Agenda item

·         Including the Child Death Review Process for Worcestershire.

Derek Benson, appointed Chairman of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board in April 2016 presented the findings from the Safeguarding Boards Annual Report 2015/16.

At the September 2015 meeting the previous Chairman said she could not be assured about the safety of Children in Worcestershire. As of March 2016 the situation remained the same and the Chairman and Board could not be assured of the robustness of the child protection system.

This view had been established from a range of data and although there was commitment to safeguarding in the County, and arrangements were in place, they needed to be better and more co-ordinated. The pace of change was not sufficient and although strategies were in place, oversight was needed to ensure delivery. It was recognised that improvement was needed against a backdrop of reducing resources and increasing demand.

The focus of the Safeguarding Board in 2015/16 was:

a)    Implementing the child sexual health strategy,

b)    Early Help,

c)    The Integrated Family Front Door,

d)    Children's Social care 'Back to Basics' improvement programme.

There were no serious case reviews in 2015/16 and following audits, compliance was found to be good.  The Board fulfilled all its statutory functions and commitment was strong. The Police had confirmed that funding for the Board would be sustained for next year.

When asked what had been achieved since April and what assurance was needed from partners, the Safeguarding Board Chairman replied that:

·         He had attended the CSE Strategy Board but they had not yet got a full picture of the situation. With regard to missing children, there had been an improvement in the return interviews but the quality needed to be maintained,

·         He supported the ethos of the Family Front Door but they now needed to see if their ambitions could be achieved,

·         Back to basics needed to be scrutinised more as improvement was not at the necessary level, and

·         He felt he still needed to understand what Partners commitment would be and they were looking to introduce a process so that Partners assessed how any changes to their processes would impact on safeguarding.

Felix Borchardt Chairman of the Child Death Review Panel reported that there had been 38 notifications in the last year. 35 case reviews were conducted and modifiable factors had been found in 31% which was slightly higher than the national average, although it was noted that definitions of modifiable were locally determined and Worcestershire had a relatively broad definition.

Smoking and obesity remained as the main modifiable factors and the Panel were concerned about the proposed changes to health visitors who played a key part in the health of under-fives.

The Panel played a role in informing parents of the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle such as with the safer sleeping initiative which had been delivered through health visiting, with significant Public Health input. They would also work closely with Public Health on pre-pregnancy planning. A safety book was being produced for parents and advice packs for schools. Good health was important from the beginning of life.

In the discussion it was explained that:

·         There had been an increase in pace since Derek Benson had become Chairman of the Safeguarding Board and more was being achieved between meetings,

·         The Monthly Improvement Board should keep meeting to ensure that improvements continued,

·         The work of the Safeguarding Board and Panel were relevant to people with learning disabilities and poor health outcomes as well as to children. It also impacted on work to do with obesity and alcohol,

·         There was a role for District Councils who were an important partner in raising concerns and understanding thresholds of when to refer to social care, and also around hotspots and looking at trends regarding missing children and CSE,

·         In January 2016 young people had been asked to a meeting to give their views and rather than repeat that, in January 2017 young people would be asked to attend a Board development session so that they could hear what has been done in the last year – professionals would be held to account.

RESOLVED that the Health and Well-being Board:

a)    Noted the key headlines and conclusions from the 2015/16 Annual Report;

b)    Considered any points which may inform future work of the HWB in respect of its strategic priorities; and

c)    Identified cross cutting these where the HWB had a role to play in reducing risks to children.