18. Local Safeguarding Children Boards, quality assurance and conflict resolution

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18.1	Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs)
	18.1.4	Objectives
	18.1.8	LSCB role
	18.1.12	Scope of the role
18.2	LSCB functions
	18.2.2	Thresholds, Policies and procedures function
	18.2.13	Communication and raising awareness function
	18.2.14	Monitoring and evaluation function
	18.2.23	Planning and commissioning function
	18.2.26	Function relating to child deaths
	18.2.28	Serious case review function
	18.2.30	Other activities
	18.2.32	Accountability for operational work
18.3	LSCB governance and operational arrangements
	18.3.2	Independence
	18.3.4	Chair
	18.3.6	Relationship between the LSCB, the children's trust or equivalent and other local children's services
	18.3.15	Membership of an LSCB
	18.3.21	Role of LA Chief executive and Council Leaders
	18.3.22	Statutory members
	18.3.26	Lay members
	18.3.29	Representation from schools
	18.3.31	Other members
	18.3.34	Involvement of other agencies and groups
	18.3.37	The role of individual members
	18.3.39	Ways of working
	18.3.46	Participation of children and their families
	18.3.47	Information sharing for the purposes of LSCB functions
	18.3.49	Financing and staffing
	18.3.56	Planning
18.4	Quality assurance
	18.4.1	The LSCB's monitoring and evaluation function
	18.4.6	Individual agencies' quality assurance
	18.4.12	Unallocated child protection cases
18.5	Professional conflict resolution
	18.5.1	Dissent at referral and enquiry stage
	18.5.10	Dissent regarding the implementation of a child protection plan
	18.5.12	Where professional differences remain
18.6	Whistle-blowing systems

18.1	Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs)

18.1.1	The Local Safeguarding Board (LSCB) is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant agencies in each local area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in that locality, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.
18.1.2	Local authorities and statutory LSCB partners have a statutory obligation to establish and support the operation of the LSCB.
18.1.3	LSCBs will not usually be operational bodies or ones that deliver services to children and their families. However, an LSCB may take on an operational and delivery role within its functions as set out below.
Objectives
18.1.4	The core objectives of the LSCB are to, as far as possible: Co-ordinate, monitor and support what is done by each person or body represented on the LSCB for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority; Ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for that purpose.
18.1.5	Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: Protecting children from maltreatment; Preventing impairment of children's health or development; Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; Enabling children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.
18.1.6	The LSCB should ensure that the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children is carried out in such a way as to improve all five Every Child Matters outcomes for children - enabling children to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution to the community and to society; and achieve economic well being.
18.1.7	Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children includes protecting children from harm. Ensuring that work to protect children is properly co-ordinated and effective is a key goal of LSCBs and they should not focus on their wider role if the standard of this core business is inadequate. However, when the core business is secure, LSCBs should go beyond it to work to the wider remit, which includes preventative work to avoid harm being suffered in the first place.
LSCB role
18.1.8	The work of LSCBs is part of the wider context of children's trust or equivalent arrangements that aim to improve the overall wellbeing of all children in the local area.
18.1.9	Whilst the work of LSCBs contributes to the wider goals of improving the wellbeing of all children, it has a particular focus on aspects of the 'staying safe' outcome.
18.1.10	Whereas the Children's Trust or equivalent has a wider role in planning and delivery of services, LSCB objectives are about co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of what their member agencies do individually and together. They will contribute to delivery and commissioning through a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan, and local children's services partnership arrangements (Children's Trust or equivalent).
18.1.11	There is flexibility for a local area to decide that an LSCB should have an extended role or further functions related to its objectives, in addition to those set here. The decision should be taken as part of the scope of the wider children's trust or equivalent. However, the local authority and its partners should make sure that any extended role does not lessen the LSCB's ability to perform its core role effectively.
Scope of the role
18.1.12	The LSCB should focus on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in three broad areas of activity.
18.1.13	First, activity that affects all children and aims to identify and prevent maltreatment, or impairment of health or development, and ensure children are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care, e.g: Mechanisms to identify abuse and neglect wherever they may occur; Work to increase understanding of safeguarding children issues in the professional and wider community, promoting the message that safeguarding is everybody's responsibility; Work to ensure that agencies working or in contact with children, operate recruitment and human resources practices that take account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; Monitoring the effectiveness of agencies' implementation of their duties under s11 of the Children Act 2004; Ensuring children know who they can contact when they have concerns about their own or others' safety and welfare; Ensuring that adults (including those who are harming children) know who they can contact if they have a concern about a child or young person. Work to prevent accidents and other injures and, where possible, deaths; and Work to prevent and respond effectively to bullying.
18.1.14	Second, proactive work that aims to target particular groups, e.g: Developing / evaluating thresholds and procedures for work with children and families where a child has been identified as 'in need' under the Children Act 1989, but where the child is not suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm; Work to safeguard and promote the welfare of groups of children who are potentially more vulnerable than the general population, for example children living away from home, children who have run away from home, children missing from school or childcare, children in the youth justice system, including custody, disabled children and children and young people affected by gangs.
18.1.15	Thirdly, responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or at risk of suffering harm, including: Children abused and neglected within families, including those harmed in the context of domestic violence (see section 5.12. Domestic violence) and as a consequence of the impact of substance misuse or parental mental ill health (see section 5.34 Parents who misuse substances and section 5.32 Parental mental illness); Children abused outside families by adults known to them; Children abused and neglected by professional carers, within institutional settings, or anywhere else where children are cared for away from home; Children abused by strangers; Children abused by other young people (see sections 5.19 Gangs, serious youth violence and violent extremism and section 5.20. Harming others ); Young perpetrators of abuse (see section 5.20. Harming others); Children abused through sexual exploitation (see section 5.43. Sexually exploited children) Children abused through harmful traditional practices and trafficking (see section 5.14. Female genital mutilation, section 5.16. Forced marriage of a child, section 5.22. Honour based violence and 5.43 Trafficked and exploited children); and Young victims of crime.
18.1.16	Where particular children are the subject of interventions, that safeguarding work should aim to help them to achieve all five outcomes to have optimum life chances. The LSCB should check the extent to which this has been achieved as part of its monitoring and evaluation work.

18.2	LSCB functions

18.2.1	The core functions of an LSCB are set out in the Local Safeguarding Board Regulations 2006, statutory instrument no. 2006/90. In all their activities, LSCBs should take account of the need to promote equality of opportunity and to meet the diverse needs of children.
Thresholds, policies and procedures function
18.2.2	LSCBs should develop policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority, including policies and procedures in relation to:
(i)	The action to be taken where there are concerns about a child's safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention
18.2.3	This includes concerns under both s17 and s47 of the Children Act 1989, and includes: Setting out thresholds for referrals to children's social care of children who may be in need, and processes for robust multi-agency assessment of children in need; Agreeing inter-agency procedures for s47 enquiries and developing local protocols on key issues of concern such as children abused through prostitution; children living with domestic violence, substance abuse, or parental mental illness; female genital mutilation; forced marriage; children missing from school; children who may have been trafficked and safeguarding looked after children who are away from home; Setting out how s47 enquiries and associated police investigations should be conducted, and in particular, in what circumstances joint enquiries are necessary and/or appropriate.
18.2.4	LSCBs should clarify thresholds and processes and promote a common understanding of them across local agencies to help ensure that appropriate referrals are made and improve the effectiveness of joint work, leading to a more efficient use of resources. In developing these thresholds and processes the LSCB should work with the Children's Trust Board or equivalent.
18.25	LSCBs should assist the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, to ensure that the local arrangements for undertaking a common assessment are clear about when it is appropriate to use the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and when it is appropriate to refer a possible child in need to children's social care services.
(ii)	Training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children
18.2.5	LSCBs should ensure that single agency and inter-agency training on safeguarding and promoting welfare is provided in order to meet local needs. This covers both the training provided by single agencies to their own staff, and multi-agency training where staff from more than one agency train together.
18.2.6	LSCBs may wish to carry out their function by taking a view as to the priorities for inter-agency and single-agency child protection training in the local area and feeding those priorities into the local workforce strategy. LSCBs should evaluate the quality of this training, ensuring that relevant training is provided by individual agencies, and checking that the training is reaching the relevant staff within agencies.
18.2.7	LSCBs can organise or deliver inter-agency training, however, this is not part of the core requirement for LSCBs. See section 16. Supervision and training.
(iii)	Recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children
18.2.8	LSCBs should establish effective policies and procedures, in line with national guidance, for checking the suitability of people applying for work with children and ensuring that the children's workforce is properly supervised, with any concerns acted on appropriately. See section 16. Supervision and training and section 17. Safer recruitment.
18.2.8	LSCBs should ensure that robust quality assurance processes are in place to monitor compliance by relevant agencies within their area with requirements to support safe practices. These processes should include audits of vetting practice and sampling of compliance with checks with Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority registration.
(iv)	Investigation of allegations concerning persons working with children
18.2.9	LSCBs should establish effective policies and procedures, in line with national guidance, to ensure that allegations are dealt with properly and quickly. See section 15. Allegations against staff.
(v)	Safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered
18.2.10	LSCBs should ensure the co-ordination and effective implementation of measures designed to strengthen local private fostering notification arrangements including: Raising awareness of private fostering across partner agencies, third sector organisations and commissioned services; Ensuring that relevant training practices are developed and followed up at multi-agency level; Reviewing and responding to the findings of the annual private fostering report submitted by the local authority to the chair of the LSCB; Acting upon the findings of Ofsted inspections and research evidence on effective practice; Providing effective leadership and challenge in this area; and Reporting on private fostering in their own annual report as appropriate. LSCBs may also want to consider how they raise awareness in the community of the requirements and issues around private fostering. See section 5.37. Private fostering.
(vi)	Co-operation with neighbouring local authorities and their board partners
18.2.11	LSCBs should establish procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who move between local authority areas, including harmonising procedures, where appropriate, to bring coherence to liaison with an agency (such as a police force) which spans more than one LSCB area. This could be relevant to geographically mobile families, such as asylum seeking children, traveller children, children in immigrant families and children of families in temporary accommodation.
(vii)	Other policies and procedures
18.2.12	LSCBs should ensure that single agency and inter-agency safeguarding children protocols and procedures additional to these London Child Protection Procedures are developed only where it is necessary to go beyond these procedures. Also that any such protocols and procedures comply with these procedures. LSCBs should consider the need for a procedure for handling complaints regarding requests to share information.
Communicating and raising awareness function
18.2.13	LSCBs should communicate to persons, agencies and groups in the area of the authority the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, raising their awareness of how this can best be done, and encouraging them to do so, e.g. by: Contributing to a public awareness raising campaign about how everybody can contribute to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children; Listening to and consulting children and young people and ensuring that their views are taken into account in planning and delivering safeguarding and promoting welfare services.
Monitoring and evaluation function
(i)	Monitoring, evaluation and improvement
18.2.14	LSCBs should monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of what is done by the local authority and board partners individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and advise them on ways to improve, e.g. by: Requiring agencies to self-evaluate under an agreed framework of benchmarks or indicators and share the results with the board. It might also involve leading multi-agency arrangements to contribute to self evaluation reports; Undertaking joint-audits of case files to evaluate multi-agency working, looking at the involvement of the different agencies, and identifying the quality of practice and lessons to be learned in terms of both multi-agency and multi-disciplinary practice.
18.2.15	The LSCB should ensure that key people and agencies with a duty under s11 of the Children Act 2004 or s175 or s157 of the Education Act 2002 are fulfilling their statutory obligations to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
18.2.16	LSCBs should ensure appropriate links with any secure setting in its area and be able to scrutinise restraint techniques, the policies and protocols which surround the use of restraint, and incidences and injuries. LSCBs with a secure establishment in its areas should report annually to the Youth Justice Board on how effectively the establishment is managing use of restraint. LSCBs should report more frequently if there are concerns on the use of restraint. Consideration should be given to sharing the information with relevant inspectorates (HMIP and Ofsted). Where appropriate, members of LSCBs (with secure establishments in its area) should be given demonstrations in the techniques accredited for use to assist their consideration of any child protection or safeguarding issue that might arise in relation to restraint.
18.2.17	All incidents when restraint is used in custodial settings and which results in an injury to a young person should be notified to, and subsequent action monitored by, the LSCB.
18.2.18	LSCBs should advise the local authority and board partners on ways to improve, e.g. by: Making recommendations (such as the need for further resources); Helping agencies to develop new procedures; Disseminating best practice; Bringing together expertise in different agencies and groups; Supporting capacity building and training.
(ii)	Annual report on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the local area
18.2.19	LSCBs should publish an annual report on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the local area. The report should challenge the work of the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, and its partners to ensure that necessary overarching structures, processes, practices and culture are put in place to ensure that children are fully safeguarded.
18.2.20	The report should: Provide an assessment of the effectiveness of local arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; Set the assessment against a comprehensive analysis of the local area safeguarding context; Recognise achievements and the progress that has been made in the local authority area; Provide a realistic assessment of the challenges that still remain; Demonstrate the extent to which the functions of the LSCB are being effectively discharged; including assessments of procedures and practice to keep children safe, including: the policies and procedures for the safe recruitment of frontline staff; an assessment of single and inter-agency training on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to meet the local needs; lessons learnt about the prevention of future child deaths which have been identified by the child death overview panel; and progress on priority issues e.g. child trafficking, sexual exploitation and domestic violence. Provide a clear account of progress that has been in relation to individual Serious Case Reviews (SCRs): implementing action plans from SCRs completed during the year in question, plans to evaluate the impact of these actions and to monitor how these improvements are being sustained over time implementing action plans from SCRs commissioned in previous years where any actions remained outstanding at the start of the reporting year learning lessons arising from SCRs which have been commissioned but not completed Common themes and recurring recommendations may be addressed together but the report must be clear on action taken in response to individual SCRs.
18.2.21	The LSCB must send a copy of the annual report to the Children's Trust Board or equivalent. In preparing a strategy for children's services , such as a Children and Young People's Plan, Children's Trust Board or equivalents, will be expected to draw upon the advice from and the findings in the LSCB annual report, and show how they intend to respond to the issues raised.
18.2.22	The LSCB and the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, within the parameters set by legislation, should work together to ensure that the LSCB annual report is developed in time so that it can be properly considered and effectively utilised by the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, in preparing a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan.
Planning and commissioning function
18.2.23	LSCBs should participate in the local planning and commissioning of children's services to ensure that the children's trust or equivalent partnership and other local children's services planners and commissioners take safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children into account. As part of this LSCBs should contribute to the local children and young people's plan.
18.2.24	Where it is agreed locally that the LSCB is the 'responsible authority' for 'matters relating to the protection of children from harm' under the Licensing Act 2003, the LSCB must be notified of all licence variations and new applications for the sale and supply of alcohol and public entertainment.
18.2.25	LSCB's may have local arrangements and duties under the Gambling Act 2005 regarding vulnerable children and adults.
Function relating to child deaths
18.2.26	In relation to child deaths, LSCBs should: Have in place arrangements for a rapid response to each unexpected death of a child, by a group of key professionals who come together for the purpose of enquiring into and evaluating the death (see section 12. Death of a child); Put in place a multi-agency child death overview panel (see section 12.3. Child death overview panel).
18.2.27	Under these functions LSCBS have responsibility for reviewing the deaths of all children. In order to fulfil this responsibility the LSCB must be informed of all deaths of children, normally resident in the LSCB's geographical area.
Serious case review function
18.2.28	LSCBs should undertake reviews of cases where abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected and either a child has died, or a child has been seriously harmed and there is cause for concern as to the way in which the authority, their Board partners or other relevant persons have worked together to safeguard the child.
18.2.29	LSCBs should develop procedures and agency and professional roles to ensure that serious case reviews are undertaken when required and that the process and outcome are efficient and effective. See section 19. Serious case reviews.
Other activities
18.2.30	The regulations make clear that in addition to the functions set out above LSCBs may also engage in any other activity that facilitates, or is conducive to, the achievement of its objective.
18.2.31	These further activities should be discussed and agreed as part of wider children's trust or equivalent planning e.g. the LSCB could agree to take the lead within a children's trust or equivalent on work to tackle bullying, domestic violence, joint work with adult's services or community engagement to improve children's safety.
Accountability for operational work
18.2.32	Whilst the LSCB has a role in co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of local individuals' and organisations' work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, it is not accountable for their operational work. Each Board partner retains their own existing lines of accountability for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children by their services. The LSCB does not have a power to direct other organisations.
18.2.33	Where there are concerns about the work of partners and these cannot be addressed locally, the LSCB should raise these concerns with others in line with section 18.4. Quality assurance below.

18.3	LSCB governance and operational arrangements

18.3.1	An LSCB can cover more than one local authority area. Local authorities and their partners will wish to consider whether this is desirable, perhaps to ensure a better fit with the areas covered by other bodies, or because issues are common to different areas.
Independence
18.3.2	LSCBs should use their strong working relationship with the children's trust or equivalent and wider strategic partnerships within a local authority area to: Form a view of the quality and effectiveness of local children activity in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children; Challenge agencies as necessary; and to Speak with an independent voice.
18.3.3	To ensure that this is possible LSCBs must have a clear and distinct identity within local children's trust or equivalent governance arrangements. They should not be an operational sub-committee of the Children's Trust Board or equivalent.
Chair
18.3.4	The LSCB Chair should be appointed by the local authority. It is important that the chair is selected with the agreement of the LSCB partners and other agencies representing the key services involved in safeguarding children locally. There should be a presumption that the chair will be someone independent of the local agencies so that the LSCB can exercise its local challenge function effectively. It may take time to develop sufficient availability of suitable independent chairs but it is expected that LSCBs will work towards this over time.
18.3.5	The chair will have a crucial role in making certain that the Board operates effectively and secures an independent voice for the LSCB. He or she should be of sufficient of sufficient stature, authority and expertise to command the respect and support of all partners. The chair should act objectively and distinguish their role as LSCB chair from any day-to-day role. The chair should have access to training to support him/her in the role.
Relationship between the LSCB and the Children's Trust Board or equivalent
18.3.6	The functions of the LSCB and the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, are complimentary. The LSCB's role is to ensure the effectiveness of the arrangements made by wider partnerships and individual agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and children's trust or equivalent responsibilities are to promote co-operation to improve the wellbeing of children in the local area across all five Every Child Matters outcomes.
18.3.7	An LSCB is not an operational sub-committee of the Children's Trust Board or other local partnership and it should not be subordinate to nor subsumed within the Children's Trust Board or equivalent's structures in a way that might compromise its separate identity and independent voice.
18.3.8	There must be a clear distinction between the roles and responsibilities of the LSCB and the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, with local protocols between the two in place to ensure that the LSCB is able to challenge and scrutinise effectively the work of the Children's Trust Board or equivalent and partners.
18.3.9	The LSCB and Children's Trust Board or equivalent should be chaired by different people in order for the LSCB to form a view of the quality of local activity, to challenge organisations as necessary, and to speak with an independent voice.
18.3.10	The Children's Trust Board or equivalent should work with the LSCB to agree: A strategic approach to understanding needs, including a sophisticated analysis of data and effective engagement with children, young people and families; A clear approach to understanding the effectiveness of current services, and identifying priorities for change - including where services need to be improved, reshaped or developed; Integrated and effective arrangements for ensuring that priorities for change are delivered in practice through a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan; and Effective approaches to understand the impact of specialist services on outcomes for children, young people and families, and using this understanding constructively to challenge lack of progress and drive further improvement.
18.3.11	The Children's Trust Board or equivalent must ensure that a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan, reflects the strengths and weaknesses of safeguarding arrangements and practices in the area and what more needs to be done by each partner to improve safeguarding and promotion of welfare.
18.3.12	The LSCB annual report should inform the children's services strategy and the LSCB must be formally consulted during the development of the strategy. Guidance for LSCBs on producing an annual report is available at www.londonscb.gov.uk.
18.3.13	In general the LSCB is not a body that commissions or delivers services to children and their families. Where the LSCB has an extended role beyond its core functions, these additional activities should be agreed as part of the wider children's trust or equivalent planning arrangements and in the preparation of the a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan. In such cases, the LSCB as a body should be represented on the Children's Trust Board or equivalent, so that the LSCB can be called to account for the extent to which it has acted in accordance with a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan.
18.3.14	The local authority Chief Executives and Council Leaders should satisfy themselves that the Directors of Children's Services are fulfilling their managerial responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including in particular by ensuring that the relationship between the Children's Trust Board or equivalent and the LSCB is working effectively.
Membership of an LSCB
18.3.15	As far as possible, agencies should designate particular, named people as their LSCB member, so that there is consistency and continuity in the membership of the LSCB.
18.3.16	Members should be people with a strategic role in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children within their agency. They should be able to: Speak for their agency with authority; Commit their agency on policy and practice matters; and Hold their agency to account.
18.3.17	Local authority Elected Members and non-executive directors of other board partners should through their membership of governance agencies and groups such as the cabinet of the local authority or a scrutiny committee or a governance board, hold their agency and its officers to account for their contribution to the effective functioning of the LSCB.
18.3.18	Directors of Children's Services and Lead Members for Children's Services have central and complementary roles. Directors of Children's Services have responsibility for improving outcomes for all children and young people in their area. Lead Members for Children's Services have delegated responsibility from the Council for children, local young people and families and are politically accountable for ensuring that the local authority fulfils its legal responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The Lead Member should provide the political leadership needed for the effective co-ordination of work with other relevant agencies with safeguarding responsibilities (such as the police and the health service). Lead Members should also take steps to assure themselves that effective quality assurance systems for safeguarding are in place and functioning effectively.
18.3.19	The Lead Member should be a 'participating observer' of the LSCB. In practice this means routinely attending meetings as an observer and receiving all its written reports. Lead Members should engage in discussions, ask questions and seek clarity, but not be part of the decision making process. This will enable the Lead Member to challenge, when necessary, from a well informed position.
18.3.20	Directors of Children's Services should ensure that all appropriate local authority services engage effectively with the LSCB. The Directors of Children's Services will be held to account for the effective working of the LSCB by their Chief Executive and challenged where appropriate by their Lead Member.
Role of local authority Chief Executives and Council Leaders
18.3.21	Local authority Chief Executives and Council Leaders also have critical roles to play. Chief Executives are responsible for satisfying themselves that the Directors of Children's Services are fulfilling their managerial responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, including in particular by ensuring that the relationship between the Children's Trust Board or equivalent and the LSCB is working effectively; that clear responsibility has been assigned within the local authority and among children's trust or equivalent partners for improving services and outcomes; and that targets for improving safeguarding and progress against them are reported to the Local Strategic Partnership.
Statutory members
18.3.22	The LSCB should include representatives of the local authority and its board partners, the statutory agencies which are required to co-operate with the local authority in the establishment and operation of the board and have shared responsibility for the effective discharge of its functions. - [Section 13(3) Children Act 2004] - These are: The Metropolitan Police Borough Commander and DI/DCI representing the CAIT working in the borough; The Local Probation Board for an area any part of which falls within the area of the borough; The Youth offending team within the borough; Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trust (PCTs) for an area any part of which falls within the borough (advice on how SHAs should engage with LSCBs is set out in Annex D of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards: A Review of Progress report); NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts all or most of whose hospitals or establishments and facilities are situated in the borough; The Connexions service providing services in any part of the area of the borough; CAFCASS (Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service); The Governor or Director of any Secure training centre within the borough; The Governor or Director of any prison within the borough which ordinarily detains children.
18.3.23	The local authority should ensure that those responsible for adult social services functions are represented on the LSCB, because of the importance of adult social care in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Similarly health agencies should ensure that adult health services and in particular adult mental health, adult drug and alcohol services and adult disability services are represented on the LSCB.
18.3.24	The LSCB must have access to appropriate expertise and advice from all the relevant sectors, including a designated doctor and nurse.
18.3.25	The local authority and its partners are under obligation (Children Act 2004) to co-operate in the establishment and operation of an LSCB.
Lay members
18.3.26	The local authority must take reasonable steps to ensure that the LSCB includes two lay members from the local community - [Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 amends sections 13 and 14 of the Children Act 2004 (c.31)]. The role for lay members should in particular relate to: Supporting stronger public engagement in local child safety issues and contributing to an improved understanding of the LSCB's child protection work in the wider community; Challenging the LSCB on the accessibility by the public and children and young people of its plans and procedures; and Helping to make links between the LSCB and community groups.
18.3.27	Lay members should operate as full members of the LSCB, participating on the Board itself and on relevant committees. LSCBs must provide appropriate training for lay members to ensure they are able to bring the most value to its work.
18.3.28	The local authority should set out its expectations of the role of the lay member within the LSCB, the length of appointment, the expected code of conduct of any lay member and the amount they will recompense them as appropriate for their time and contribution. See the London LSCB Lay members recruitment pack.
Representation from schools
18.3.29	Local authorities must take all reasonable steps to ensure schools are represented on the LSCB. This means taking steps to ensure that the following are represented: The governing body of a maintained school; The proprietor of a non-maintained special school; The proprietor of a city technology college, A city college for the technology of the arts or an academy; The governing body of a further education institution the main site of which is situated in the authority's area - [The Local Safeguarding Children Boards (Amendment) Regulations 2010, S.I. 2010/622, made under section 13(4) of the Children Act 2004 (c. 31)] - and; Independent schools as appropriate.
18.3.30	Local authorities should put in place a robust and fair system to enable all schools to be represented and for each school representative to speak for, and on behalf of, the body of schools they represent. This will require an efficient and effective means to communicate with all schools both to seek their views on issues and to feed information back. It would also need to consider the relationship with the school representatives who sit on the Children's Trust Board or equivalent.
Other members
18.3.31	The local authority should also secure the involvement of other relevant local agencies where a representative is made available: NSPCC; Faith groups; State, independent and extended schools; Further education colleges, including 6th form colleges; Children's centres; GPs; Independent healthcare agencies; and Third sector agencies (including bodies providing specialist care for children with disabilities and complex health needs).
18.3.32	Other representation should include: The armed forces (in relation both to the families of service men and women and those personnel that are under the age of 18) - in areas where they have significant local activity; and The UK Border Agency - in areas where there is an airport or seaport, an asylum screening unit or a number of asylum seeking families or unaccompanied asylum seeking children or a number of migrants with children. The issues should be dealt within a strategic way as well as at the level of individual cases.
18.3.33	Where the number or size of similar agencies precludes individual representation on the LSCB e.g. third sector youth bodies, the local authority should seek to involve them via existing networks or forums, or by encouraging and developing suitable networks or forums to facilitate communication between agencies and with the LSCB.
Involvement of other agencies and groups
18.3.34	There will be other agencies and partnerships which the LSCB needs to link to, either through inviting them to join the LSCB, or through some other mechanism, e.g: The Coronial service; Dental health services; Domestic violence forums; Drug and alcohol misuse services; Drug action teams; Housing, culture and leisure services; Housing providers; Local authority legal services; Local multi-agency public protection arrangements; Local sports agencies and groups and services; Local family justice council; Local Criminal justice board; Other health providers such as pharmacists; Representatives of service users; Sexual health services; The Crown prosecution service; Witness support services; Family Intervention Projects; Multi-agency risk assessment conferences; Multi-agency public protection arrangements; and The London Safeguarding Children Board.
18.3.35	LSCBs should establish and maintain direct communication and co-operation at a strategic level with the London Safeguarding Children Board.
18.3.36	This should include nominating regional representatives to membership of the London Safeguarding Children Board and engaging in the planning and implementation of strategic and operational initiatives led by the London Board, aimed at improving London LSCBs ability to support the safeguarding of children and the promotion of their welfare locally.
The role of individual members
18.3.37	The individual members of LSCBs have a duty as members to contribute to the effective work of the LSCB, e.g. in making the LSCBs' 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 agency.
18.3.38	Members of each LSCB should have a clear written statement of their roles and responsibilities.
Ways of working
18.3.39	LSCBs must negotiate local arrangements for agency membership, professional representation and attendance, to secure effective operation of LSCB functions member agency engaged.
18.3.40	Agencies of a particular kind in the local authority area, e.g. NHS Trusts, may share attendance at meetings. Agencies pooling representation in this way should provide the board with a written protocol setting out how they will be consulted and their views fed in to Board discussions.
18.3.41	LSCBs should set up working groups, sub-groups or panels, on a short-term or a standing basis to: Carry out specific tasks (e.g. maintaining and updating procedures and protocols, reviewing serious cases and identifying inter-agency training needs); Provide specialist advice (e.g. in respect of working with specific ethnic and cultural groups or with disabled children and / or parents); Bring together representatives of a sector (e.g. schools, the third sector, faith groups or from a geographical area within the LSCB's boundaries) to discuss relevant issues and to provide a contribution to LSCB work.
18.3.42	An LSCB may form an 'executive group' of members to carry out some of the day-to-day business by local agreement.
18.3.43	When LSCBs begin to operate the new child death review processes, they will need to set up a CDRP which has a standing membership and whose Chair is a member of the LSCB. This panel can be set up by two or more LSCBs to cover their combined area. See section 12. Unexpected death of a child and section 19. Serious case reviews.
18.3.44	All groups working under the LSCB should be established by the LSCB, and should work to agreed terms of reference, with explicit lines of reporting, communication and accountability to the LSCB. This may take the form of a written constitution detailing a job description for all members and service level agreements between the LSCB, agencies and other partnerships. Chairs of working groups, panels and sub-groups should be LSCB members.
18.4.45	Where boundaries between LSCBs and their partner agencies such as the health service and the police are not co-terminous, adjoining LSCBs should collaborate as far as possible on establishing common policies and procedures, and joint ways of working, under the function set out in section 18.2.11. Co-operation with neighbouring local authorities and their Board partners.
Participation of children and their families
18.3.46	LSCBs should put in place arrangements to ascertain views of children and their families (including children and their families who might not ordinarily be heard) about the priorities and the effectiveness of local safeguarding work, including issues of access to services to safeguard children and promote their welfare and contact points for children. The views of children and their families should be represented in the LSCB's annual report (see section 18.2.19 Annual report on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the local area). LSCBs should also ensure that children and their families can participate in the development of services (see section 18.2.23 Planning and commissioning).
Information sharing for the purpose of LSCB functions
18.3.47	The Children, Schools and Families Bill currently before Parliament includes provision requiring compliance with a request from a LSCB for appropriate information to be disclosed to it in order to assist it in the exercise of its functions. Subject to the passage of the Bill this provision will help remove uncertainty and give greater confidence to practitioners to share appropriate information with a LSCB. This could include confidential personal information about children who are the subject of reviews and about third parties who have a relationship with those children (for example, parents and siblings).
18.3.48	Where the LSCB requests personal information, the request should be for appropriate information that is relevant and proportionate to the purpose for which the information is sought. The LSCB should be able to explain that purpose to record holders, and why the information sought is appropriate, relevant and proportionate should the record holder require any justification of the need for the information or of the overriding public interest served by the disclosure of personal information in each case. No request should require a record holder to breach data protection principles, or other protections of confidential or personal information (for example, under the Human Rights Act) in a manner which cannot be justified; the 'golden rules' set out in Information Sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers will help record holders observe these protections and principles.
Financing and staffing
18.3.49	The budget for each LSCB and the contribution made by each member agency should be agreed locally. The member agencies' shared responsibility for the discharge of the LSCB's functions includes shared responsibility for determining how the necessary resources are to be provided to support it.
18.3.50	The core contributions should be provided by: The responsible local authority; The PCT/s; The police.
18.3.51	Other agencies' contributions should reflect their resources and local circumstances. For some, participating in LSCB work may be the appropriate extent of their contribution. Other agencies may contribute by committing resources in kind, rather than funds, as provided for in the legislation.
18.3.52	Where an LSCB member agency provides funding, this should be committed in advance, usually into a pooled budget.
18.3.53	The board may choose to use some of its funding to support the participation of some agencies, such as local third sector groups, for example, if they cannot otherwise afford to take part.
18.3.54	The funding requirement of the LSCB will depend on its circumstances and the work which it plans to undertake (which will in turn depend on the division of responsibilities between the LSCB and other parts of the wider children's trust or equivalent). However, each LSCB will have a core minimum of work.
18.3.55	Staffing for each LSCB should be agreed locally by the board partners. An effective LSCB needs to be staffed so that it has the capacity to: Drive forward the LSCB's day-to-day business in achieving its objectives, including its co-ordination and monitoring / evaluating work; Take forward any training and staff development work carried out by the LSCB, in the context of the local workforce strategy; Provide administrative and organisational support for the Board and its sub-committees, and those involved in policy and training.
Planning
18.3.56	Children's Trust Boards or equivalents are responsible for a joint strategy which sets out how children's services partners will co-operate to improve children's wellbeing in the local area.
18.3.57	In preparing a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan, the Children's Trust Board or equivalent will need to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment following an extensive consultation to agree their priorities and set out how the partners will work together and align or pool their budgets to address those priorities. The Board should also identify the resources available across the partner agencies and the contribution each will make. LSCBs should contribute to, and work within, the framework established by the local strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan.
18.3.58	It is expected that all local areas should investigate the possibilities of integrating frontline delivery of services such that staff from children's social care services work in active partnership with the police, paediatric and relevant health services to maximise effectiveness. This, however, is a matter for local determination.
18.3.59	The LSCB's own activities should fit clearly within the framework of a strategy for children's services, such as a Children and Young People's Plan. The voices and experiences of children and young people should strongly inform the LSCB's work programme - which should have clear objectives, timescales, measurable objectives and a budget.

18.4	Quality assurance

The LSCB's monitoring and evaluation function
18.4.1	In order to ensure the effectiveness of local agencies' actions to safeguard and promote the welfare of children the LSCB should initiate and oversee a peer review process based on self-evaluation, performance indicators and joint audit. Its aim is to: Promote high standards of safeguarding work; Foster a culture of continuous improvement; Identify and act on weaknesses in services; To avoid unnecessary duplication of work the LSCB should ensure that its monitoring role complements and contributes to the work of both the children's trust and the inspectorates. To avoid unnecessary duplication of work the LSCB should ensure that its monitoring role complements and contributes to the work of both the Children's Trust Board or equivalent and the inspectorates.
18.4.2	There will be instances where a local agency is not performing effectively in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and the LSCB is not convinced that any planned action to improve performance will be adequate. Where this occurs, the LSCB Chair or a member or employee designated by the chair, should explain these concerns to the individuals and agencies that need to be aware of the failing and may be able to take action, e.g. to: The most senior individual/s in the agency; The relevant inspectorate, and, if necessary; The relevant government department.
18.4.3	The local inspection framework will play an important role in reinforcing the ongoing monitoring work of the LSCB. Individual services will be assessed through their own quality regimes. LSCBs should contribute their views about the quality of local activity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and draw on information, from the established inspection arrangements - led by Ofsted but involving other inspectorates - which include: Annual unannounced inspections on safeguarding and services for looked after children under section 138 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, and A full inspection under section 20 of the Children Act 2004 of safeguarding and services for looked after children in each local authority area at least once every three years. The LSCB should draw on these.
18.4.4	The effectiveness of the LSCB itself should also form part of the judgement of the Inspectorates, particularly through the Comprehensive Area Assessment. This may be done, for example, by examining the quality of the LSCB's planning and determining whether key objectives have been met.
18.4.5	The local authority is responsible for taking action, if intervention to improve the LSCB's effectiveness and efficiency is necessary.
Individual agencies' quality assurance
18.4.6	All LSCB member agencies should take actions to ensure that the key single and multi-agency duty of the LSCB to safeguard and promote the welfare of children is met.
18.4.7	Effective workload management and information systems should be implemented to: Clearly track responses to referrals; Collect quantitative data on the work of the teams; Plan and resource services to meet local needs.
18.4.8	Management systems should be implemented to ensure: Clear definitions of work that is 'allocated' to include a named worker regularly working with a child in a planned and purposeful way, endorsed by the line manager; Services and support provided is commensurate with need, including allocation of staff; Systems are in place to cover staff sickness, leave and training; Cases are only closed following adequate assessment and review and that the views and wishes of the child and parents have been taken into account; Section 47 enquiries and child protection cases are allocated in LA children's social care to qualified social workers with the skills for the task; Systems are designed to ensure that all relevant professionals are invited to participate in planning and review meetings, including hospital based staff; All practitioners working with children receive regular supervision from managers with experience and expertise in child care work; Managers scrutinise the work of staff, including reviewing case files and recording decisions.
18.4.9	Routine monitoring and audit systems should be implemented to ensure that these procedures are being followed.
18.4.10	Senior staff should be involved in audits of professional practice and supervision.
18.4.11	Senior managers should regularly review the impact on service delivery of staff vacancies and the employment of temporary staff.
Unallocated child protection cases Priority status
18.4.12	All child protection cases must be allocated to a named social worker as a matter of highest priority in all agencies working with children and their families. In local authorities, Directors of Children's Services are responsible for alerting the LSCB to any systemic inability to allocate child protection cases; and for ensuring that there are sufficient human resources to provide the required services for children in need of protection.
Safeguards pending allocation
18.4.13	A children's services first line manager must inform in writing all professionals relevant to the 'outline' or 'agreed' protection plan as well as family members, when a social worker will be allocated to a case and any routine and emergency professional contact arrangements, pending allocation.
18.4.14	Unallocated cases must be: Discussed at allocation meetings; Reported to the child protection manager; Monitored at management meetings to ensure quick allocation and appropriate case management until then.
18.4.15	The first line manager remains accountable for ensuring that: Any statutory or explicit duties (e.g. looked after children reviews or child protection review conferences) are met, deploying duty staff as required; Any immediate issues which arise in the case are resolved; Their manager remains aware that a child protection place is unallocated; The family are kept updated; Regular 'duty' visits are undertaken on unallocated child protection cases.

18.5	Professional conflict resolution

Dissent at referral and enquiry stage
18.5.1	Professionals providing services to children and their families should work co-operatively across all agencies, using their skills and experience to make a robust contribution to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare within the framework of discussions, meetings, conferences and case management.
18.5.2	All agencies are responsible for ensuring that their staff are competent and supported to escalate appropriately intra-agency and inter-agency concerns and disagreements about a child's wellbeing.
18.5.3	Concern or disagreement may arise over another professional's decisions, actions or lack of actions in relation to a referral, an assessment or an enquiry.
18.5.4	Professionals should attempt to resolve differences through discussion and/or meeting within a working week or a timescale that protects the child from harm (whichever is less).
18.5.5	If the professionals are unable to resolve differences within the timescale, their disagreement must be addressed by more experienced / more senior staff.
18.5.6	Most day-to-day inter-agency differences of opinion will require a LA children's social care team manager to liaise with their (first line manager) equivalent in the relevant agencies, e.g: A police detective sergeant; A named or designated health professional; Designated teacher. These first line managers should seek advice from their agency's nominated / designated child protection adviser.
18.5.7	If agreement cannot be reached following discussions between the above first line managers within a further working week or a timescale that protects the child from harm (whichever is less), the issue must be referred without delay through the line management to the equivalent of service manager / detective inspector / head teacher or other designated senior professional.
18.5.8	Alternatively (e.g. in health services), input may be sought directly from the designated doctor or nurse in preference to the use of line management.
18.5.9	The professionals involved in this conflict resolution process must contemporaneously record each intra- and inter-agency discussion they have, approve and date the record and place a copy on the child's file together with any other written communications and information.
Dissent regarding the implementation of a protection plan
18.5.10	Concern or disagreement may arise over another professional's decisions, actions or lack of actions in the implementation of the child protection plan, including the timing, quoracy or decision-making of core group meetings, progress of the plan or professional practice.
18.5.11	Professionals should attempt to resolve differences in line with the actions outlined above.
Where professional differences remain
18.5.12	If professional differences remain unresolved, the matter must be referred to the heads of service for each agency involved.
18.5.13	In the unlikely event that the issue is not resolved by the steps described above and/or the discussions raise significant policy issues, the matter should be referred urgently to the LSCB for resolution. See also section 18.2.14. Monitoring and evaluation function.
18.5.14	Professionals in all agencies have a responsibility to act without delay to safeguard the child (e.g. by calling for a case to be allocated or for a strategy meeting / discussion, for a core group meeting or for a child protection conference or review conference).
18.5.15	Specialist regional facilities such as a specialist children's or cancer hospital or a psychiatric or other mother and baby unit, must have in place a conflict resolution protocol which sets out how conflict resolution will be managed, through the line managements of the specialist facility and the LA children's social care or other service with responsibility for the child. This protocol should take into account the role of the LA children's social care in the locality of the specialist service.

18.6	Whistle-blowing systems

18.6.1	It is essential to the safety of children that all agencies have in place effective systems and a professional culture which promote the sharing of concerns by staff with their seniors. Child protection concerns about colleagues or managers are difficult for staff to raise because of the potential repercussions.
18.6.2	Senior managers should ensure the provision of an independent, well-publicised whistle-blowing procedure that provides alternative methods of reporting concerns and covers all commissioned, as well as internally provided, services. Externally commissioned services must have their own internal whistle-blowing procedures.
18.6.3	A leaflet should be available to publicise the whistle-blowing procedure. This should provide information about Public Concern at Work, an independent charity whose lawyers can give free confidential advice about how to raise a concern about malpractice at work (see inside front cover for local contact details).

18. Local Safeguarding Children Boards, quality assurance and conflict resolution

Contents

Objectives

LSCB role

Scope of the role

Thresholds, policies and procedures function

(i)

The action to be taken where there are concerns about a child's safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention

(ii)

Training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children

(iii)

Recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children

(iv)

Investigation of allegations concerning persons working with children

(v)

Safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered

(vi)

Co-operation with neighbouring local authorities and their board partners

(vii)

Other policies and procedures

Communicating and raising awareness function

Monitoring and evaluation function

(i)

Monitoring, evaluation and improvement

(ii)

Annual report on the effectiveness of safeguarding in the local area

Planning and commissioning function

Function relating to child deaths

Serious case review function

Other activities

Accountability for operational work

Independence

Chair

Relationship between the LSCB and the Children's Trust Board or equivalent

Membership of an LSCB

Role of local authority Chief Executives and Council Leaders

Statutory members

Lay members

Representation from schools

Other members

Involvement of other agencies and groups

The role of individual members

Ways of working

Participation of children and their families

Information sharing for the purpose of LSCB functions

Financing and staffing

Planning

The LSCB's monitoring and evaluation function

Individual agencies' quality assurance

Unallocated child protection cases

Priority status

Safeguards pending allocation

Dissent at referral and enquiry stage

Dissent regarding the implementation of a protection plan

Where professional differences remain