Agenda item

BROMLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD ANNUAL REPORT

Minutes:

Report CEF19023

 

The Board considered the Bromley Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report 2018/19, presented by Jim Gamble, Independent Chair of the Bromley Safeguarding Children Board.

 

The annual report of the Bromley Safeguarding Children’s Board (BSCB) covered the period from April 2018 to March 2019. It was a statutory requirement for safeguarding partnerships to publish this report under section 14A of the Children Act 2014. In line with statutory guidance, the report would be submitted to the Chief Executive, Leader of the Council, the local police and crime commissioner and the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

In 2018/19, the BSCB oversaw multi-agency child safeguarding arrangements across Bromley and was comprised of senior leaders from a range of different organisations. Its two basic objectives were to co-ordinate the safeguarding work of agencies and to ensure that this work was effective.

 

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 legislated that Local Safeguarding Children Boards were to be replaced and transitioned into new safeguarding children partnerships by September 2019. Under the new legislation, the three safeguarding partners (local authorities, police, and clinical commissioning groups) were required to make arrangements to work together with relevant agencies (as they consider appropriate) to safeguard and protect the welfare of children in the area. Since then, the new structures had bedded in, and the BSCB has been replaced by the Bromley Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (BSCP).

 

The report focused on the BSCB’s work undertaken up to April 2019, and was a transparent assessment of the effectiveness of safeguarding and the promotion of child welfare in Bromley. It set out the governance and accountability arrangements for the BSCB, providing information about the structures in place that supported the BSCB to do its work effectively, as well as the roles of partners, including Designated Professionals and lay members. It was noted that it had been a year of instability for many partners, with major organisational changes within the police and National Probation Service. However, data demonstrated that the Early Intervention services continued to perform strongly, and other services such as the MASH were continuing to mature and strengthen.

 

The report also provided context for safeguarding children and young people in Bromley, including the Ofsted improvement journey and re-inspection during the reporting year. It highlighted progress made by the partnership across a range of areas (e.g. Early Help, Private Fostering, CSE, Missing and Gangs and the work of the Local Authority Designated Officer), as well as the challenges going forward. The top priority for the partnership this year was the health and wellbeing of the workforce, with caseloads at a much better rate than pre-2016. There was also the continued commitment to look at a strategic approach to vulnerability and considering issues such as County Lines, Child Sexual Exploitation, radicalisation, and harmful practices within vulnerability, rather than as separate issues.

 

Through its Learning & Improvement Framework, the BSCB had identified a number of lessons, including: Learning Reviews; the BSCB’s Practitioners Survey; and multi-agency audits on early years, drug and alcohol misuse and vulnerable adolescents.

 

In response to a question, the Independent Chair of the Bromley Safeguarding Children Boards said that areas of concern included mental health, as this was often a thread that ran through serious case reviews and the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce as demand increased. However it was noted that there was the opportunity to forge strong relationships with schools, with the aim of encouraging children to make better decisions at various points in their life. Members were advised that the “number one” reason for children calling ChildLine was related to self-esteem and mental health, and reason “number two” was due to them being unhappy at home. Research had shown that children in Bromley had access to mobile phones at a younger age, which meant they could also be subject to online bullying much earlier.

 

A Member asked if work was being undertaken in the Borough in respect of FGM and girls being taken out of the country during school holidays. The Independent Chair of the Bromley Safeguarding Children Boards responded that a learning review had taken place the previous year in relation to FGM. It was noted that the source country was a factor, however consideration needed to be given to all other elements of life. A couple of cases had been highlighted recently, but they did not identify as being anything other than historic incidents. It was noted that definitions needed to be more clearly defined. Members were advised that a new FGM app for Bromley was now available, which would send ‘push notifications’ during the season of highest risk. An Executive Summary of the FGM review undertaken would be shared shortly.

 

The Chairman suggested that a report from the Bromley Safeguarding Children’s Partnership be provided to the Health and Wellbeing Board on a six-monthly basis, providing an update on emerging trends, themes and patterns.

 

The Chairman led Board Members in commending Jim Gamble for the excellent work of the Bromley Safeguarding Children Board during 2018/19.

 

RESOLVED that the Bromley Safeguarding Children's Board Annual Report 2018/19 be approved.

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