Vijay Patel Strategic Business Manager Luton LSCB and Luton LSAB How has the Adolescent Research Shaped Luton’s Response to Neglect in Families? Vijay Patel Strategic Business Manager Luton LSCB and Luton LSAB

Rationale Neglect was and is an issue within the town: 2 deaths of babies Lack of confidence and knowledge in identifying and responding to neglect Neglect is framed in the context of children rather than young people ( aged 11+) Board response was two fold Implementing Graded Care Profile 2 Gain better understanding of neglect and adolescents

Our path

Commisioning knowledge

Some of the recommendations Engaging with communities to understand how young people are viewed and provide education about potential vulnerability and all adults' responsibility for ensuring young people's safety . Whether formal processes around child protection are sufficiently accessible to young people and provide appropriate opportunities for them to have a stake in decision- making Do the systems used by different agencies for data collection adequately capture information on neglect? Do staff development and training plans adequately reflect the need to build better knowledge and understanding of adolescent neglect across all agencies?

Community Faith and community framework paper - aim to improve the Board understanding of needs of communities Identify effective support for community groups in terms of safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable groups Enable feedback from community in terms of what feeling safe means Undertaking surveys using community events Developing guidance on safeguarding ( one document for both adults and children) Developing training inputs at individual, organisational levels Neglect checklist Luton has a very diverse range of communities ( faith and ethnicities) with 70% of children and young people recorded as being BME.

Communications campaign Developed with a range of young people ( Sixth formers, Care leavers and LAC participation groups) Highlighted lack of understanding of what neglect was unless you / friend had experienced it Need for a range of channels

Young people Working with the NSPCC on a refresh of the YP guide to neglect

Neglect posters

Neglect posters

Neglect checklist Aimed at people on periphery of children’s lives ie housing officers, police officers, sports and leisure Questions are open and are about what you observe and hear Provide a focus for the person to speak to their safeguarding lead Due to pilot in Feb 2019

Graded Care Profile 2 The original was developed in Luton by a paediatrician Led by the LSCB Board decision was for it to be used when there is a concern about neglect There is an expectation that it should be part of any neglect referral into the MASH ( unless there are good reasons)

Whole town approach 350 trained and licenced to use the tool - Focus on universal and workers at tiers 2, & 3 ie health visitors , early help, family and early years workers Training for managers on use of tool as part of supervision Follow up workshops for practitioners to support embedding Briefing workshops for neglect checklist

Learning from GCP2 Training in GCP2 across agencies and local awareness raising More accurate identification of family strengths, needs and resources Improved quality of practitioner engagement and joint work with family members Evidence of family’s increased resources, skills and networks evidence of improved outcomes for children Reinforcement for practitioner learning and mutual support across agencies

Data tells us in 2017/18

Age of children assessed 2017/18

Evidence from evaluation and audit has told us The tool is positively valued by practitioners ( manager) Yes, it has given practitioners a better understanding of parenting capacity – discussed at supervision – fundamental in terms of helping staff to understand parenting capacity. A focused action plan with SMART targets enables practitioners to identify whether change is achievable for parents. It can bring to light issues that you were not aware of.

Feedback from practitioners GCP2 is very easy to use as it’s a step by step guide; GCP2 is a good tool to use with parents as it helps them identify their own strengths themselves whilst highlighting areas of development; As it is used as a follow up tool, it is able to show progress and allows us as practitioners to offer praise where it is due along with supportive criticism where appropriate.

Assessing adolescents There is very little evidence upon which to recommend a particular assessment tool for neglect in adolescence. The design and subsequent testing of the few which do exist has been skewed towards assessment of neglect in younger children, mirroring the focus on this age group within safeguarding work and in research. (Raws 2017) Feedback from our practitioners suggest it can be used - but generally practice around neglect tends to focus on the clarity that exists in relation to the parenting of younger children

Some personal reflections The Raws study reinforced my own view that we need to design differently . Young people’s needs are no different , but the environment and the challenges they experience are

The changing context of young people’s world How do organisations and practitioners equip themselves to understand the adolescent mindset and the context within which they live their lives in order to plan and make appropriate interventions? Young people are spending vast amounts of time on computer games and social media and being exposed to variety of risks, -e.g peer on peer abuse, sexually harmful behaviours, bullying, sexual exploitation, radicalisation, substance misuse etc. Rise in self harm which has become a social norm, they have become desensitised to violence and as a consequence do not report concerns for themselves or others. There is less opportunity to talk about feelings and relationships. Parents feel disempowered and solutions needed to equip them to deal with the modern day challenges their children experience. Professionals are struggling to understand how best to support adolescents in this new challenging context.

Existing assessment frameworks

The places and worlds I live in What I need from responsible adults Being physically healthy Feeling emotionally healthy Online presence Being comfortable and confident in being me Friends Being mentally healthy Being able to communicate using a range of appropriate means Family who are there for me Guidance to help me look after myself Having opportunities Having safe and fun places Learning to be responsible and independent Understanding the rules that affect me and those I care for Help me to be safe and stay safe Knowing that I belong Having adults and peers who I can trust How I grow The places and worlds I live in What I need from responsible adults A home

Rethinking need People Belonging Place

Recap Journey / not a roadmap Have a evidenced based tool for practitioners Are developing a simple checklist for others Raising understand with children / adults and communities Adolescents ,the focus has to be on vulnerability in a number of worlds ( real and virtual)

The next part of the journey

Thanks for listening Vijay Patel Vijay.patel@luton.gcsx.gov.uk 01582 547590