Issue - meetings

The Panel considered the report of the Independent Chair of the Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership which presented the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) Annual Report 2018-19. The report recommended that the Panel noted the changes to statutory guidance relating to partnership arrangements for safeguarding children and young people and that the Panel utilised the information contained in the report to inform its work.

Councillor Paffey, Cabinet Member for Aspiration, Children and Lifelong Learning; Hilary Brooks, Executive Director, Children’s Services, Southampton City Council; Phil Bullingham, Service Lead - Safeguarding, Improvement, Governance and Compliance, Children & Families, Southampton City Council; Detective Chief Inspector Nick Plummer, Public Protection, Hampshire Constabulary; Superintendent Kelly Whiting, Southampton District Commander, Hampshire Constabulary; Katherine Elsmore, Head of Safeguarding, NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group; Shiobhan West, Associate Designated Nurse for Safeguarding, NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group; were present and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Panel. 

In discussions with the officers, the Panel noted the following:

• That due to the changes to the statutory guidance relating to partnership arrangements for safeguarding children and young people,  the LSCB had been transformed into the Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP)
• That Southampton was partnered with Hampshire, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight as there were shared services across these districts.
• There was capacity to communicate effectively and share training across the partnership
• The LCSB had facilitated good working relationships between agencies that assisted the identification of priorities for Southampton, the sharing of good practice and professional challenge
• The LSCB had identified that there was a need to develop a shared and consistent understanding across all agencies of the thresholds for safeguarding referrals and how to assess and manage risk in the community.
• The LSCB had increased awareness of the challenges of providing a joined up approach to supporting the mental health needs of Looked After Children and the transition pathways for young people from children’s mental health services to adult mental health services.
• The monitoring data evidenced that the demand for placements for looked after children and suitable accommodation for children leaving care was greater than the supply of placements and suitable accommodation.

RESOLVED

  (i)  That the membership of the Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership is circulated to the Panel.