Report to: East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board
Date: 10 December 2024
By: Carolyn Fair, Director of Children’s Services
East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Delegated Safeguarding Partner
Title: East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2023/24
Purpose of Report: To advise Board Members of the multi-agency arrangements in place to safeguard children in East Sussex
Recommendations:
East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board is recommended to:
1. Receive and consider the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report for 2023-2024
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1. Background
1.1 Working Together to Safeguard Children was refreshed in December 2023 and 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.
1.2 The publication of Working Together 2023 provided the opportunity to review the partnership arrangements in East Sussex and across the pan Sussex footprint. The Lead Safeguarding Partners (LSPs), Delegated Safeguarding Partners (DSPs) and partnership members undertook extensive work to develop and shape the future partnership arrangements.
1.3 Section 4 of the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership (ESSCP) Annual Report for 2023-2024 includes an overview of the arrangements in place during that period and also the revised ESSCP Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements that came in to force on 2 September 2024.
1.4 In order to bring transparency for children, families and professionals Working Together 2023 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.
1.5 The 2023/24 ESSCP Annual Report focuses on partnership evidence, learning, impact and assurance.
2. Supporting information
2.1 The ESSCP Annual Report 2023/24 outlines the work undertaken by the partnership, highlighting key learning and achievements in section 2, which includes.
o Four multi-agency Rapid Reviews conducted in response to serious incidents; two progressed to Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (LCSPR), learning from the other two shared via learning briefings and action plans developed. One ongoing combined LCSPR/Domestic Homicide Review from 2022/23. Two LCSPRs published. One completed LCSPR awaiting publication due to pending family input.
o 718 multi-agency staff attended 50 training courses. 100% of evaluations returned rated courses as Excellent or Good.
o Three multi-agency audits held, which focussed on the quality and robustness of Strategy Discussion meetings; the safeguarding of Children Missing Education; and child protection plans for older teenagers.
o Development of pan Sussex and local Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements in response to Working together 2023
o Two learning and impact events focussing on the impact of the multi-agency response to suspected child suicide and the national and local learning in relation to children and domestic abuse.
o Additional safeguarding projects covering topics such as pan Sussex information sharing, engagement of voluntary and community sector partners and online Safety.
2.2 Section 5 of the annual report sets out how the partnership uses evidence to determine its priorities, shape the way multi-agency partners have taken actions or adopted specific practice models and evaluate the impact of partnership work.
2.3 The partnership’s commitment to creating and strengthening a learning culture across all agencies in East Sussex who work with children and young people is highlighted in section 6. The partnership supports a culture which is open, able to challenge all partner agencies, able to identify learning, improve, and then evaluate effectiveness.
2.4 Section 7 of the report aims to convey the impact of multi-agency and partnership activity on practice and outcomes for children and families, with the final section, 8, detailing the activity of the ESSCP to ensure the effectiveness of safeguarding practice through evidence-based auditing, performance management, and self-analysis.
2.5 The ESSCP Annual Report 2023/24 has been published on the ESSCP website, and a copy of the published report shared with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care as per chapter 2 of Working Together 2023. A young person’s accessible version of the report will also be published on the ESSCP website.
3. Conclusion and reasons for recommendations
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 2023/24 and to note the new partnership arrangements in place from 2 September 2024 and the continuing agreed priorities for 2023-2026:
· Safeguarding children in schoolsincluding safeguarding children who are electively home educated, excluded from school, and missing education.
· Safeguarding adolescentsincluding adolescents who are criminally exploited, self-harm and/or express suicidal thoughts, child to parent abuse, and transitional safeguarding.
· Embedding learningand evidencing impact from case review and audit work, including ensuring that learning from the 2020-23 priority on safeguarding infants was embedded.
Carolyn Fair
DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES
Contact Officer: Carolyn Fair
Email: Carolyn.Fair@eastsussex.gov.uk
Telephone: 01273 481315