Issue - meetings

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN SCRUTINY REVIEW

Meeting: 21/03/2016 - Cabinet (Item 117)

117 Safeguarding Children Scrutiny Review pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

TonySmith

“Making sure our children and young people are safe is perhaps our most enduring and important duty. It is a key pledge within our Wirral Plan and an area of our business which is always right at the top of our agenda.

 

“This Scrutiny Review is extremely helpful in highlighting where we should focus our attention to strengthen our processes and put the systems in place to identify, as early as possible, where a child is at risk of harm.”

 

Councillor Tony Smith

 

Reason for Decision:

 

The Safeguarding Children in Wirral Scrutiny Review provided an in depth look at safeguarding in Wirral through elected member discussions with a range of different family members and professionals, and consideration of the effective implementation of policies and procedures to satisfy themselves, as far as reasonably possible that vulnerable children and young people in Wirral are safe. The recommendations within the report were borne out of this evidence, and were intended to improve the safety of children and young people.

 

Decision:

 

That

 

(1)  the contents and recommendations of the Scrutiny Report, “Safeguarding Children in Wirral” be accepted; and

 

(2)  an update report regarding the impact of the recommendations be presented to the Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee, and subsequently Cabinet at its July 2016 meeting.

 

Purpose:

 

Councillor M McLaughlin informed Cabinet that members of the Families & Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee had undertaken an in-depth review of safeguarding procedures for children in Wirral, over the course of two years from January 2014.

 

Councillor M McLaughlin further informed that the review had been reported to Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee on 19 January 2016, and that many of the recommendations emanating from the review had already been actioned and used to improve procedures and practice.

 

Cabinet noted that the scrutiny review had given members the opportunity to assure themselves that the Council and partners have adequate safeguarding mechanisms in place and that those processes work in practice. Scrutiny would also help the partnership to understand the experiences of families and what may need to change to improve outcomes in safeguarding.

 

The Members of the Scrutiny Panel had met with a range of witnesses throughout the course of the review, including Council officers, representatives of partner organisations as well as a small number of families who had experience of the social care system.

 


Meeting: 19/01/2016 - Policy and Performance - Families and Wellbeing Committee (Item 44)

44 SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN SCRUTINY REVIEW pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Members of the Safeguarding Children Task & Finish Group providing background information regarding the Final Report.

 

The Chair and Members of the Panel expressed their thanks to all those who had assisted the review by so readily giving their time, experience and suggestions in particular Alan Veitch, Scrutiny Support Officer and Simon Garner, Corporate Safeguarding Manager. The Chair gave her personal thanks to the members of the Panel who had also given up their time and had made an excellent contribution to the review and the Final Report.

 

The Final Report, ‘safeguarding Children in Wirral’ was attached as an appendix to the report.

 

The Members echoed the Chair in thanking those officers who worked tirelessly to keep Wirral’s children safe.

 

A Member commented that in relation to Recommendation 9 detailed within the report she felt it was important that Special Guardians undertook the same robust training that was given to foster carers and adoptive parents. 

 

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the contents and recommendations of the Safeguarding Children in Wirral Scrutiny Review be noted.

 

(2)  the Safeguarding Children in Wirral Scrutiny Report be referred to the next appropriate Cabinet meeting;

 

(3)  an update report regarding the progress being made towards the implementation of the recommendations be presented to this Committee in six months time; and

 

(4)  Alan Veitch, Scrutiny Support Officer and Simon Garner, Corporate Safeguarding Manager be thanked for all their support and guidance in completing the review.