Issue - meetings

The Panel received the report of the Independent Chair of the Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership which provided the Learning Report, the recommendations, and the progress to date.

Councillor Barnes-Andrews, Cabinet Member in attendance; Robert Henderson, Executive Director Wellbeing (Children and Learning), Southampton City Council; Julian Watkins, Interim Head of Service - Safeguarding, Children and Families, Southampton City Council; Superintendent  Kelly Whiting, Southampton District Commander, Hampshire Constabulary; Katherine Elsmore, Head of Safeguarding, NHS Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group; Derek Benson, Independent Chair of Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership: and Doctor Michael Roe, Dedicated Doctor for Safeguarding Children, Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership were present and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Panel. 

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

• Recommendation 1 – MASH was judged by Ofsted to be a stable front door.  Thresholds in the main were being applied appropriately.  Hampshire Constabulary had delivered training that promoted listening to the voice of the child and telling their story not just ticking boxes on a referral form.

·  Recommendation 3 – Research had been done on Domestic Violence from a Victims perspective.  A programme of training had commenced that would help improve on how social workers challenge and investigate what is presented.  The Covid pandemic presented challenges regarding listening to the voice of the child as services had to use technology to contact families and it was often parents that controlled that technology.  Staff capacity to be professionally curious was limited when caseloads were high. Since the learning report Assistant Team Managers had been put into assessment teams so that regular case management and supervision could be carried out and a policy of providing all staff with a minimum of 5 days Continued Professional Development training per year had been introduced.

• Recommendation 4 – Solent NHS trust had completed an internal audit and work had been done to improve the pathways for children after a health assessment and to make sure that the services available were the right services.  Capacity in the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service was a major issue, demand for this service had been growing for several years and more so recently due to the pandemic.