Issue - meetings

Feedback and information from the Chair’s and independent member’s attendance at the Haringey Safeguarding Children Board.

(Report of the Chair and Independent Member of the Committee – Agenda item 6 )

The committee considered a report back from the chair and independent member on their attendance at the local safeguarding children board (LSCB) meeting in July. We were reminded that the local safeguarding children board is a key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the particular locality and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do. The functions of the LSCB are set out in primary legislation and regulations and therefore the role of the LSCB is complementary to that of the local children’s trust.  There was wide representation at the board meetings with health, police, CAFCASS, voluntary sector, probation service, local authority housing services, schools and children and young people’s service all attending. The board usually  consider a range of issues from individual  cases concerning children i.e. serious case reviews to overarching issues such as best practice delivery, quality assurance, domestic violence training and development .  It had been reported to the LSCB at this July meeting that the serious case reviews on baby Peter were planned for publication but a date had yet to be set. The written reviews were currently going through a process of anonymization. We noted  past practice which  had been not publishing serious case reviews but making the executive summaries along with the recommendations available to the public. The new government was changing this practice and had already made two other serious case review findings publicly available.

The committee continued with discussion about the LSCB and raised concern about the number of attendees at these meetings.  The committee were advised that, although there were a large number of attendees at the LSCB meetings, there was an executive board of the LSCB which involved the providers of services to children and this meeting did allow for focused discussion. There were also sub groups which dealt with training and policy. The committee learned that there can be different arrangements for LSCB’s  and the only way in which Haringey  may differ to others   is  by having a   high attendance levels at meetings from involved agencies which can  have the effect of making the meetings quite large.

The chair recommended that committee members attend an LSCB meeting as this provides a useful insight into their work.

RESOLVED:

 That the committee note the work of the LSCB.