South Tyneside Safeguarding C hildren Board SOUTH TYNESIDE SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT FRAMEWORK Revised and Updated January 2017 Version 2 August 2014 Ratified October 2014 Updated January 2017 Page 1 of 10
1. Introduction 1.1 The South Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board () is a learning organisation and through its statutory functions reviews, scrutinises and challenges local safeguarding arrangements and practice in order to improve services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in South Tyneside. 1.2 Statutory safeguarding guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2015 states that professionals and organisations protecting children need to reflect on the quality of their services and that they learn from their practice and that of others in order to improve local safeguarding practice. In order to support this there is a requirement placed on Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB s) to develop and maintain a local learning and improvement framework. 1.3. Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) should maintain a local learning and improvement framework which is shared across local organisations who work with children and families. This framework should enable organisations to be clear about their responsibilities, to learn from experience and improve services as a result 1 2. Roles and responsibilities 2.1 The Framework is for the, partner and all local organisations who work with children and families. 2.2 The will maintain and develop this framework responding to local and national policies and agendas. 2.3 and all local organisations who work with children and families are expected to endorse this framework and embed it into their organisational and workforce learning and development policies. In addition partner and local organisations are responsible for: Providing staff and other resources to deliver the framework Contributing to reviews of practice undertaken by the Ensuring lessons learnt from these reviews of practice are disseminated widely within their organisation (e.g. internal training, policies/procedures, implementing and monitoring actions plans) Ensuring that lessons learnt from these reviews of practice are embedded into practice (e.g. evaluation via auditing, staff supervision) 3. Principles for (Working Together 2015) 3.1 The following principles should be applied by LSCBs and their partner organisations to all reviews: 1 DfE (2015) Working Together to Safeguard Children. Page 2 of 10
there should be a culture of continuous learning and improvement across the organisations that work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, identifying opportunities to draw on what works and promote good practice; the approach taken to reviews should be proportionate according to the scale and level of complexity of the issues being examined; reviews of serious cases should be led by individuals who are independent of the case under review and of the organisations whose actions are being reviewed; professionals must be involved fully in reviews and invited to contribute their perspectives without fear of being blamed for actions they took in good faith; families, including surviving children, should be invited to contribute to reviews. They should understand how they are going to be involved and their expectations should be managed appropriately and sensitively. This is important for ensuring that the child is at the centre of the process; final reports of SCRs must be published, including the LSCB s response to the review findings, in order to achieve transparency. The impact of SCRs and other reviews on improving services to children and families and on reducing the incidence of deaths or serious harm to children must also be described in LSCB annual reports and will inform inspections; and improvement must be sustained through regular monitoring and follow up so that the findings from these reviews make a real impact on improving outcomes for children. 3.2 SCRs and other reviews should be conducted in a way which: recognises the complex circumstances in which professionals work together to safeguard children; seeks to understand precisely who did what and the underlying reasons that led individuals and organisations to act as they did; seeks to understand practice from the viewpoint of the individuals and organisations involved at the time rather than using hindsight; is transparent about the way data is collected and analysed; and makes use of relevant research and case evidence to inform the findings. 4. The link between the Board and its s for 4.1 has a three tier structure. The Executive is the senior decision-making partnership body; it sets the strategic direction of the Board and agrees its priorities. It has responsibility for agreeing and ratifying key processes and procedures including SCRs. 4.2 The first tier of the Board is made up of 7 standing s. These s undertake the Board s business on a daily basis. The work of the s is overseen by the middle tier of the structure, the Management Group. This ensures that s are fulfilling their responsibility and that the work of the subs interlinks where appropriate. This is particularly relevant to the Page 3 of 10
work of the who has a key focus on both single and multi-agency learning and improvement. 5. The Relationship of the LSCB with Other Bodies 5.1 improvement is not exclusive to the LSCB and it must be open to importing learning from, and exporting learning to, other bodies, including the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Children and Families Board, Corporate Parenting, Safeguarding and Education Panel, the Community Safety ship and the Safeguarding Adults Board. The annual report of the Board is an important means of communicating Board learning. 6. Scrutiny and Challenge 6.1 The process by which scrutiny and challenge is informed is through the collation and coordination of information from a variety of different sources. The challenge and scrutiny process is evident throughout the subs and is frequently demonstrated at Executive Board and Management level. 7. Framework Overview 7.1 The framework seeks to promote continuous improvement via a feedback loop as illustrated in Appendix 1. 7.2 The building blocks to this framework are: Learning from experience: a) Reviews of safeguarding practice b) Identification of learning Improving services a) Embedding learning in practice b) Evaluation of learning Learning from experience a) Reviews of practice. The local framework should cover the full range of reviews and audits which are aimed at driving improvements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 2 Learning opportunities from safeguarding practice arise from a variety of sources. This framework sets out the key practice reviews that the, partner and other local organisation undertake. 2 DfE (2015) Working Together to Safeguard Children Page 4 of 10
Type of Review Description Who Reporting Serious Case Review Multi-agency Case Review Individual Management Review Child Death Review Multi-agency Thematic Case Audits Multi-agency Case Audits Single Agency Audits Where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and either: 1) a child dies; or 2) a child is seriously harmed and there are concerns about how organisations or professionals worked together to safeguard the child. 3 Review of a safeguarding incident which falls below the threshold for a SCR. Review of a safeguarding incident which falls below the threshold for an SCR and where there are limited concerns about how organisations or professionals worked together to safeguard the child A review of all child deaths up the age of 18. 4 Audit of practice relating to a specific safeguarding issue (case sample) Audit of practice relating to a child s journey though the system (case sample) Audit of practice (case sample) Independent Reviewer. Possible Independent Reviewer. business unit. Agency Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP).. agency the Learning & sub and/or a serious case review panel. sub sub Evaluation sub Evaluation sub Evaluation sub 3 Criteria for an SCR are set out in Regulation 5 of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006. 4 The LSCB s function in relation to child deaths is set out in Regulation 6 of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006. Page 5 of 10
Type of Review Description Who Reporting Section 11 Safeguarding Audits agency Section 11 Safeguarding Challenge Events Serious Incident Notifications Agencies Annual Reports National Research, SCRs, etc. Appreciative Inquiry Self assessment of an organisation s safeguarding arrangements and practice (Section 11 of the Children Act 2004). TheS11ChallengeEventprovide Multi-agency assurance to the LSCB of th partners effectiveness of organisation safeguardingarrangements.key areas of s S11 audits are r scrutinised and challenged by panel of multi-agency partners. The Youth Justice Service share Youth Justice any serious incident notification Service with the Improveme sub Key subm specific annual reports to the LSC Executive for scrutiny an challenge and determination effectiveness Key messages from research, other LSCB s SCRs. Appreciative Inquiry turns the problem solving approach on its head. It focuses on achievements rather than problems. It should not be seen as a model of working but more a strategy for identifying what works. Key Organisations Evaluation sub Evaluation sub sub Executive Board 8. Participation and Engagement with Children and Young People the Sub Group 8.1 In addition to the above formal reviews of practice the LSCB has a Junior LSCB. The Junior LSCB is an advisory of young people who feed into the. 8.2 The young people of this actively participate in the LSCB planning and prioritising of future business and are influential in raising awareness of safeguarding issues from a young person s perspective in addition to disseminating the learning from reviews to help equip other young people with the knowledge to stay safe. Page 6 of 10
9. Protocols for Conducting Learning Reviews: 9.1 Working Together to Safeguard Children outlines the requirements for conducting case reviews, specifically serious case reviews and child death reviews. Local protocols for conducting case reviews are identified within the Safeguarding policies and procedures. 10. Identification of Learning 10.1 Identification of key learning is achieved through the remit of the supported by the Evaluation. 10.2 The sub may with the agreement of the Independent Chair commission a Serious Case Review (SCR) or a multiagency case review in order to provide an analysis, lessons learnt from a case and recommendations for any changes in policy or practice. There is an expectation that front line professionals attend the multi-agency learning events that will be developed following the publication of a SCR 10.3 The Evaluation has a responsibility for scrutiny and quality assurance of safeguarding arrangements and practice across South Tyneside and exercises this responsibility by taking an overview of multi-agency performance information, conducting case audits, overseeing the Section 11 self assessment process and receiving specialist reports. 11. Multi-agency Data 11.1 The LSCB has developed with partners a multi-agency performance framework, partner agreement and sign up to an agreed timeline, analysis and submission of agreed data. This informs the LSCB of patterns, trends and areas that might need a more detailed follow up. 12. Improving services 12.1 Embedding Learning In order to improve safeguarding practice learning identified from reviews of practice must be embedded into current practice. This includes examples of good frontline practice that has had a positive impact on children and families as well as sub regional work that has promoted learning across the area. This is achieved by: Page 7 of 10
How What Who Reporting Dissemination of Multi-agency training learning programme. multi-agency learning lessons. Workshops / Roadshows briefings, e- newsletter, website. Publication of serious case review final reports Publication of key safeguarding messages via LSCB literature e.g. information leaflets, range of themed safeguarding messages Safeguarding Policies & Procedures Page 8 of 10 business unit. the Workforce and Training sub the Workforce Development and Training the Business Unit policies and procedures virtual Single agency training Agencies Workforce Development and Training Single agency briefings Agencies Single and Multi-agency actions plans from case reviews. Single and Multi-agency actions plans from case audits. Single and Multi-agency actions plans from s.11 audits. Management and Evaluation Management
How What Who Reporting business and Evaluation unit. 12.2 Evaluation of Learning Actions arising from reporting to. business unit. Management and Evaluation The aim of the activity outlined in this framework is to make a positive impact on frontline practice and in turn improve outcomes for children and young people in South Tyneside. as part of its quality assurance activity will evaluate the impact of lessons learnt from reviews of practice. Evaluation includes: How Who Reporting Single and Multi-agency case audits. Case reviews Reporting on action plans. Evaluation of training. business unit. Evaluation Evaluation Learning and sub Workforce Development and Training 12.3 This evaluation process identifies whether or not lessons have been learnt and can identify new issues. This process completes the learning lesson feedback loop outlined in Appendix 1. 13. Monitoring and review of this framework 13.1 The LSCB will monitor and review this framework via the on an annual basis (or sooner in response to local learning, governmental guidance, national agendas etc.). Page 9 of 10
Appendix 1: Learning Lessons Feedback Loop PRACTICE ISSUES (Sources of learning) REVIEW OF PRACTICE (Examples include) Case Reviews Child Death Reviews Audit Activity National Learning IDENTIFICATION OF LEARNING Dissemination of learning Actions for improvement PRACTICE (Embedding learning) Page 10 of 10