|
Tameside Safeguarding Children Board
– terms of reference
1. TSCB – Function & Purpose
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children requires effective co-ordination in all local authority areas. For this reason the Children Act 2004 required Local Authorities to each establish a Local Safeguarding Children Board for their area. Chapter 3 of Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) details the role, functions and responsibilities of Local Safeguarding Children Boards.
Tameside Safeguarding Children Board (TSCB) is therefore a statutory body with powers defined in the Children Act 2004 and, in the context of the Strategic partnership arrangements in Tameside, TSCB will take all necessary steps to exercise its statutory role effectively. This is summed up as a role of scrutiny and challenge especially with reference to the ‘Staying Safe’ outcome of the government’s Every Child Matters policy.
The core objectives of the LSCB are set out in s14(1) of the Children Act 2004 as follows:
- to co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority
- to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for that purpose.
The Tameside Safeguarding Children Board will meet these objectives by:-
- Developing inter agency policies and procedures
- Providing multi agency Training for those who work with children and supporting the development of single agency training
- Promoting a clear understanding of roles and functions and thresholds for intervention for all organisations
- Communicating and raising awareness of safeguarding issues
- Auditing and evaluating the effectiveness of safeguarding activity
- Monitoring and responding to agreed key performance information
- Participating in planning and commissioning of services
- Undertaking Case Reviews in order to learn lessons and ensuring recommendations are implemented
- Reviewing and Responding to child deaths
- Seek ways to identify, praise and publicise examples of positive interagency practice
2. TSCB – Scope of the role
The scope of the SCB role includes safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in three broad areas of activity:
- Preventative activity, affecting all children, aiming to identify and prevent maltreatment, impairment of health or development, and ensure children are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care.
- Proactive work that aims to target particular groups of vulnerable children, including, for example, those looked after by the local authority, children who run away from home, children in custody, and children with disabilities.
- Responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or at risk of suffering harm.
3. TSCB – Accountability & Membership Responsibilities
TSCB has a pivotal role in co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of local individuals’ and organisations’ work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, but is not accountable for their operational work.
Guidance from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) makes clear that the Director of Children’s Services (DCS) (Tameside MBC) will be held to account for the effective working of the safeguarding children board by their Chief Executive and challenged where appropriate by their Lead Member.
The Chief Executive of Tameside Council is responsible for ensuring that DCSs are performing their duties effectively including ensuring that the relationship between the TSCB and the Tameside Children’s Trust is working effectively.
Each Board Member retains their own existing lines of accountability for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children within the organisation. TSCB does not have a power to direct other organisations.
However Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2010 sets out how the individual members of the TSCB have a duty as members to contribute to the effective work of the TSCB. This can be, for example, in making the TSCB’s assessment of performance as objective as possible, and in recommending or deciding upon the necessary steps to put right any problems. This should take precedence, if necessary, over their role as a representative of their organisation. This terms of reference is the written statement of the roles and responsibilities of members.
In 2007, the government published Statutory guidance on making
arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 and this sets out the basis for this duty.
Additionally the government guidance The Roles and Responsibilities of the Lead Member for Children’s Services and the Director of Children’s Services (2009) says that the LSCB will be responsible for challenging every member of the Children’s Trust Board on their success in ensuring that children and young people are kept safe.
Chair and Vice-Chair
Appointments of the Chair and Vice-Chair shall be reviewed biennially by the Board, or earlier if members agree.
It is the responsibility of the Local Authority, after consultation with Board members, to appoint the Chair. Where the Chair is not a senior officer from the Local Authority, they will be accountable to the Local Authority via the Director Children’s Services for the effectiveness of their work as the Board Chair.
The Chair will have a crucial role in making certain the Board functions effectively and independently. They should act objectively and distinguish the role of Chair from any ‘day job’, recording any potential conflicts of interest.
The Vice-Chair of ‘The Board’ will be appointed after consultation with Board members. The Vice-Chair will deputise for the Chair in their absence.
Members
All agencies should recognise the importance of securing effective co-operation by nominating an appropriately senior officer to serve the Board. For the strategic Board this should be an officer at 1st or 2nd tier and for the Executive at 2nd or 3rd tier
Nominations for membership of the Board should be made in writing, to the Chair of the Board. Membership of the Board will be reviewed every two years.
Individual members of constituent agencies may be replaced by their agency during the course of the two year cycle. Written notice should be sent to the Chair of the Board. There is no limit to how long a named individual may represent his/her agency on the Board.
An additional member from a constituent agency may be approved by a meeting of the Board.
In exceptional circumstances if a member is unable to attend a particular meeting, their named deputy may attend in their place. Whenever possible the Chair should be advised of the reason for the substitution before the meeting.
4. Decision making
The Board, in all situations, will seek to reach decisions by consensus as this best reflects and encourages the underlying principles of inter-agency practice. In situations where a consensus cannot be reached, each member shall have a vote. Where the vote is split, the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote. No decisions shall be taken at a meeting unless one half plus one of the Board membership is present at the meeting.
5. Resources
To function effectively the Board has to be supported by its member agencies with an adequate and reliable resource to achieve the objectives identified in the Board’s Annual Business Plan. The resources to support the Board will be agreed locally between members, with a shared responsibility for providing the resources to support the work of the Board. It will be the duty of the members to determine the Annual Budget.
Financial resources for the Board should be committed in advance into a pooled budget, in line with the financial year. Each January contributing member agencies will be required to confirm their contribution for the following financial year. Where a specific contribution has been established, each subsequent contribution should be uplifted in line with inflation.
This does not prevent the Board from seeking increases over and above the rate of inflation from members in order to deliver on its business plan.
The pooled budget will be held in a separate account and administered by Local Authority Children’s Services, Finance Section. Budget reports will be made available quarterly to the Board.
Decisions regarding the deployment of the Board’s budget and resources shall be agreed in broad terms by Board members and in line with the Annual Business Plan and outlined at the start of the financial year.
Day to day decisions regarding expenditure shall be devolved to the TSCB Development Manager in consultation with his/her line manger.
Members will commit to undertake an annual resource audit, which will identify and collate the financial and ‘in kind’ contributions from each organisation to the successful functioning of the Board.
6. Equality and Participation Statement
Children from all cultures are subject to abuse and neglect. All children have a right to grow up safe from harm. In order to make sensitive and informed professional judgements about a child’s needs, and parents’ capacity to respond to their child’s needs, it is important that members and practitioners are sensitive to differing family patterns and lifestyles and to child rearing patterns that vary across different racial, ethnic and cultural groups.
Fairness and lack of discrimination are central to the work of the TSCB. The TSCB takes very seriously the responsibility to make sure that all safeguarding arrangements and activities do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion/ belief or age.
The TSCB commits itself to opposing discrimination in all instances where such considerations have no material bearing on the needs of any particular child, and of actively promoting anti-discriminatory practice in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in Tameside.
Members and Practitioners should be aware of the broader social factors that discriminate against black and minority ethnic people. Working in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society requires practitioners and organisations to be committed to equality in meeting the needs of all children and families, and to understand the effects of racial harassment, racial discrimination and institutional racism, as well as cultural misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
The Board will actively promote partnership with parents and carers amongst its member agencies. Families have a unique role and importance in the lives of children, and knowledge about their children. Well founded decisions by agencies must draw on that relationship and knowledge wherever possible.
7. TSCB – Strategic Board
In pursuit of the function and purpose set out above, the Board and its members will
- Provide the strategic direction of the TSCB
- Determine the priorities of the TSCB
- Agree the plan and resources to achieve the objectives
- Monitor and review progress
- Ensure that the TSCB maintains effective relationships with other strategic partnerships in Tameside and beyond
- Hold each other to account for ensuring that safeguarding within each organisation is effective
- Ensure that there is a productive and transparent line of accountability from ‘Board to Floor to Board’ within their organisations
Membership
In order to achieve the above it is necessary to have the 1st or 2nd tier officers from each relevant organisation at Board level as follows:
TSCB Independent Chair
Executive Director, Clinical Services (TSCB vice chair), Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Chief Executive, Tameside Council
Director, TMBC Services for Children & Young People
Executive Director, TMBC Community Services
Assistant Executive Director, Greater Manchester Probation Service
Head Teacher representative
Chief Operating Officer, Tameside & Glossop Primary Care Trust
Children’s Service Manager, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Director of Operations, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Chief Executive of Better Choices (Tameside Connexions)
Chief Executive, Tameside 3rd Sector Coalition (T3SC)
Service Manager, CAFCASS
Chief Superintendent, GM Police, Tameside Division
Advisers to the board:
Designated Nurse Child Protection
Designated Doctor Child Protection
Assistant Executive Director, Specialist Services and Safeguarding
In attendance as required:
Development Manager, TSCB
Training Organiser, TSCB
Administrator, TSCB
For each nominated representative a named deputy will also be identified to attend in exceptional circumstances. This will ensure continuity of agency engagement in the work of the TSCB.
Responsibilities
1. Set the Vision, Strategy, and Policy Direction for TSCB.
2. Set the Business Plan for TSCB and agree the necessary resource to implement.
3. Report to Tameside Strategic Partnership and Children’s Trust on the business of the TSCB, influence the commissioning of services and providing an Annual Report for public dissemination.
4. Ensure that the ‘Scrutiny & Challenge’ function of the safeguarding children board is effectively discharged.
5. Ensure that the Board has appropriate information to identify strengths and areas for improvement in respect of safeguarding through a robust quality assurance framework and an effective performance management programme.
6. Receive reports from TSCB Executive on the work of the operational implementation groups, ensuring that activity and work plans are consistent with strategic objectives and that barriers to implementation are removed.
7. Receive and agree recommendations from Serious Case Reviews and ensure implementation. Determine issues in relation to Disclosure and Publication of SCR documentation.
8. Decide on matters which the Board should delegate to operational implementation groups for further discussion/advice/resolution.
9. Decide on matters which the Board should refer to other partnerships and agencies in Tameside and beyond.
10. Authorise media communications.
11. Receive recommendations from the Executive about agendas, priorities and progress of objectives.
12. Ensure that the TSCB operates effectively, efficiently and economically.
Practical Arrangements
The TSCB Board will meet four times per year.
The TSCB Board will be chaired by an Independent Chair who will be responsible for the Board agenda in liaison with the TSCB Executive.
The TSCB Board will be supported by the Tameside Safeguarding Children Board Administrator.
Minutes of the TSCB Board will be presented to Tameside Strategic Partnership.
Quoracy
The quorum required for decision making of the TSCB Board will consist of:
- at least one representative from Tameside Council
- at least one representative from the Health Economy
- at least one representative from each of 3 other member agencies
8. TSCB – Executive
Purpose
To oversee the delivery of the Boards strategic plans co-ordinating the work of the Implementation Groups (IG) and advising on the on-going agenda for the board in line with TSCB Business Plan .
Membership
TSCB Independent Chair
Named doctor for Pennine Care NHS foundation Trust
Named Nurse Child Protection, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
GP representative
Named Nurse Child Protection, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Named Doctor Child Protection, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Public Health Consultant, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Associate Director, Provider Services, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Assistant Executive Director, TMBC Services for Children & Young People
Assistant Executive Director, TMBC Services for Adults
Assistant Executive Director, TMBC Inclusive Services
Service Unit Manager, TMBC Children’s Social Work
NSPCC Local Children's Services Manager
Project Manager, New Charter Housing Association
Head of Service, Tameside Youth Offending Service
Acute Services Manager, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Tameside Connexions Manager
Superintendent, GM Police
Designated Doctor Child Protection
Head of Community Safety, TMBC
Strengthening Communities Coordinator, TMBC
Principal, Tameside College – post-16 sector representative
Adviser to the Executive
Service Unit Manager, TMBC Safeguarding Unit
In attendance as required:
Development Manager, TSCB
Training Organiser, TSCB
Administrator, TSCB
For each nominated representative a named deputy will also be identified to attend in exceptional circumstances. This will ensure continuity of agency engagement in the work of the TSCB.
Responsibilities:
- The TSCB Executive is accountable to the TSCB Board.
- Chair and Co-ordinate the work of the IGs, ensuring that activity and work plans are coordinated.
- Deal with matters which the Board delegates for further discussion/advice/resolution.
- Monitor and report on the budget on behalf of the Board.
- Establish and monitor short life working groups that are not the responsibility of any of the IGs.
- Act as a filter for correspondence, information, new initiatives, regulations and guidance on behalf of the TSCB
- Monitor TSCB communications including via the website and other modes of public dissemination.
- Make recommendations to the Board about agendas, priorities and progress of objectives.
- Agree policies, procedures and guidance.
Operational Arrangements
The TSCB Executive will meet every six weeks.
The TSCB Executive will be supported by the Tameside Safeguarding Children Board Administrator.
Minutes of the Executive will be presented to the Strategic Board with minutes of the IGs.
Quoracy
The quorum required for decision making of the TSCB Executive Board will consist of:
- at least two representatives from Tameside Council
- at least two representatives from the Health Economy
- at least one representative from each of 3 other member agencies
Additionally, no decisions shall be taken at a meeting unless one half plus one of the Board membership is present at the meeting.
9. TSCB – Implementation Groups
Purpose
TSCB Implementation Groups (IGs) are standing Groups (formerly known as committees) and will implement Board’s business plan and support the Board in meeting the objectives, purpose and function of TSCB.
Operational Arrangements
The IGs will meet at least once every three months. However the chair of and the Performance Monitoring & Quality Assurance IG will review the frequency of meeting for those groups with an expectation that this will be increased to meeting at least once every 2 months and possibly more frequently.
The IGs will be supported by the TSCB Development Manager, Training Organiser and Administrator.
Short Life Working Groups or Task & Finish groups will be mandated by either the TSCB Executive or IGs which will set objectives and timescales for their work.
Quoracy
The quorum required for decision making of IGs will consist of half the membership plus either the chair or vice chair.
Attendance is expected to be at least 80% and will be recorded for the annual report.
Accountability
The IG’s are accountable through their Chairs to the TSCB Executive.
Short Life Working/Task & Finish Groups will be accountable through their Chairs to the TSCB Executive or the relevant Implementation Group.
9a. TSCB – Policy & Procedure IG
Purpose
Develop policies, procedures, local protocols and guidance relating to specific areas of multi-disciplinary safeguarding practice and disseminate information about the purpose, function and activities of TSCB to a wide audience including practitioners and the general public in Tameside.
Membership
Chair – Project Manager, New Charter Housing Association; Social Housing representative
Designated Nurse Child Protection
Development Manager TSCB
Consultant Paediatrician Tameside & Glossop Primary Care Trust
Detective Inspector GMP
Education Welfare Officer
TSCB Training Officer
Service Unit Manager, TMBC Children’s Social Work
Head of Youth Offending Service
Service Unit Manager Children's Safeguarding Unit
Responsibilities
- Develop policies, procedures, local protocols and guidance relating to specific areas of multi-disciplinary safeguarding practice.
- Enhance and inform multi-agency learning and development through work with the Training and Development IG, dissemination of policy procedures and guidance and through publicity.
- Assist the Performance Monitoring & Quality Assurance IG in the evaluation and analysis of the effectiveness of joint working particularly in relation to the development and operation of policy, procedures and guidance.
- Improve communication between member agencies of TSCB and between those agencies and the general public by the development of clear, concise, accessible multi agency procedures.
- Leading for TSCB on raising awareness with the public in Tameside that safeguarding is everyone’s business and with practitioners and managers from relevant agencies that safeguarding is a core function for positive practice.
- Review existing policies, procedures and guidance and ensure that changes are made on the basis of local and national evidence. Also to identify up to date research information and developments in national and regional procedures and guidance and to enable TSCB to use this information to inform practice.
- Have oversight of the TSCB website
9b. TSCB – Training & Development IG
Purpose
To ensure that learning and development are regarded as central to the safeguarding of children in Tameside. This purpose will extend to all practitioners working with children and additionally to members of the general public in Tameside in terms of supporting the TSCB Policy & procedures IG in raising awareness that safeguarding is everyone’s business.
Membership
Chair – Tameside Connexions Manager
TSCB Training Organiser
TSCB Development Manager
Child Protection Adviser, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Children's Centres Area Manager
Named Doctor Child Protection Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Named Nurse Child Protection, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Project Manager, New Charter Housing Association
Team Manager, TMBC Children’s Social Care
Senior Education Welfare Officer
TSCB Training Officer
CAMHS Senior Mental Health Practitioner
Senior Probation Officer
Detective Inspector, GMP
Training Organiser, TMBC Children’s Social Care
Responsibilities
- Produce an annual Training Strategy and Training Plan.
- Review that plan and strategy regularly to ensure its delivery.
- Prioritise training in relation to:
- Nationally identified priorities
- Locally recognised priorities
- Training needs analysis
- Evaluate training delivery and respond accordingly.
- Update and develop training delivery as required.
- Ensure training is developed, delivered and evaluated in line with agreed standards.
- Produce information about training delivered, numbers trained, agency representation on courses.
- Monitor the training budget and make recommendations to the Tameside Safeguarding Children Board.
- Be aware of any unmet needs in relation to multi-agency training and address those.
- Maintain an overview of single agency training and support agencies in meeting their responsibilities
9c. TSCB – Performance Monitoring & Quality Assurance IG
Purpose
Leading for TSCB on monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of safeguarding activity and making recommendations to the Board on the planning and commissioning of services that impact on the safeguarding of children.
Membership
Service Unit Manager TMBC Children's Safeguarding Unit
TSCB Development Manager
Named Nurse Child Protection, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Detective Inspector, GMP
Consultant, Public Health Medicine, Tameside & Glossop NHS PCT
Designated Nurse Child Protection
Principle Education Welfare Officer
Designated Doctor Child Protection
Service Unit Manager, TMBC Children’s Social Care
Children’s Service Manager, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Responsibilities
- Identify local multi-agency performance requirements and develop performance monitoring framework.
- Analyse local data in relation to multi-agency safeguarding activity.
- Compare local and statistical neighbour data and performance over time.
- Develop and implement the Quality Assurance Framework which includes practitioner focus groups, multi agency audits of case files etc. This will ensure that there is effective audit of local multi-agency working together.
- Examine Appeals and Complaints for relevance to performance and quality assurance.
- Examine Case Reviews for relevance to performance and quality assurance. This includes identifying good practice as well as areas of challenge.
- Review local agency performance in relation to particular themes or issues as appropriate.
- Advise on the development and improvement of the quality of single-agency and multi-agency systems relating to safeguarding issues which have a direct impact on the work of practitioners and front line staff.
- Performance Monitoring Reports will be made on a quarterly basis to the TSCB board.
9d. TSCB – Child Death Overview Function
Purpose
The Child Death Overview function is to consider within its scope of enquiry all child deaths which occur in Tameside and the death of any child who is normally resident in Tameside, but whose death occurs outside Tameside.
The purpose for doing this is two-fold. First, to ensure that appropriate scrutiny is given to deaths of children as a result of abuse or neglect and in which there are concerns about the way that agencies work together. Second, to identify any patterns in the incidence of child deaths so that TSCB is able to advise member agencies and other strategic partnerships on recommended actions.
This function is discharged through a tripartite arrangement with Stockport LSCB and Trafford LSCB, chaired by an independent person.
Membership
From Tameside the membership is
Designated Doctor, Child Protection
Service Unit Manager, TMBC Safeguarding Unit
Responsibilities
(These are informed by regulation 6 Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2005)
- Enquire into and evaluate information about all unexpected child deaths and reach conclusions about whether and how they could have been prevented.
- Collect and analyse information about all child deaths with a view to identifying :-
- Any matters of concern affecting the safety and welfare of children in the area of the authority including any case giving rise to the need for a review mentioned in Regulation 5.1(e) (Serious Case Review).
- Any general public health or safety concerns arising from deaths of such children and make recommendations to Tameside Safeguarding Children Board about action required by Tameside Safeguarding Children Board or any other body or partnership
- Improvements to practice which will safeguard children and promote their welfare.
- Identifying the need for local strategic action to reduce child deaths or serious injury.
- Liaise with TSCB Policy & Procedures Implementation Group to put in place procedures and protocols for ensuring that there is a co-ordinated response by the authority, their Board partners and other relevant persons to an unexpected death.
- Review information about all deaths identified as unexpected.
- Advise the Chair of the TSCB whether any individual case meets the criteria for Serious Case Review ensuring that the procedure for such a Review is followed.
- Liaise with the TSCB Performance Monitoring & Quality Assurance Implementation Group to monitor the progress and implementation of recommendations from Serious Case Reviews.
- Liaise with the Coronial service in matters arising from the death of children.
- Have oversight of the liaison by TSCB officers with Ofsted and Government Office North West in the notification of serious incidents and deaths of children.
- Advise the TSCB on the appropriate arrangements for Serious Case Reviews, including publication, disclosure and dissemination of lessons learnt.
|
Back to Top
