Agenda and minutes

None.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair. 

To approve the Committee’s Terms of Reference for the municipal year 2023-24.

Members received the Terms of Reference for the Committee, there had been no changes from previous years.

RESOLVED – that the Terms of Reference, as set out in Appendix A of the report, be approved.

To approve the Committee’s Work Programme for the municipal year 2023-24.

The Lead Lawyer: Children & Adults presented the work programme for 2023/24. The work programme included standing items and new suggestions which had been received during the consultation.

RESOLVED- that the Children & Young People Scrutiny Work Programme, as set out in Appendix A of the report, be approved.

To receive the annual report of the Telford & Wrekin Local Safeguarding Children Board for 2021/22.

The Committee received the report of the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership Board, 2021-22; the report provided an update on the work of the partnership during the Coronavirus Pandemic. The Board focussed on how they could best support children and young people regarding safeguarding especially where processes had failed the child.

There were new processes put into place that examined what went wrong with referrals and what was being done to ensure efficiency and accuracy when dealing with referrals. The use of rapid review was implemented to support with this to respond quickly to errors that had occurred. This led to a structured examination of the processes of when a referral was first made and how they were handled.

Following this, Members had the following discussion and asked questions:

How had the partnership supported young people with mental health concerns?

It was recognised that mental health was a significant challenge.  Early intervention work was being undertaken to support children with mental health concerns at an earlier stage.

What was the expected lead time for supporting children and young people with their mental health?

There were structures in place to support with this, especially with early years support. The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support said there was guidance on waiting times depending on the referral. It was recognised that the Partnership should look at further guidance and performance indicators for when a referral was made.

How effective was the systems for monitoring referrals?

Referrals that were submitted electronically were easier to monitor and track.

A request was made to further understand the referral process. This would need to be investigated further due to the confidentiality due to the nature of referrals.

Members were pleased to hear about the progress and new developments from the Safeguarding Board and asked about further plans for information sharing.

The Independent Chair explained that the Board would continue to work with partners. Newly recruited Safeguarding Nurses would support with information sharing regarding health and mental health. It was recognised that health was a diverse area and that the nurses were to support with sharing information regarding this as well as providing an overview of the system.

How had the cost of living crisis affected children and families?

The impact had been seen across families in the Borough. Further work was being undertaken to address the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis and support children and their families as required.

What systems were in place to monitor if children were having breakfast before school?

Each school would monitor this and would make relevant referrals should a concerning pattern emerge.

Members asked about work being undertaken in schools.

Schools were being supported to introduce their own Children Safeguarding Boards, which were facilitated by the school but run by pupils. The aim was to help understand the issues pupils faced and how best to support them.

How were the Children Safeguarding Boards in schools operated?

The Boards were not prescriptive; schools could call them what they wanted and could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Members were informed that the next formal committee meeting was scheduled for the 4 October 2023.