Siobhan Logue (Safeguarding Business Manager) delivered the Children's Safeguarding Partnership Board, Annual Report, and highlighted:

a)    In December 2023, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ national guidance had been updated, setting out clearer expectations for partners around safeguarding children;

b)    The priority areas for the partnership were; neglect, safeguarding adolescence, child sexual abuse, and domestic abuse. For each priority, a strategy, practice guidance and toolkit had been created for frontline practitioners;

c)    Four multi-agency, quality assurance audits were conducted each year. The learnings from these audits were then fed into the working groups for action;

d)    Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews were conducted following a serious incident or death of a child relating to neglect. Learning from reviews was fed back into the quality assurance and working groups, as well as the partnership board;

e)    The partnership delivered safeguarding training courses to multiple agencies within the city. A level one and two course were currently being developed, which would be available free of charge;

f)     Work had been undertaken with Somerset, who were Department of Education leads in information sharing, to create a tier one information sharing agreement.  A tier 2 information sharing agreement around the integrated front door and MASH was now in progress, which would enhance information sharing across partners;

g)    An ambitious scrutiny plan had been developed, with multiple independent scrutineers responsible for specific topic areas of the partnership, as well as the inclusion of young people to provide a ‘young persons’ perspective;

h)    Future priorities for the partnership included recruitment of a data analyst, creation of a data dashboard, and a focus on online harm. Work was also ongoing within the partnership to increase inclusivity, including seeking attendance from faith groups.

The Board agreed:

1.    To note the report.