Resources for LSCBs
The London Safeguarding Children Board runs regular network meetings for London LSCB Chairs and London LSCB Business Managers network (or equivalent). Please follow the links below for more information on these groups, including future meeting dates and notes from previous meetings.
London LSCB Business Managers network
Section 11 audit proces
The London Board recently established a small multi-agency working group to look at the section 11 audit processes currently in use across London and consider the feasibility of developing a joint approach, ideally in the form of a model template for gathering information from partner agencies.
The main driver for this work is to reach an agreed position for the various pan-London organisations which need to respond to more than one LSCB or work across more than one borough, which will be particularly important once the range of new cross-borough health arrangements are in place.
Improving local safeguarding outcomes - developing a strategic quality assurance framework to safeguard children
This London Board / LGID framework is aimed at strategic partnerships and individual organisations with safeguarding children responsibilities. It has been designed to help those with leadership, senior management or scrutiny responsibility for the safeguarding of children to gain a better understanding of how safe children are in their services and communities eg Directors of Children’s Services, Lead Members, NHS trust boards, Chief Executives, Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs), Children’s Trust Boards, senior management teams. The elements and principles of the framework can also be applied throughout all levels of all organisations that make a contribution to the safeguarding of children (including frontline practice) so that each level of the organisation can self-assess whether it is being effective in keeping children safe.
Improving local safeguarding outcomes - developing a strategic quality assurance framework to safeguard children
LSCB Development Day
The London Board ran two development days for LSCB Chairs and Development Officers in November 2010. These looked at how to develop effective quality frameworks for LSCBs, taking into consideration the use of outcomes-based approaches to support the impact that LSCBs have on safeguarding outcomes locally. The programme, presentations and handouts from the day can be downloaded below:
Programme
OBA and safeguarding - Rob Hutchinson
Keeping children safe - Dave Worlock
Results/OBA - Oxfordshire LSCB
Module 5 handout
LSCB Lay Members
The London Board has developed a set of resources for use by LSCBs when recruiting Lay Members locally. This includes a sample job description, person specification and confidentiality agreement.
LSCB Lay Member - model JD, PS and confidentiality agreement
Sample interview questions
Sample reference letter
Sample reference request form
Induction booklet
Government Office for London Triage Meeting Report
The triage workshop was requested by those safeguarding specialists who attended the London Multi Agency Audit workshops as a response to increases across London in contacts and referrals. The purpose of the triage workshop was to provide an opportunity to share innovative practice in relation to Children’s Social Care Assessment services and multi – agency approaches to triage.
Please follow the link below to download the full report.
LSCB annual report to Children's Trust Board
Lord Laming’s report recommended that “Local Safeguarding Children Boards should report to the Children’s Trust Board and publish an annual report on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the local area", which was then reflected in statutory guidance: ‘LSCBs will be required to publish an annual report and to submit it to their Children’s Trust Board. These reports should provide an honest assessment of the local safeguarding arrangements and identify clearly the challenges to be addressed and overcome.’
GOL and the London Safeguarding Children Board have now produced the guidance note below to provide LSCBs with advice on producing annual reports which support the development of effective accountability locally and an effective relationship between the LSCB and Children’s Trust Board (CTB). It is not mandatory guidance, but is for use by LSCBs should they find it helpful.
LSCB annual report to Children's Trust Board
Audit tools
Early in 2009, Government Office for London and the London Safeguarding Children Board created apack of multi agency safeguarding audit tools for LSCBs to use as part of their quality assurance activity. This and other work related to LSCB auditing is available at http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/audit_tools/
London LA children's social care thresholds guidance
Please follow the link below to download the London LA children’s social care thresholds guidance.
London LA children's social care thresholds guidance
This is intended as a guide to help explain LA children’s social care’s application of thresholds to referrals made to its service, and was originally developed by a subgroup of the London Development Officers Network 18 months ago. Publication was put on hold when work began on producing a CAF Protocol for London, but as that project neared completion we received a number of requests to make our original guide available for local authorities to use alongside it as and if they wish. Following additional consultation over May / June 2009, the guidance has been tweaked slightly to ensure it fits alongside the pan-London CAF protocol and is now presented for any local authority which finds it useful – please note that its use is not compulsory.
Pan-London Common Assessment Framework Protocol
The Pan London CAF Protocol was developed to address the challenges of child mobility in London and to improve the way services respond to children and young people receiving support in more than one borough.
The Protocol was developed by the Mobility Project Board to support cross-borough working in the capital and is effective from 1st September 2009.
The Pan London CAF Protocol is intended for use by any practitioner and operational line manager in any sector, when supporting a child or young person through a common assessment which involves cross-border working. Please follow the link below to download a copy or for information on the GOL and ME Learning training course.
http://www.commonassessmentframework.co.uk/
Sharing good practice
This section is for London LSCB development officers (or equivalent) to share good practice. If you would like to post protocols, guidance, good practice examples, systems etc with others on this website, please email ian.dean@londoncouncils.gov.uk.
Good Practice Directory from the West Midlands
Barnet LSCB annual report 09/10
Bexley LSCB annual report 09/10
Lambeth SCR Panel Chair JD & PS
