Child Protection Conference Report

Sefton Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) acknowledges that some agencies experience difficulty in structuring and providing a written report to Child Protection Case Conferences. The template below, with guidance notes, is designed to assist agencies in providing key relevant information for CP Case Conference. 

Click on the link below to download the template:

Agency Report to Child Protection Conference Template

Level of Need Guidance 2023

Sefton Safeguarding Children Partnership Level of Need Guidance (Revised January 2023)

Sefton SCP have revised the Level of Need Guidance (January 2023).  

The Level of Need Guidance is intended to assist the children's workforce and all those who come into contact with children in Sefton to respond appropriately to concerns and make timely decisions about how to respond to the needs of the child/ren and families they are working with.

Download a copy of the Level of Need Guidance (Revised 2023)

Materials for Child Protection

Materials for Child Protection (Developed by Sefton Young Advisors)

Sefton Young Advisors have developed materials and resources to use with Children, Young People and Families who may become involved in the child protection system.  These materials are to support practitioners who work with children and families.

Child Protection Conference

For Parents & Carers - A guide to Child Protection Conferences - Information Pack

For Children & Young People - A guide to helping you understand your plan

For Children & Young People - Child/Young Persons report for the Child Protection Conference (Your chance to share your views)

A guide to 'Who's Who' - (template to record who everyone is at meetings)

Expectations of agencies contributing to child protection conferences - Poster

For use by Practitioners

My Report (for looked after children & young people to use within LAC Reviews)

Letter to Young Person (for use by Independent Reviewing Officer)

Online Safety Strategy

"Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe. At a public swimming pool, we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim."                                      (Dr Tanya Byron, Safer Children in a Digital World (2008))

As part of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children Act  and Working Together to Safeguard Children, Sefton Safeguarding Children’s Partnership have developed this online safety strategy built on four key areas:

• Policies, practices, and procedures.
• Education and training.
• Infrastructure and technology.
• Standards and inspection.

As a partnership we are committed to raising awareness of online safety issues to all partner organisations and promoting good practice to reduce risks to children and young people when they are online or when using digital electronic technologies.

CLICK HERE to download Sefton SCP's Online Safety Strategy (2023)

Multi-Agency Working Agreement

This purpose of the 'Multi-Agency Working Agreement' is to strengthen ‘working in partnership’ with family members and professionals to improve the lived experience of a child and improve outcomes.

The agreement is applicable to interventions across the safeguarding continuum: Early Help / Child in Need (CIN) / Child Protection & Core Group / Care Planning

Click to view Sefton's MULTI-AGENCY WORKING AGREEMENT

Integrated Front Door (IFD) / CYP&F Assessment Information

Information for parents/carers when making a referral to Children's Social Care

As a professional, you may identify safeguarding children concerns and need to make a referral to Children's Social Care. 

To support professionals when informing a family that a referral is being made, Sefton Council (IFD) have produced a postcard which can be provided to families to explain 'what happens next'....This simple postcard will explain the possible next steps and a telephone contact number.

Download and print off copies and keep them to hand when required.  MASH Postcard (click to download)

Sefton Children's Services have produced information leaflets for families regarding Children, Young People and Family Assessments which are helpful to explain to families what is involved in assessments and plans etc.  Professionals can use this information for families when referrals are being considered to explain what is involved. #MakeADifference

Click to download:

CYP&F Assessments - Information for Families (1)

CYP&F Assessments - Information for Families (2)

If you have a concern about a child and wish to make a referral to Children's Social Care Sefton Safeguarding Children Partnership - Worried about a child? (seftonscp.org.uk)

Sefton's Neglect Strategy

Sefton has a strong commitment to partnership working with children and young people and their families. We have a clear strategy led by the local authority and supported by partners regarding Early Help and Intervention. Neglect is an issue that requires a detailed strategic approach to assist partners to be clear on what neglect is.

The impact of neglect on children and young people is enormous. Neglect causes great distress to children, potential injury, developmental delay, increased risk of teenage pregnancy and increased risk of sexual, domestic or physical abuse, leading to poor health, educational and social outcomes and is potentially fatal. Lives are affected and their ability to attend and attain at school is reduced. Their emotional health and wellbeing is often compromised and this impacts on their success in adulthood and their ability to parent in the future. Neglect is unacceptable because of the lasting damage it can have and also because it is avoidable harm which is within our power to address.

Sefton's Neglect Strategy 2020-25

Sefton's Neglect Screening Tool

Sefton's Neglect Screening Tool is intended for use by frontline practitioners within ALL partner agencies to quickly identify areas of concern that may indicate a child or adolescent is being neglected. The tool is designed to be applicable to all age groups. The tool is not a full assessment of risk and should be used alongside the levels of need document and your own safeguarding procedures.

View and Download the Screening Tool  Neglect Screening Tool

Child Neglect - Be Professionally Curious (Investigators/Practitioners Guidance Note)

Early Help

Early Help is about taking action as soon as possible to tackle problems for children and families before they can grow into something that is more difficult to overcome.  It is about identifying children and families that may be at risk of running into difficulties and providing timely and effective support.

Sefton has a good offer of Early Help which means that families get help when they first need it. All information on Early Help can be found on Sefton Council's website. 

Sefton have recently updated the Early Help Strategy and this can be accessed and downloaded from Sefton Council's website under 'Useful Documents'

Domestic Abuse

Domestic Abuse is defined as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer.  It is very common and in the vast majority of cases it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.

Please see Sefton Council's website for more information about domestic abuse and find out what support is available.

View Sefton's Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy 2023 - 2028

Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance was published on 8 July 2022 and is issued under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.  The guidance is aimed at statutory and non statutory bodies working with victims, including children or perpetrators of domestic abuse.  It is designed to support organisations, such as the NHS, to identify and respond to domestic abuse, as well as promote best practice.  

CLICK HERE to view NHS England KEY MESSAGES on the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance.  

Managing Allegations (Local Authority's Designated Officer)

Role of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The role of the LADO is set out in Government guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE).

Local Authorities should have a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) to be involved in the management and oversight of individual cases. The Designated Officer for the Local Authority (DO) should provide advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations, liaising with the police and other agencies and monitoring the progress of cases to ensure that they are dealt with as quickly as possible, consistent with a thorough and fair process;

• any allegation should be reported immediately to a senior manager within the organisation. The Designated Officer for the Local Authority (DO) should also be informed within one working day of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention or that are made directly to the police; and
• if an organisation removes an individual (paid worker or unpaid volunteer) from work such as looking after children (or would have, had the person not left first) because the person poses a risk of harm to children, the organisation must make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. It is an offence to fail to make a referral without good reason.

The LADO role applies to paid, unpaid, volunteer, casual, agency and self-employed workers. The LADO is involved from the initial phase of the allegation through to the conclusion of the case.

Their role is to give advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations; liaise with the Police, when necessary and other agencies, and monitor the progress of cases to ensure that they are dealt with in a timely manner and consistent with a thorough and fair process.

The LADO helps co-ordinate information-sharing with the right people and will also monitor and track any investigation, with the aim to resolve it as quickly as possible.

The LADO should be alerted to all cases in which it is alleged that a person who works with children has:

• behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child
• possibly committed a criminal offence against children, or related to a child
• poses a risk of harm to children

What does the LADO do?  CLICK HERE TO VIEW A BITE SIZE VIDEO OF THE LADO ROLE

Provides an ‘Initial Discussion’ which allows for the giving of advice and guidance relating to the most appropriate way of managing the allegation or concern, and most importantly will help establish what the ‘next steps’ should be in terms of investigating the matter further. See flowchart regarding managing allegations process.

To contact Sefton's Designated Officer for the Local Authority (DO) tel: 0151 934 3783.

Sefton's LADO REFERRAL FORM Please return completed referral form via secure email to safeguardingunitadmin@sefton.gov.uk

On conclusion of an internal investigations, a senior manager from within the employing agency of the adult concerned, should complete and submit a feedback form to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). 

Managing Allegations Information Leaflets:

Leaflet for Employers

Leaflet for Employees

Leaflet for Parents/Carers

Leaflet for Foster Carers

 

To view the Managing Allegations Procedures, see Section 15 of Sefton SCP's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Procedures.

Prevent Duty Guidance

Prevent Duty Guidance for Schools

The Prevent Duty Guidance (under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 ) was released by the Government in March 2015 which places a duty on schools, and other agencies, to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.  The duty placed on schools covers 4 areas:

• Risk Assessment
• Working in Partnership
• Staff Training
• IT Policies

The Prevent Duty Guidance can be accessed here: Prevent Duty Guidance 

The DfE, Prevent Duty departmental advice and DfE, Social Media guidance has been issued to help schools keep children safe from the risk of radicalisation and extremism.  This departmental advice complements the statutory guidance and intends to help schools and childcare providers by:

• clarifying what the prevent duty means for schools and childcare providers
• outlining what they can do to help protect children from the risk of radicalisation
• making clear what schools and childcare providers should do to demonstrate compliance with the duty
• informing them about other sources of information, advice and support

Policy paper; Preventing extremism in the education and children’s services sectors

Within this paper, there is also a link to some additional resources that the DfE has produced that are available to schools via the TES website. 

Licensing

Sefton Safeguarding Children and Quality Assurance Unit is responsible for matters relating to the protection of children from harm under the Licensing Act 2003, it must be notified of all license variations and new applications for the sale and supply of alcohol and public entertainment.

Safeguarding children – from birth to their 18th birthday – is a national licensing objective. This is not only about selling alcohol to children, but concerns wider safeguarding concerns such as:

• Sexual exploitation
• Substance Misuse
• Witnessing or being victims of crime
• Anti-social Behaviour

Licensed premises are those that have been have been licensed under The Licensing Act 2003, and include:

• Cinemas
• Clubs
• Department stores
• Festivals
• Hot Food Takeaways
• Off Licenses
• Pubs
• Restaurants
• Shops
• Sports venues

To view Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council Licensing Policy Statement