The Local Safeguarding Children Board has been in place since February 2006, it is well established and has undertaken many significant pieces of work. The first Joint Area Review was conducted between December 2006 and February 2007. The Judgement made by the Inspectors, under the "stay safe" outcome was that 'the impact of all local services on keeping children safe is good'. This clearly demonstrates the LSCB is effective and that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is a shared responsibility and priority for all organisations working and providing services for children in the area.
Safeguarding procedures were launched in July 2006, and are due to be re launched in July 2008 following updates in line with practice and guidance. The LSCB implemented the child death review process on the 1st April 2008 which provides a coordinated and effective approach to the review of child deaths in North East Lincolnshire. This will enable any matters of concern or public health issues impacting on the safety and welfare of children to be identified and preventative measures implemented. Several new themed Safeguarding children training courses have been developed and have been implemented. Safeguarding training has been delivered to 1134 people during 2007 to 2008 and remains an essential mechanism in ensuring that the children's work force are able to recognise and respond to issues of risk and need.
Ensuring that work to protect children is properly coordinated and effective is the key goal of the LSCB, however the LSCB also contributes to the wider goals of improving the welfare of children. The LSCB continues to work closely with the Children's Trust Board however it has a separate identity and independent voice. The LSCB's governance role is to ensure the effectiveness of the arrangements made by individual agencies and the wider partnership to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The LSCB has a number of statutory function workstreams which continue to drive strategic change:
- LSCB Executive Board
- Training Group - Training Pool
- Policy and Procedures
- Serious Case Review Panel
- Quality Assurance and Audit
- Recruitment and Vetting
- Allegations
- Sexual Exploitation
- Children's Domestic Abuse Group
Link to LSCB web site