Wirral Safeguarding Children Board
Annual Report (14-15)
and Business Plan (15-16)
December 2015
1. The Wirral Safeguarding Children
Board
Statutory Objectives and
Functions of WSCB
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
Section 14 of the Children Act 2004 sets out the
objectives of LSCBs, which are:
(a) to coordinate what is done by each person or body
represented on the Board for the purposes of
safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in
the area; and
(b) to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each
such person or body for those purposes.
The WSCB operates as an independent multi-agency body
under the direction of an independent chair and is not
subordinate to any other body.
Structure of WSCB and sub
committees
Health and Wellbeing
Board
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
Wirral Safeguarding
Children Board
(WSCB)
Wirral Children’s
Trust Board
WSCB Executive
Group
Child Sexual Exploitation
Performance
Serious Case Review
Policy, Practice and
Procedure
Child Death Overview
Domestic Abuse
Risk Management
Governance
CAF/TAF Quality
Assurance
Learning and
Development
Prevent/ Channel
Staying Safe Strategy
Group
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
Local Background and
Safeguarding Context for 2014-15
 Population of Wirral is 320,200 with 70,500 children and young
people (0-18)
 22% of Wirral children live near or below poverty line. Almost
100% of these live between Wallasey, Birkenhead and Rock Ferry
 2014-15 has continued to be a time of austerity and significant
public sector change. Key challenge for partnership is to prioritise
reduced resources with a focus on the effectiveness of early help
 Action to combat child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse and
neglect
 Multi-agency working with some of Wirral’s most troubled
families through the IFIP programme has been successful
2. Progress against Priorities 2014-15
CSE Awareness Raising Day 18th March 2014
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
1. Domestic Abuse
 Joint children and adults multi-agency committee established
 Domestic abuse strategy developed and published
 New procedure and guidance documents for children and adults
published including revised referral pathway
 Procedure includes tools to measure the impact of domestic
abuse on children
 New domestic abuse training designed and delivered
 Operation Encompass launched across Merseyside
 Domestic abuse needs assessment undertaken
 Retained as a priority for 15-16
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
2. Child Sexual Exploitation
 Multi-agency Wirral practice guidance to support the pan
Merseyside protocol developed and published. Launch supported
by multi-agency briefings
 Launch of the www.listentomystory.co.uk campaign
 Campaign launch included focus groups, radio interviews,
website, briefings, posters and leaflets etc.
 Chelsea’s Choice theatre production seen by 2,000 young people
from 15 schools and over 450 professionals
 CSE strategic group issued 4 key challenge questions to partners
 8 multi-agency training sessions delivered by Catch22
 Two multi-agency workshops held to assess current response to
CSE
Poster promoting the
listentomystory campaign
CSE poster
developed by a
Wirral young person
who is looked after
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
3. Neglect
 Multi-agency neglect strategy published
 Neglect strategy 2 year delivery action plan published
 Review of neglect training and publication and delivery of revised
training
 Re-presented Graded Care Profile tool published with Practice
Guidance and a guide for families (following audit findings)
 Referral pathway for cases across the continuum of need
published
 Plan to audit the effectiveness of the revised training and
guidance in 15-16
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
4. Learning and Improvement
 Learning and Improvement framework (LIF) published including
framework for reviewing cases below the SCR threshold
 Methodology published for WSCB reviews based on the SCIE
Learning Together model – two Case Review committee members
trained
 One Critical Incident Review undertaken and one learning review
in progress. Two other cases to be reviewed in Autumn 2015
 Four cases referred to the National Panel for SCR’s. National
panel agreed with WSCB’s assessment of each
 National and local learning embedded in training and
disseminated to partners
 New evaluation strategy for training includes
how learning has improved outcomes
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
5. Effectiveness of Early Help
 CAF/TAF Quality Assurance Framework revised and published
 Establishment of a partnership Early Help strategic group led by
Targeted Services
 Early development of a multi-agency Early Help strategy led by the
strategic group
 Effectiveness of Early Help performance dataset developed and
continuing to be refined
 Audit of CAF/TAF episodes evidenced effective working and good
understanding of thresholds
 Early Help response for CSE and domestic abuse developed
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
6. Signs of Safety
 Specification written for the development of a new model for the
conduct of child protection conferences and reviews based on the
signs of safety and strengthening families models and focused on
the lived experience of children and young people
 Professor Jan Horwath from Sheffield University commissioned to
develop and introduce the ‘Wirral Model’
 Multi-agency steering and operational groups established and
trial area of Wallasey identified
 Implementation of the model scheduled to last 18 months
beginning September 2015
Progress against Priorities
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
7. Supporting Safeguarding
 Joint protocol between Children’s Trust, Health and Wellbeing
board the WSCB and the SAPB published to ensure coordinated
approach to strategies to safeguard children and young people
 Virtual College commissioned to provide an online Section
11/175 Audit solution
 WSCB sub committees, task and finish and project groups
ensure good safeguarding practice is identified and promoted.
Supported by audit activity
 Work begun to raise awareness of safeguarding issues with wider
workforce and identified groups e.g. work with licensing authority
and taxi drivers about CSE
 Use of Twitter and safeguarding updates to ensure wide
dissemination of safeguarding messages
 CSE work developed with young people
3. WSCB Key Activities 2014-15
Multi-agency CSE Forum Nov 2014 – What are
we going to do differently?
Key WSCB Annual Business
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
Section 11/175
• Duty on organisations to comply with annual safeguarding
audit. 192 agencies participated in 14/15 (153 in 13/14, 117 in
11/12). Audits completed online
• Audits reveal safeguarding arrangements are compliant with
expectations of the safeguarding board
Learning from Case Reviews
• One completed Critical Incident Review. Learning about
vulnerabilities of teenagers with MLD and need for robust
assessment of connected carers
• Learning disseminated through training, briefings, posters,
leaflets and Friday updates.
Auditing
• 8 practice audits completed by WSCB
Key WSCB Annual Business
WSCB Annual Report 14-15
Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP)
• 11 Child deaths in Wirral. All reviewed
• Focus on safe sleep strategy following 5 deaths in Merseyside
Safeguarding Training
• 25 courses (over 70) delivered to over 1000 professionals
• Many courses now with a joint child and adult focus
• e-learning being developed as a training solution
Local Authority Designated Officer for Allegations (LADO)
• 229 allegations reported (179 in 13-14). Physical abuse (66%)
and sexual abuse (18%) main categories
• LADO awareness raising undertaken
4. The WSCB Business Plan for
2015-16
CSE Poster Produced by a Wirral Young
Person who is Looked After
WSCB Business Plan
For 2015-16
WSCB Business Plan 15-16
Priority One
Safeguarding is Everyone’s Responsibility
 WSCB holds agencies to account for safeguarding
arrangements and promotion of safeguarding
 WSCB develops a model of young people’s involvement in
the work of the Board and support for the 2015 Youth Voice
Conference about being safe
 Review of multi-agency understanding of thresholds
 Diary of key safeguarding events dates publicised
 Launch of WSCB website
 Engagement with community groups
Priority Two
WSCB Business Plan 15-16
Child Sexual Exploitation
 Expansion of training through train the trainer
 Review of local and regional procedures including
functioning of MACSE
 Development of detailed regional data set and profile
 Engagement of young people in the assessment of services
and needs assessment to identify gaps in service
Promotion of the listentomystory campaign including
development of website
 Review of effectiveness of work to disrupt activity and
successfully prosecute offenders
 Continued programme of auditing
Priority Three
WSCB Business Plan 15-16
Effectiveness of Early Help
 Review of thresholds and Guide to Integrated Working
 Review of the functioning of the ‘front door’ into children’s
services
 Support for the publication and promotion of the multiagency early help strategy
 Development of multi-agency early help performance
dataset
 Introduction of CAF champions and support for agencies
 Audit of effectiveness of neglect strategy
Priority Four
WSCB Business Plan 15-16
Domestic Abuse
 Publicise and test the implementation, usage and
understanding of the children and adults procedures
 Publish the findings of the needs assessment to inform the
commissioning and allocation of services
 Involve young people in the testing of the effectiveness of
services
 Develop harmful practices guidance and training
 Evaluate Operation Encompass
 Review MAPPA and MARAC
 Develop domestic abuse performance dataset
Priority Five
WSCB Business Plan 15-16
Radicalisation
 Deliver WRAP train the trainer sessions to build partnership
knowledge and expertise and training capacity
 Establish the multi-agency channel panel
 Identify local intelligence, themes and trends
 Develop an awareness raising strategy with young people
 Support Youth Conference session on radicalisation and
exploitation
 Develop and publish multi-agency guidance
End of Presentation
Wirral Safeguarding Children Board
Annual Report and Business Plan
http://www.wirral.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/children/wirralsafeguarding-childrens-board/wirral-safeguarding-childrens
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