that they were missing from the mechanism for early warning signs. It was important to understand why they were missing and any areas of concern. There were also 1091 children who were electively home educated, and it was important to understand what the checks and balances were for their safeguarding. Reference was also made to community partnerships such as youth organisations and the importance of sharing information. The Independent Chair reported that Buckinghamshire numbers were lower than the previous County he had worked in. Children missing from education were kept under close review including those home educated. This had been recently discussed at a Select Committee meeting. The Corporate Director reported that for children that were home educated, there was an annual requirement for a home visit to take place. For those missing from education there was a partnership approach to sharing information to ensure that those who have a school place access their education and access the support required to enable them to attend school. There was a national profile around attendance and the Council had undertaken a self-assessment in this area with a session with the DfE in early 2024. The Independent Chair referred to community groups and re-instituting a community based meeting in December, which could be locality based, to hear the voice of those directly involved and benefit from sharing information and further training.

·       In terms of collaboration, it was noted that through the community based meeting and other mechanisms there was good collaboration linking services, for example housing and safeguarding and listening to any concerns to protect children and young people.

·       20 causes of death were in the perinatal period which related to the previous report where the Director of Public Health had referred to mental health during pregnancy.

·       At the September Partnership meeting there was a good presentation on learning from lived experiences and looking at examples where action could be taken as one of the four key priorities of the business plan. This also linked with a recent HMIC report on child protection.

·       Referrals, as was the case with adults, had increased in numbers and complexity. When talking to partners they also commented that there had been an unprecedented rise in referrals and to ensure that the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub was taking a consistent approach to referrals by looking at thresholds and ensuring good decision making.

·       The Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services reported that the numbers were lower for children missing from education (27) as some families had moved from the area and not notified the local authority.

RESOLVED –

That the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2022-23 be NOTED.