Agenda item

To receive the annual report of the Telford & Wrekin Local Safeguarding Children’s Board for 2022/23 and 2023/24.

The Independent Chair of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board and the Service Delivery Manager: Policy & Development presented the annual report of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board covering the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.

Members heard that the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board was a partnership board responsible for multiagency safeguarding arrangements to protect and safeguard vulnerable children and was funded by Telford & Wrekin Council in equal partnership with the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board and West Mercia Police.

The core focus of the Board was to:-

• Put the person who had been harmed or at risk at the centre of everything and listen to their views about what could be done to improve the safety of people;
• Hold members to account;
• Collect and share information about how people are kept safe;
• Make sure workers and volunteers receive the training needed to provide safe services and to share concerns if they believe a person is being hurt or abused;
• Review policies and guidance to make sure there is constant improvement; and
•  Raise awareness of safeguarding issues and what to do.

A summary of key achievements of the Board over the last three years included addressing child neglect and exploitation in Telford and Wrekin.

Significant progress had been made in addressing neglect following work undertaken by the partnership to consult with partners, families and children to review practice and engagement with families from Family Connect referrals. The introduction of various initiatives including the development of a neglect windscreen, multi-agency file audits and the roll out of additional Family Hubs has led to a reduction in neglect-related assessments and contacts.

Members heard that Telford was in a strong position in relation to its response child exploitation with the work undertaken to date validated by Tom Crowther KC. The Board had undertaken a two year review to examine the implementation of the inquiry’s recommendations. As part of its priorities, the Board had developed a multi-agency data set to analyse trends and emerging needs to help tailor services and support. The Child Exploitation contextual safeguarding model was also created to address strategic barriers and prevent exploitation.

At the time of the meeting, the Board was in the process of reviewing its priorities for 2024/25 which would include a focus on improving responses to children’s emotional health needs and prevention of harm to children through the provision of early support. The Board would also continue its focus on partners response to child exploitation which included the development of a co-produced Child Sexual Exploitation Strategy with lived experience consultees.

Following the presentation, Members asked several questions:-

How was neglect identified? Did teachers, social services, GPs and other professionals who may identify aspects of neglect communicate with one another and did we talk to the child about their experiences?

The Independent Chair of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board advised that part of the Board’s aims was to ensure that partners were alert to neglect and aware of its prevalence. Neglect was one of the most damaging forms of abuse that could be encountered. From the moment that a person  reports a pregnancy, GPs and midwives are vigilant for signs of neglect and nurseries, schools, colleges, police officers who may have contact with a child had been trained to recognise symptoms early on. 

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support advised that the voice of the child had been a huge area of focus for the Council over the last 12 months. The Safeguarding Team had been working to support families by clarifying the meaning of neglect and how it can encompass a wide range of harm, including emotional as well as physical neglect. The Council had been collaborating with a group of parents, known as the Dandelion Group, to help  improve service delivery from a parent's perspective whilst focusing on the voice of the child. Changes had also been made to how information was written on a child's file so that professionals were writing directly to the child so that records were no longer purely professional documents but records for the child which they can understand.

The response to the CSE report was brilliant and the recommendations implemented have had a huge impact. As the focus had shifted towards child criminal exploitation, what were the key priorities in addressing this issue?

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support advised that the Council had a strong partnership response and at the time of the meeting had worked with charities Climb, Stay Clear and St Giles, programmes which support the protection of criminal exploitation by offering support for people to make safer choices as well as supporting people who faced disadvantages such as poverty, unemployment, homelessness and abuse. The Council’s CATE team had also focused work on raising general awareness around criminal exploitation.

Taking into consideration that not all victims report domestic abuse, how did we seek support for children who didn’t have a voice and may have been subjected to it and how did we support these children who may have or may have not been experiencing this daily?

The Independent Chair of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board advised that the partnership was aware of how harmful domestic abuse could be and that it was an issue which was difficult to address. Members were informed that if West Merica Police became aware of a case of domestic abuse involving a child, the school would be notified so that when the child arrives at school, the school would be in a position to better support the child whilst in a school setting. Nurseries and preschools were also on alert for any signs from children of domestic abuse at home. The Board continuously works to gather information from various sources as part of a multi-faced approach to help identify and support children who may have been subjected to domestic abuse.

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support confirmed that from a service delivery approach, the Council had worked with a number of families with a range of needs and any child who had been affected by domestic abuse would be able to speak to a member of the team directly. If Teams suspected that there had been domestic abuse, the Council’s Domestic Abuse Practitioners would work with social services and speak to the child’s parents or carers. Through Family Safeguarding teams, the Council also worked with victims of domestic abuse to provide support around staying safe. When domestic abuse had been reported at an acute level, Probation Officers would also undertake targeted work, focusing on children and working with survivors. The Council had acknowledged that there was not just a focus on female victims but also the male victims and sometimes the abuser who had a responsibility to keep children safe.

As part of your efforts to reduce the number of children in care and focus on early intervention, the number of children on a child protection plan and the number of Section 47’s undertaken had fallen rapidly between 22/23 and 23/24. Was the total reduction for both of these data sets what you had expected to see?

The Independent Chair of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board confirmed that the Board had undertaken work on the type of referrals coming into the Council which identified that a number of referrals were not necessarily safeguarding concerns.

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support advised that it had taken two to three years to see the reduction in the number of children on child protection plans and at the time of the meeting, work was still ongoing to monitor referrals through the Council’s Family Connect service which would see teams assess the level of need and make decisions based on the information provided for each child. If the Council felt it was necessary to undertake a Section 47, this would still be the approach taken. The Council also offer a robust Early Help programme which includes the Family Hubs service to ensure families are supported at the most appropriate level. Members heard that the Council were continuing to monitor the number of children on child protection plans and the number of children who go back onto these plans.

How far did the support offered extend? Many high-risk families were often reluctant to get involved in formal programmes. Could Parish Councils offer clubs or other informal support options?

The Independent Chair of the Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board advised that the support offer available was designed to reach as many families as possible and professionals were available across various organisations to help provide support. There had been a real commitment from the Board to find the best person to communicate with each family based on their circumstances.

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support advised that the Council’s Strengthening Families Team offered a family drop-in session at Southwater Library which was co-led with a parent peer advocate aimed to reduce barriers by creating a non-threatening environment where parents could share their experiences and receive early help and family support services. Members heard that the library setting had allowed parents and families to approach the right support without the need to go through social services.

What mental health and emotional support was available for the Council’s Safeguarding Team and if there was not sufficient support available, what steps could elected Members have taken to ensure support is available?

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support commented that he was proud of the mental health support available for teams within the Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support service. The Council also offered an Employee Assistance Programme and various support options for staff including a systemic psychotherapist who was able to discuss experiences of individual staff members, how they felt in certain situations and assist with identifying the most suitable support options available to them. Members were informed that if there was a significant incident, the team would undergo a formal debrief and followed by regular check in sessions. On a quarterly basis, Service Delivery Managers would provide a formal report which would include indicators of the overall wellbeing of the workforce to ensure the Council were providing the necessary support needed.

Were county lines a problem in Telford & Wrekin?

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support advised that it was difficult to provide Members with specific data relating to county lines but the Council recognised the challenges in the Borough and had continued to regularly respond to cases where children had been impacted by this type of harm.