Agenda item

Doncaster Caring Theme

The Chair of the Doncaster Safeguarding Children’s Board thanked all those people involved in this area of work, and outlined that it was his first report, having only taken up post half way through the reporting year.

He explained that the Safeguarding Board was active and highlighted its positive position, raising the following issues:

·       Signs of Safety Model – the service led on this model, which had now been extended for use in Adult Safeguarding to provide a more consistent approach for service users. 

·       Excellent areas of work, for example, Youth Offending provision and taking a robust approach to Child Sexual Exploitation issues and preventative methods.  This successful partnership work had been successfully achieved and acknowledged by Ofsted;

·       High number of cases that were meeting the threshold for referral;

·       Children that required a high level of care being placed outside the borough and associated costs;

·       Aggressive investigation following 3 child deaths as a result of parents falling asleep on their child;

·       Large number of children and young people from other authorities being cared for in small independent homes and the requirement and ability to ensure they were safe.  Reports of missing children were stretching resources within South Yorkshire Police and Health Services feeling the impact.

·       Working Together – all partners were moving to a much simpler model removing duplication ensuring a more effective service.  All services would be aligned to ensure they were properly integrated.

The following issues were raised by the Panel:

Referrals – concern was expressed that there were so many cases being presented at the referral stage where no further assistance was required, and questioned whether this was being done as it was easy to pass the problem to the Children’s Trust.  It was acknowledged that there had been a clear problem with systems that sift the children and young people prior to referral.  For example, the Police have national procedures to follow when a child or young person presents themselves as a child of concern, and therefore a referral was required, but the system needed to take account of whether the they were at immediate risk or suffering from an unpleasant incident.  Therefore the requirement of early help support was essential.

It was explained that part of the problem was the concept that a referral was encouraged however training was an essential element to ensure that thresholds were clear and culturally embedded.  Concern was expressed that the ability to spend time learning was compromised due to the system being overwhelmed, with approximately 1200 cases per month requiring triage prior to a referral being required.  It was stressed that it would also be helpful for the Police to have national guidance from ACPO to assist with referrals.  The Board Chair stressed that the Trust’s relationship with South Yorkshire Police had greatly improved.

It was also reported there was a feeling from front line practitioners that they did not have the tools to address certain issues and that some referrals were more a feature of traumatised communities. This was noted as a strategic issue that required consideration.

Early Help – the need to make families more resilient was imperative, with partners providing assistance with early recognition of issues that required addressing, for example, from assessments undertaken in a school settings.  It was stressed there should be a role for schools to assist parents but it was recognised that education establishments were already under a lot of pressure.  It was acknowledged that roles in the pre-school environment had the biggest impact.

It was stressed that support at the right level was essential ensuring the best outcome for families who were referred, avoiding unnecessary alarm. 

Child Protection Conferences – following concern, it was stressed that South Yorkshire Police were now in attendance at the first conference meeting and subsequently when their presence was appropriate.  It was noted that South Yorkshire Police and Children’s Trust were in the same building and operating a daily duty system, therefore information was more up to date.

With regard to South Yorkshire Police it was explained that they were better informed through their own internal training. It was noted that the Police sit on the Partnership group and they were a crucial addition to the system.

Mental Health – It was noted that there was a local transformation plan containing this issue, including targeting schools and monitored by the NHS.  It was noted that the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel would be giving consideration to the Mental Health Strategy and Delivery Plan on 27^th September, which the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel had been invited to.  It was noted that the Safeguarding Board had addressed young people who were arriving at Accident and Emergency with alcohol and high level need issues.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – It was confirmed that some children and young people had turned up spontaneously and had not been part of a resettlement programme, had varying needs and must be cared for.  The needs of these children and young people were wide-ranging and funding fell short of the costs to cover their requirements.  It was stressed that partners must work on the assumption that they were being trafficked or that they had been abused.

Modern Slavery – In response to Members’ questions, it was the opinion that this issue had not raised itself as a problem in the Doncaster area however, partners were aware of the position and underlying signs.

It was confirmed that Health partners were aware of the issues around Female Genital Mutilation but only became aware of cases when someone sought medical help. If a case arose then the Safeguarding Board would undertake an investigation into such cases.  With regard to training, this and awareness raising has been undertaken , particularly with the change in population.

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) – Members were satisfied with  people being aware of how to raise concerns and noted that this was a crucial function across the Children’s Services partnership.  It was stressed that receiving complaints was a positive, each of which was investigated.  It was explained that if investigations found that suitable arrangements had not been put in place for the identified case, these were rectified.  If establishments were not meeting the criteria, depending on the nature of the issue, improvements plan to a ban on working with children in future could be made.  If there were unsatisfactory trends being highlighted by providers then they would be investigated.

To conclude the discussion the Safeguarding Board Chair thanked the Panel for the opportunity to discuss the work of the Safeguarding Board and Members’ scrutiny and critique, which had been very helpful.

RESOLVED:-  that the report and discussion, be noted and thanks be provided to the Chair of the Safeguarding Board for attending the meeting.