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East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board
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Date of meeting:
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12 December 2023 |
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By: |
Chris Robson, East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Independent Chair
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Title: |
East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2022/23
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Purpose: |
To advise Board Members of the multi-agency arrangements in place to safeguard children in East Sussex |
The Health and Wellbeing Board is recommended to receive and consider the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report for 2022-2023
1.1 Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 sets out the arrangements for cooperation between organisations and agencies to improve the wellbeing of children. This places a duty on police, Integrated Care Boards and the local authority to make arrangements to work together, and with other partners locally, to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in their area. The partnership arrangements are set out in section 4 of the report.
1.2 In order to bring transparency for children, families and all practitioners about the activity undertaken by the Children’s Safeguarding Partnership, Working Together 2018 sets out that the safeguarding partners must publish a report at least once in every 12-month period. The report must set out what they have done as a result of the arrangements, including child safeguarding practice reviews, and how effective these arrangements have been in practice.
1.3 The 2022/23 ESSCP Annual Report focuses on partnership evidence, learning, impact and assurance.
2.1 The ESSCP Annual Report 2022/23 (appendix 1) outlines the work undertaken by the partnership, highlighting key learning and achievements in section 2, which includes.
o 3 multi-agency Rapid Reviews conducted, of which one progressed to a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LSCPR) and two LCSPRs published.
o 552 multi-agency staff attended 42 virtual training courses. 99% of evaluations rated the course as Excellent or Good, which is a further increase on last year.
o Four multi-agency audits held, which included an audit on the multi-agency response to the identification of initial need and risk, using the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) criteria.
o Two new Lay Members recruited and introduction of ‘evidencing impact’ events.
o Agreed process for development of Pan Sussex training and events, plus the completion of Pan Sussex serious incident referral and rapid review procedure.
o Four additional safeguarding projects; covering neglect and poverty, transitions, information sharing with third parties and harmful sexual behaviour in education settings.
2.2 The ESSCP Annual Report 2022/23 is published on the ESSCP website, and a copy of the published report has been shared with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care as per chapter 3 of Working Together 2018. A young person’s accessible version of the report will also be published on the ESSCP website.
2.3 Since the writing of the annual report, the Department for Education (DfE) launched a consultation on revisions to the Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance for England. The consultation aimed to gather views on updating Working Together to help deliver on the government’s plans to transform children’s social care set out in Stable Homes, Built on Love. In particular, the consultation focused on strengthening how safeguarding partners (local authorities, integrated care boards and the police) work together, and with relevant agencies, to safeguard and protect children locally. The ESSCP discussed the consultation at length with Board members and lead agencies and submitted a partnership response to the consultation. The revised Working Together statutory guidance is due to be published by the end of 2023.
3.1 An effective Safeguarding Children Partnership is in place in East Sussex.
3.2 The Health and Wellbeing Board is requested to receive and consider the ESSCP Annual Report 2022/23 and to note the agreed on priorities for 2023 onwards:
CHRIS ROBSON
Independent Chair,
East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership