| 2.1 |
DfES guidance in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2006 defines safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare as:
“The process of protecting children from abuse or neglect, preventing impairment of their health and development, and ensuring they are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care which is undertaken so as to enable children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.” |
| 2.2 |
Solihull LSCB is part of the wider Children’s Trust arrangements that aims to improve the well-being of all children and young people and achieve the five outcomes for children (set out in Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004). However, the LSCB core business has a particular focus on the ‘Staying Safe’ outcome. |
| 2.3 |
While working within this context and developing strong working relationships with the wider strategic partnership within Solihull, the LSCB has a clear and distinct identity, will form its own view of the quality of local activity and where necessary, will challenge organisations and speak with an independent voice. |
| 5.1 |
To achieve its objectives, the LSCB performs the following functions which can be seen as either preventative, pro active or reactive in respect of children and young people up to the age of 18 years who are residing permanently or temporarily in the borough. |
| 5.2 |
Whilst the LSCB has a broad interest in all children and young people, a significant amount of the work of the LSCB will focus on those children and young people who in the “positive outcomes framework” (see the Solihull Model for Multi Agency Support of Children, Young People and Their Families incorporating the Common Assessment Framework) are defined as having acute needs (Level 4). |
5.3 |
Preventive Core Functions |
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Preventive core functions affect all children and young people and are aimed at identifying and preventing maltreatment or impairment of health or development, and ensuring children and young people are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care. |
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Solihull LSCB will undertake the following preventive core functions:
- Develop safe recruitment guidance/standards to assist those who recruit individuals who work with children and young people to safeguard children and young people. See Safe Recruitment, Induction and Employment Procedure.
- Commission multi-agency training to enable those who work with children/young people to identify abuse and neglect
- Work to involve and inform the professional and wider community of what they can do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children/young people.
- Develop a set of standards for organisations who work with children to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people
- Evaluate the effectiveness of what is done by each local agency individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in the area through audit and evaluation including those key people and organisations that have a duty under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 or section 175 or 157 of the Education Act 2002.
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5.4 |
Pro-active Core Functions |
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Pro active core functions aim to target particular groups of children and young people, namely those who are considered to have additional vulnerabilities. |
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Solihull LSCB will undertake the following pro active core functions:
- Promote a level of agreement and understanding across agencies about operational definitions and thresholds for intervention.
- Participate in evaluating thresholds and procedures for responding to children and young peoples needs.
- Raise awareness of the vulnerabilities of specific groups of children/young people in the professional and wider community including Privately Fostered children.
- Ensure local planning and commissioning of children’s services takes safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people into account.
- Act as a ‘Responsible Authority’ under the Licensing Act 2003 with regard to the Licensing Objective ‘protection of children from harm’.
- Undertake Serious Case Reviews to ensure lessons are learnt from every child death
- As required, work with other LSCB’s to address issues that span the boundaries of local areas, for example, establishing procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people who move between local authority areas
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5.5 |
Responsive Core Functions
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Responsive core functions target children and young people who are suffering or at risk of suffering harm and includes work to protect these children and young people. |
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Solihull LSCB will undertake the following responsive core functions:
- Develop and disseminate inter-agency policy and procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people who are suffering or are at risk of suffering maltreatment.
- Develop and disseminate effective local procedures for investigating allegations made against individuals who work with children/young people.
- Develop and disseminate effective local procedures for responding to unexpected child deaths.
- Commission multi-agency training to enable those who work with children/young people to respond effectively to children and young people who are suffering or are at risk of suffering maltreatment.
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