Walsall Safeguarding Children Board Working in Partnership and Engaging Communities Working to keep Walsall’s children and young people safe

2 Working in Partnership Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART)  Collaboration between statutory agencies and the voluntary sector

3 The Why  Higher proportion of repeat victims than any other crime.  Increasing number of referrals to Children’s Social Care Services  Strong voluntary sector advocacy  Rise in hospital admissions  Unmanageable numbers of high risk perpetrators.  Increasing demands on primary care services

4 The How  Engagement with Community Safety Agenda  Built on existing working relationships  Clarified key priorities for individual services  Enabled voluntary sector to play a key role

5 The Story So Far  Clear pathway for all new police referrals  Clarity about what we can offer perpetrators, children and victims  Reduction in referrals to Children’s Services  Early information sharing  Single system for capturing information including service user views

6 Engaging Communities Madressah Good Practice Guide

7 The Catalyst  Large scale child protection investigation  Interviews with 196 children  Serious allegations but no criminal charges  Angry community response

8 The Approach  Created time and space to speak to local communities  Agreed a joint approach  Negotiated consensus on key issues  Must “do’s” agreed  Appropriate independent cultural and religious advice  Consultation with children and young people

9 The Story So Far  Lasting relationships and points of contact  Produced Good Practice Guide  Delivered training to 150 Madressah staff

10 Key Messages  Think about outcomes early on and how success will be measured  Meaningful consultation and engagement  Partnership working takes time  Regularly review progress