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Report to: |
People Scrutiny Committee
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Date of meeting:
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20 November 2025 |
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By: |
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Title: |
East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024/25
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Purpose: |
RECOMMENDATIONS
The People Scrutiny Committee is recommended to receive and consider the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report for 2024-25.
1. Background
1.1 Working Together to Safeguard Children 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 In response to Working Together 2023, the Lead Safeguarding Partners (LSPs), Delegated Safeguarding Partners (DSPs) and partnership members developed, and subsequently updated, the ESSCP Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA December 2024).
1.3 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.
1.4 The 2024/25 ESSCP Annual Report focuses on partnership leadership, learning, oversight and assurance.
2. Supporting information
2.1 The ESSCP Annual Report 2024/25 outlines the work undertaken by the partnership, highlighting key learning and achievements in section 2, which includes:
· Two multi-agency Rapid Reviews conducted in response to serious incidents; two Rapid Review briefings published and ‘Learning from Serious Safeguarding Incidents’ sessions held. One Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) published. Three completed LCSPRs awaiting publication due to pending family engagement and Home Office sign-off.
· 694 multi-agency staff attended 49 training courses. 100% of evaluations returned rated courses as Excellent or Good. During Safeguarding Fortnight in November 2024, an additional 250 multi-agency staff members attended across 7 learning sessions.
· Three multi-agency audits held, which focussed on the quality and robustness of response to children presenting at A&E due to deliberate self-harm; intra-familial child sexual abuse and a regular case file audit of recent safeguarding cases.
· Significant development of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements with the education and voluntary sector.
· Additional safeguarding projects covering topics such as information sharing, online safety, and social care transformation.
2.2 Section 5 of the annual report sets out how the partnership’s collaborative leadership and clear accountability have enabled effective multi-agency safeguarding arrangements that:
· Ensure that there are arrangements in place for effective independent scrutiny.
· Develop and deliver local business plan priorities.
· Address and escalate strategic and operational multi-agency barriers.
· Promote and embed a culture that supports critical thinking and professional challenge.
· Ensure all relevant local agencies are engaged with the partnership and have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children.
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 details the oversight and assurance of the ESSCP to ensure the effectiveness of safeguarding practice, which it does through evidence-based auditing, performance management, and self-analysis.
2.5 The ESSCP Annual Report 2024/25 and an Executive Summary has been published on the ESSCP website, and a copy of the published report shared with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements Unit (DfE) as per 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 People Scrutiny Committee is recommended to receive and consider the ESSCP Annual Report 2024/25 and to note the partnership arrangements in place and the continuing agreed priorities for 2023-2026:
· Safeguarding in education including safeguarding children who are electively home educated, excluded from school, and missing education.
· Safeguarding adolescents including adolescents who are criminally exploited, self-harm and/or express suicidal thoughts, child to parent abuse, and transitional safeguarding.
· Embedding learning and 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 and East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership Delegated Safeguarding Partner
Contact Officer
Louise MacQuire-Plows, ESSCP Manager
Email: louise.macquire-plows@eastsussex.gov.uk
Appendix A: ESSCP Annual Report 2024-25
Appendix B: ESSCP Annual Report 2024-25 Executive Summary