Agenda item

Purpose:

This report evaluates the progress of Monmouthshire’s key Safeguarding Priorities using identified measures to highlight progress, identify risks and confirm the direction of travel for improvements and further development. It is based on Monmouthshire’s safeguarding aim that both adults and children will be supported, and protected, from harm and abuse. It will be set against the safeguarding priorities, which are set within the Corporate Safeguarding policy 2017, with measures reflecting the previous WASG Performance Review March 2017 and has clear links to the Authority’s Safeguarding Service Improvement Plan.

Key Issues:

The Evaluation of Safeguarding is relating to information between April 17 –October 17. This period of time saw the restructure and review of Monmouthshire’s Corporate Safeguarding Policy and therefore the expectation is that Performance Data collation in certain Safeguarding areas will be developed as identified for future evaluation. Much of the business of Safeguarding is an ongoing process and how we measure the effectiveness of Monmouthshire’s Safeguarding Practice will develop as Service Provision across the council develops.

1. Good Governance:

It is recognised that good progress has taken place in regard to previous recommendations made in regard to the Councils Senior and Directorate level. Changes at Regional Board level and within National Policy will required a continued planned response.

2. Safe Workforce

Whilst recognising that Safe Recruitment processes are well embedded, a new corporate roll out of the SAFE audit’s across the Authority has been completed. This has highlighted the significant Safeguarding Training programme to ensure the authority is compliant with the Revised Corporate Policy.

3. Preventative Approach

The new focus on the development of a Preventative agenda has led to increased partnership working with developing within Community Hubs and within the Community itself. Changes and ambiguity under the SSWA have changed the responsibility and accountability within early support services, and this developing work will need to link carefully within the authorities statutory responsibility.

4. Robust Protection

The Safeguarding Processes have been embedded within Child and Vulnerable Adult protection for a long time. Within Children’s Services the ongoing agenda of change has created a good time in which to review current CP processes and procedures, and to ensure staff understand the requirements and expectations of their role and task. Further to this, where pressures both internally and externally are identified safe practice must be supported by a clear infrastructure of Risk Management Frameworks, clear procedures, models and tools. The creation and

development of joint Adult and Children’s Safeguarding teams/Unit allows opportunities to consider how best to identify opportunities for “joined up” work and models of working together prior to the revised All Wales guidance for both Vulnerable Children and Adults.

5. Safe Services

Whilst there has been an established approach to contract monitoring in commissioned services for some time, this is no doubt where future understanding of how we scrutinise and Quality Assure commissioned service’s will develop most. There are internal and regional developments beginning to build on a framework of monitoring and compliance. The new Volunteer’s Policy currently going through Scrutiny will also need a clear plan of implementation.

Member Scrutiny:

The Chair remarked that he attended safeguarding training when he started as a county councillor which was not been well attended and asked if there were still members and officers requiring training.  It was responded that there is an identified need to provide more training.  Basic safeguarding awareness is due to be added to The Hub to be available to all, and additional sessions will be arranged e.g. before a Council meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care, Safeguarding and Health expressed concern about keeping records of completed safeguarding training.  The need to arrange Corporate Parent training for elected members was also highlighted, again preceding a Council Meeting to optimise attendance.

It was a recommendation of the Select Committee that both safeguarding and corporate parent training is provided.

A member questioned how a record is made when an officer or elected member completes the proposed training on The Hub.  It was responded that we are currently dependent on teams reporting on completion of training or attendance at training events via spreadsheets which feed through to whole authority reports.  For volunteers there are systems in place to record training information.  In the future, Resourcelink and MyView systems will be used to better record officers’ training. For Members, there is reliance on Democratic Services’ attendance lists and upon Group Leaders.

A question was asked about the ‘one size fits all’ approach which does not always work well in schools and can be a barrier to volunteering quoting the check list that requires a stay-at-home parent to provide two references.  It was responded that a volunteering policy is proceeding that provides a balanced approach to safeguarding in accordance with the statutory guidance Keeping Learners Safe. 

The importance of having the common understanding was emphasised whilst working in way to understand e.g. one-off volunteering opportunities against volunteers who have more routine contact with children and the opportunity to form trusting relationships.  The priority remains to undertake recruitment in a way to keep learners safe and much discussion with Schools, Headteachers, Safeguarding Leads and Governors to make sure that they are supported, and understand when they need to follow full safe recruitment process. 

The Chair referred to increasing numbers of the elderly and people with dementia and asked if the same rigour was applied to the safeguarding needs for that group.  It was confirmed that legislation exists for adults at risk e.g. duty of people to report concerns.  The Standards equally apply to children and young people and the elderly.  Members of the Adults Select Committee were invited to attend the meeting today to acknowledge this point.