All agencies and organisations that work with children, whether in the statutory, voluntary or independent sectors, share responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children living within the local authority area and have a duty under Section 11 Children Act 2004 to fully discharge this responsibility. This collective responsibility is co-ordinated through the Local Safeguarding Children Board.
The following principles should underpin the practice of all professionals and agencies working to safeguard children and promote their welfare.
- Effective measures to safeguard children are those that also promote their welfare and should not be seen in isolation from the wider range of support and services
- There must be direct communication with children of sufficient age and ability so that their views are known and considered. This may involve the provision of independent support and advice.
- The child’s wishes and feelings must underpin assessments and any safeguarding activities so far as is reasonable practical and consistent with the child’s welfare
- Information sharing is fundamental to comprehensive assessment and the exercise of professional judgement
- Plans to safeguard and promote the welfare of children must involve the contributions of all relevant agencies, the family and the child
- All parties to a plan to promote and safeguard the welfare of a child should be involved in the review of that plan
- Family members are key parties to plans to promote and safeguard the welfare of a child unless this is inconsistent with ensuring the child’s safety
- Children, families and carers must be provided with the information that enables them to fully exercise their rights and responsibilities
- Plain, jargon-free language should be used appropriate to the age and understanding of each person
- There should be open and honest discussion about concerns and professional responsibilities when working with children and families
Achieving good outcomes for children about whom there are child welfare concerns requires all those with responsibility for assessment and the provision of services to work together according to an agreed plan of action. Everybody who may encounter concerns about the well-being or safety of a child or children must:
- treat the child’s welfare as paramount;
- know what is in the safeguarding procedures and their own internal agency safeguarding policies and procedures;
- know relevant sections of legislation governing services to children – The Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004 and Education Act 2002;
- be clear about their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;
- know what services are available locally, and how to gain access to them;
- know what sources of advice or expertise are available, who to contact, and how;
- know when and how to make a referral to Children’s Social Care or to the Police (see Referrals)
- understand risk factors and the needs of parents who may need extra help in bringing up their children or has problems which may affect their capacity as a parent or carer which may mean they pose a risk of harm to a child, and know where to refer for help (see When are Families at Risk)
- be alert to potential indicators of abuse and neglect, which may include where children are not registered with a school or GP or miss health appointments.
(see Definition of Abuse)
- be alert to the risks which individual abusers, or potential abusers, may pose to children;
- be aware of the effects of abuse and neglect on children;
- share and help to analyse information so that an informed assessment can be made of the child’s needs and circumstances, using the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families (see Initial and Core Assessment)
- contribute as required to whatever actions are needed to safeguard the child and promote his or her welfare;
- be clear about the purpose of their activity, what decisions are required at each stage of the process and what are the intended outcomes for the child and their family members;
- be clear about the protocols and procedures to be followed, including the way in which information will be shared across professional boundaries and within agencies, and be recorded;
- contribute as necessary at all stages of the child protection process.
(see Basic Safeguarding Children Procedures)
- contribute to regularly reviewing the outcomes for the child against specific shared objectives, as required;
- work in partnership with the parents, unless this is inconsistent with the need to ensure the child’s safety (see Working in Partnership with Families)
- respond sensitively to the needs of children and their families from a range of racial, cultural, religious or linguistic backgrounds (see Race, Ethnicity and Culture)
- be committed to full co-operation with other agencies in the interests of safeguarding children and be clear which agency, team or professional has lead responsibility, and the precise roles of everyone else who is involved, including the way in which the children and other family members will be involved;
- contribute to serious case reviews and their implementation (see Serious Case Reviews)
All agencies and organisations need to have in place:
- clear priorities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children explicitly stated in strategic policy documents;
- a clear commitment by senior management to the importance of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare;
- a clear line of accountability within and across organisations for work on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;
- safe recruitment and human resources management procedures that take account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, including arrangements for appropriate enhanced criminal records checks on all staff, students, volunteers, carers, and prospective adopters (see Recruitment and Selection of Staff)
- procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff, students, volunteers, carers, and prospective adopters (see Managing Allegations of Abuse Against People Who Work With Children)
- staff induction processes that include advice and instruction on the individual professional’s responsibilities in relation to promoting children’s welfare and safeguarding them from harm (see Training, Development and Supervision)
- arrangements to ensure that all staff, students, volunteers and carers undertake appropriate training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities effectively, and keep this up to date by refresher training at regular intervals;
- arrangements to ensure that all staff, including temporary staff, students, volunteers and carers who work with children, are made aware of the establishment’s arrangements – and their own responsibilities – for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;
- policies for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children (for example, pupils/students), including a safeguarding policy that is agreed by the Local Safeguarding Children Board;
- an awareness and appreciation of the role of other agencies, including those providing services for adults;
- arrangements to work effectively with other organisations to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including arrangements for information sharing and commissioning;
- a clear understanding of how to keep children safe on-line by understanding identifying and mitigating the risks of new technology (see Child Abuse and Information Technology)
- a culture of listening to and talking with children – seeking their views in ways appropriate to their age and understanding, and taking account of those both in individual decisions and the establishment and development of services;
- appropriate whistle-blowing procedures and a culture that encourages the reporting of concerns about the welfare of children;
- arrangements to ensure that children they work with or care for are informed of who to contact if they have concerns about their own safety or welfare;
- arrangements for regular supervision, sufficient to support staff to recognise children in need of support and / or safeguarding, and which is appropriate to their responsibilities within the organisation (see Supervision and Support)
- easy access to the Pan Cheshire Safeguarding Procedures and to the organisations own safeguarding policies and procedures;
- arrangements for staff to have easy access during service delivery times to the agency’s nominated safeguarding children adviser;
- arrangements for effective internal and external challenge, conflict resolution and complaint in relation to delivery of services.
Agency’s activities must be monitored in respect of promoting children’s welfare and safeguarding them from harm to ensure they are effective. This will be done through:
- The annual Section 11 audit completed by agencies and scrutinised by the LSCB.
- Receiving feedback from children and their families on services provided in respect of promoting children’s welfare and safeguarding them from harm and using that feedback to improve services and practice.
- Effective internal and external challenge, conflict resolution and complaint in relation to delivery of services
