1. Better Together Forum 9th April 2019

2. Brief History
Wood Review (Dec 2015) of the Role and Functions of LSCBs (included consideration of the CDR process, and local / national SCRs.
The DfE published the Wood Review together with the government’s response on the 26 May 2016.
New arrangements prescribed in to law through the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
The Working Together 2018 came into force 29th June 2018
From that date, partners had 12 months to create a plan and once submitted to the Secretary of State 3 months to implement.

3. What the wood review said…
The review stated 'on a scale of prescriptive to permissive arrangements, the pendulum has locked itself too close to a belief that we should say how things should be done as opposed to what outcomes we want for children and young people'.
A key finding in the review is that the duty to cooperate is not a sufficient vehicle to bring about effective collaboration between the key agencies of health, the police and local government. These three agencies should determine multi-agency arrangements for protecting and safeguarding children. (Equal Responsibility)
All areas should be required to move towards new multi-agency arrangements for protecting children with a focus on how outcomes for children and young people to be improved, not how they are organised.
The review also argued for a fundamental change, bringing to an end the existing system of serious case reviews, and replacing it with a new national learning framework for inquiries into child deaths and serious harm.

4. The government response…
Local Safeguarding Children Boards
Place a new requirement on three key partners, namely local authorities, the police and the health service, to make arrangements for working together in a local area.
Place an expectation on schools and other relevant agencies involved in the protection of children, to co-operate with the new arrangements.
Remove the requirement for local areas to have LSCBs with set framework and memberships.
To underpin the new arrangements with statutory guidance and work with the inspectorates to establish suitable review arrangements.

5. The government response…
Serious Case Reviews
Replace the current system of SCRs with a system of national and local reviews to bring greater consistency
Improve the speed and quality of reviews
Capture and disseminate lessons learnt more effectively, at local and national levels
Establish an independent National Panel which would be responsible for commissioning and publishing national reviews

6. The government response…
Child Death Reviews
Evidence suggests that over 80% of child deaths have medical or public health causation and that only 4% of child deaths relate to safeguarding. Therefore we intend to:
Place a new requirement on two key partners; local authorities and the health service, to make arrangements for working together in a local area
Put in place arrangements to transfer national oversight of CDOPs from the Department for Education to the Department of Health, whilst ensuring that the keen focus on distilling and embedding learning is maintained

7. What this means…
Require the three Safeguarding Partners to establish governance arrangements, including the following:
The area or region which should be covered under the joint arrangements;
How they will involve and work with other agencies who have a key role in protecting children;
A plan setting out details of the arrangements, which they will publish;
Equitable and proportionate resourcing for the arrangements;
A strong degree of independent scrutiny of the arrangements.
In cases where local arrangements do not work effectively:
The Secretary of State will have the power to intervene in situations where the three key agencies cannot reach an agreement on how they will work together, or where arrangements are otherwise seriously inadequate.

8. Working Together 2018
Duty
The three safeguarding partners must set out how they will work together and with any relevant agencies whose involvement they consider may be required to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in particular cases.
They must also set out how their arrangements will receive independent scrutiny.
Once agreed, the safeguarding partners must publish the arrangements.

9. Working Together 2018 Leadership
Each safeguarding partner to identify a senior officer to have responsibility and authority for ensuring full collaboration They must:
Speak with authority for the safeguarding partner they represent
Commit their organisation on policy and practice matters
Hold their own organisation to account and hold others to account.
All three safeguarding partners have equal and joint responsibility for local safeguarding arrangements.
In situations that require a clear, single point of leadership, all three safeguarding partners are responsible for determining who should take the lead on issues including implementation and compliance.

10. Working Together 2018 Relevant Agencies
Strong, effective multi-agency arrangements are ones that are responsive to local circumstances and engage the right people.
For local arrangements to be effective, they should reflect the local needs assessment and engage agencies who can provide targeted support to children and families.
Safeguarding partners should make sure relevant agencies are aware of, and agree to expectations placed on them by the new arrangements.

11. Working Together 2018 Relevant Agencies
They should consult with relevant agencies in developing the arrangements to make sure the expectations take account of an agency’s structure and statutory obligations.
Relevant agencies must co-operate with the safeguarding arrangements as far as they can do so consistently within the exercise of their other statutory functions.
The legislation does not allow relevant agencies to disagree with their inclusion, or decline to participate.

12. Working Together 2018 Funding
The safeguarding partners should agree the level of funding secured from each partner.
It should be equitable and proportionate, and with each relevant agency, to support the local arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area.
The funding should be transparent to children and families in the area and sufficient to cover all elements of the arrangements.

13. Vision and Values

14. Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership Structure
Extended Executive Group
Chief Officers Safeguarding Group
Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership
Safeguarding Development Day
Embedding Learning
Child Death Overview Panel
Performance Challenge and Impact
Criminal
Justice Service
Health Service
Education Sector
Voluntary & Community Sector
Assurance Reporting
Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
Missing & Exploited
Task & Finish Groups
Neglect
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
Use existing Task and Finish Groups of other partnerships or Task and Finish Groups prescribed by the Executive Group to progress additional partnership priorities to ensure we are responsive to emerging issues. These groups will report above
Key:
Working Relationship
Reporting Relationship

15. Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership Reporting and Assurance Structure
Safe Durham Partnership 
Durham County Council Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership
Children & Families Partnership
Corporate Parenting Panel
Health & Wellbeing Board
Safeguarding Adults Board
Integrated Steering Group for Children
Strategic Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements Management Board
Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence Executive Group
Use existing Task and Finish Groups of other partnerships or Task and Finish Groups prescribed by the Executive Group to progress additional Board priorities to ensure responsive to emerging issues. These groups will report above
Key:
Reporting Relationship

16. Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership
Scrutiny Any of the Options within 2-4 can be utilised throughout the year depending upon the theme
Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership
1. Independent Chair (Overview of all DSCP Business including audits and child safeguarding practice reviews)
2. Commissioned Annual Review
3. 3rd Party assurance. Review/audits by experts in different parts of the partnership
4. Internal Scrutiny Panel
Bi annual review of progress by panel which will be chaired by Young Peoples Commissioner and will include lay members, young people, parents and practitioners
5. External Regulatory Inspections
JTAI
DSCP Business Unit: S.11 audits, practitioner surveys, audits and themed audits
OFSTED, HMIC, CQC
IICSA

17. Next Steps Draft Plan commenced approval process Cabinet 3rd April 2019 Secretary of State end of March Launch April 1st 2019 Complete implementation by end of June 2019.