London Safeguarding Children Board

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Safeguarding children across culture and faith: new tools for London

On Monday 5 December, the London Safeguarding Children Board launched three new documents to help LSCBs promote a step-change in safeguarding London’s children living in minority ethnic, cultural or faith communities or groups, working together with local minority ethnic communities and faith groups and the frontline professionals who work with them.

The Pan London Safeguarding Children Minority Ethnic Culture and Faith Project 2010-2011 was an 18 month action-research project, which comprised three parts:

Project work with minority ethnic, culture or faith communities / groups by 11 London LSCBs;
Focus groups in London LSCBs to gather views on how to improve safeguarding for London’s children living in minority ethnic groups and communities;
Interviews with London LSCBs, mapping activity and aspiration for stronger partnership work to safeguard children living in minority ethnic, culture or faith communities or groups.

The project had four primary outputs, which are available to download via the links below:

London C&F LSCB Strategy
To assist Local Safeguarding Children Boards to develop sound, effective and sustainable partnership working with local groups, communities and third sector agencies;

London C&F Training Toolkit
To ensure that professionals and voluntary groups have access to a wide range of resources, materials and background information to help them develop and design appropriate and sensitive training packages in relation to child protection in its broadest sense;

London C&F Practice Guidance
To assist clear insight and effective action to protect and promote the welfare of children living in circumstances which appear to be complex because their faith, culture, nationality and possibly recent history differs significantly from that of host nation children and families;

- Final project report
Drawing together learning from each of the individual LSCB projects, focus groups and interviews – to be published in April 2012.

BME Communities & faith groups partnership working to safeguarding children conference

This conference was co-hosted by the London Safeguarding Children Board and Trust for London, with donation of the venue by City Corporation. The conference launched the evaluation report of the Trust for London funded Children’s Rights Initiative. The Initiative’s focus has been partnership with and building capacity in, London’s African communities to safeguard their children from harm linked to belief in sprit possession.

The conference also afforded the London Safeguarding Children Board the opportunity to showcase the work of the Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project involving 11 London boroughs. The Project is scheduled to conclude later this year, with launch of the Project guidance and toolkits for London at the London Board’s conference on 5 December 2011.

Full programme and papers for the day can be found below:

Conference programme
Keeing the children in mind
Keeping the children in mind notes
Trust for London Children's Evaluation Findings
Pan London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith project
Feedback from conference discussions
Pan London project description

The link below will take you directly to the CCPAS webpage for the 'Safe and Secure DVD' where you can view a short promotional track. http://www.ccpas.co.uk/Safeandsecuredvd.html

Summary for the the Trust for London can be found at
http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/Safeguarding%20summary.pdf

Full report can be found at: http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/Safeguarding%20final%20report.pdf

Faith-based abuse linked to a belief in spirit possession

Trust for London established a Safeguarding Children's Rights initiative in 2007 to address the issue of faith-based child abuse linked to beliefs in spirit possession. Although this is a problem across many cultures and faiths, the initiative focuses on London's African communities. Its aim is to develop and/or strengthen community-based preventive work to protect and promote African children in London’s right to safety and well-being – with a particular focus on tackling faith-based abuse linked to a belief in spirit possession.

For more information follow this link:
http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/special-initiatives/safeguarding-childrens-rights/

Pan-London safeguarding children culture & faith project 2010-11

This is an action-research Project which aims to promote a step-change in safeguarding London’s children living in minority ethnic, culture or faith communities or groups. The Project will run for 18 months to December 2011.

The Project hosted a conference in May 2011 with Trust for London which updated progress of the London Project and also launched the Trust for London Safeguarding Children’s Rights Initiative Report (see: http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/special-initiatives/safeguarding-childrens-rights/ and the Safe Network Report

The Project comprises three parts:

a) The London boroughs of Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Enfield, Hackney, Merton, Newham, Sutton and Tower Hamlets will pilot projects designed to promote statutory and voluntary agency safeguarding children partnership working with local minority ethnic and faith communities and groups.

b) The 32 London LSCBs will run consultation focus groups for the children, young people, parents and other adults in their local communities and for the paid or unpaid workers in the local statutory or voluntary sector to gather views on how to improve safeguarding for London’s children living in minority ethnic, culture or faith communities or groups;

The LSCBs will also disseminate an on-line survey link with the focus group questions to local statutory or voluntary sector professionals: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/faithandculture

c) LB Bexley will interview all the London LSCBs to map activity and aspiration in London for partnership for safeguarding London’s children living in minority ethnic, culture or faith communities or groups.

Project activity and findings will be published in a Project Report. The Project outputs will include:

a) Guidance about the additional issues which a professional may need to think about and act on, in relation to children and families across different cultures and faiths, to accompany the London Child Protection Procedures;
b) Training which will help professionals to identify children across cultures and faiths who are in need of support or protection; and
c) A local safeguarding children board model engagement strategy to assist minority ethnic communities and faith groups in protecting their children and working with statutory services to do so.

Project description and terms of reference:
Summary project description
Overall project description
Operational group terms of reference and timeline

The Project Operations Group meets monthly. All meetings will be on Mondays at 10.00am-12.00pm at London Councils, 59½ Southwark Street. The dates are as follows:

Future dates will be up shortly. .

Papers from previous meetings:

10 October 2011
12 September 2011
13 June 2011
11 April 2011
14 March 2011
14 February 2011
13th December 2010
8th November 2010
11th October 2010
13th September 2010
12th July 2010
14th June 2010
12th May 2010

The focus group confidentiality & disclosure statement and questions:
Focus group confidentiality & disclosure statement
Focus group questions

The audit tool to assist LSCB interviews:
Project interview audit tool

The Project Report and outputs will be launched at a Conference in December 2011/ January 2012.

If you would like to contribute to this Project or have any questions please contact: Emma.Aiyere@bexley.gov.uk or 07989 168938

Minority Ethnic Communities and Faith Groups Subgroup

Chaired by: Andrew Fraser, Chair of Enfield LSCB (andrew.fraser@enfield.gov.uk)
Membership: Membership is made up of representatives from London’s diverse communities and faith groups, Local Safeguarding Children Boards and statutory and non-statutory agencies.
Future meeting dates (all meetings at London Councils, 59 1/2 Southwark Street, 3.00 - 5.00 pm. The dates are as follows:

Wednesday 29 February 2012
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Wednesday 12 September 2012
Wednesday 5 December 2012

Agendas for meetings will be circulated in advance. All network members are asked to notify the London Safeguarding Children Board of their intention to attend at least 2 days in advance of the meeting - ian.dean@londoncouncils.gov.uk (for security purposes only those who have notified attendance can be admitted).

For more information about the network, please contact Ian Dean – ian.dean@londoncouncils.gov.uk, 020 7934 9714

Papers from previous meetings

7 December - cancelled
19 October 2011
25 May 2011 (cancelled)
20 October 2010
12 July 2010
27 April 2010
8 March 2010
January 20th 2009
October 9th 2008
April 1st 2008
January 21st 2008

Strategies to better safeguard children in highly diverse communities (8 Sept 2009)

Please follow the link below to download the presentations from our September seminar focusing on strategies to better safeguard children in highly diverse communities. This was delivered in partnership with the Victoria Climbie Foundation and highlighted work being undertaken by Coram, DMSS and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Coram Presentation 8 Sep 09
Tower Hamlets (Foyzul Hoque) 8 Sep 09
Tower Hamlets (Philip Messant) 8 Sep 09

Working with faith communities seminar (30 April 2009)

Please follow the link below to download the presentation from our April seminar on working with faith communities, which focussed on CCPAS's work to help develop safeguarding policies and good working practice with children in faith communities. This presentation includes links to the CCPAS resources highlighted at the seminar.

Developing safeguarding policies and good working practice with children in faith communities (CCPAS)