Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Compact Self-Assessment Tool

Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Compact – Self-Assessment Tool 2015-16

Introduction The Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board (PSCB) has a duty under the Children Act 2004 Section 14(1) to ensure the effectiveness of practice in each service in the city to safeguard children and promote their welfare. Safeguarding children is not just about effective child protection practice. It is about ensuring that all services have effective processes and practices in place to keep children and young people safe and respond effectively when they are vulnerable to poor outcomes. We have been developing this self-assessment tool since 2005 to enable managers to assure safeguarding practice within their service. The tool has been used by over 100 services working with children and families in Portsmouth. Feedback has been very positive in terms of helping services to identify where they can improve their safeguarding practice. Each year the tool is updated to reflect learning from local and national reviews of practice, including Serious Case Reviews. This tool is also compliant with Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 which requires services to ‘ensure that their functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ Purpose This self-assessment tool is principally aimed at enabling service leaders and managers to improve practice which will keep children safe from harm, for example by offering ‘early help’ to families experiencing difficulties. The tool also forms the basis of formal annual audits of a large sample of services led by the Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board (PSCB). The audit enables the PSCB to identify good and effective practice, as well as common areas for development for services in the city around safeguarding and early help practice. This in turn will help the PSCB – alongside the Children’s Trust Board – to put in place effective training and organisational development support to enable full compliance with these good practice standards in the city. The annual audit is led by the PSCB Monitoring, Evaluation and Scrutiny Committee Who should complete the Self Assessment? The Tool is expected to be completed every two years by any service that comes into contact with children (and information about children) from pre-birth up to 18 years old, and beyond 18 for those vulnerable young people who may require ‘transition’ support into adult services, e.g. children leaving care or those with learning difficulties or disabilities. The Tool can be used by statutory services, voluntary and community services but is not limited to those agencies required to safeguard children under the Children Act 2004. For example we would expect providers of sports and leisure opportunities for children to self assess against the Compact. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and ensuring the provision of early help is truly everyone’s responsibility.

1 The Tool is also expected to be completed by services primarily for adults, where the adults have parenting or caring responsibilities for children and young people. It is important to note that we are interested in practice in direct service provision for children and families – how it is ‘on the ground’. We are interested in the assessment at ‘service’ or ‘team’ level and we are not expecting single self-assessments of large public bodies, e.g. the city council or the hospital. Therefore organisation/executive leads for safeguarding children should ensure that the Tool is distributed at this level. How to use the Compact Self-Assessment Tool The Safeguarding Children Compact Self-Assessment Tool is made up of three sections: PART A – The 10 Standards There are 10 Standards and the expectation is that all services are working towards full compliance with each of the 10 standards. Each Standard has between 3 and 7 statements. There are a total of 52 statements. We ask you to rate yourselves on a 4-point scale against each of the statements. The 4-point scale is as follows; 1 – Outstanding 2 – Good 3 – Satisfactory 4 - Inadequate We have added some descriptors for each of the statements which may help guide your scoring. We recognise that on first reading, the tool looks lengthy and complicated. However, good safeguarding and early help practice has a number of dimensions that require management attention and review. The audits processes carried out to date have shown the tool to be of the appropriate length for the importance of the task. Please note: We recognise that given the wide coverage of services expected to use the Self-Assessment Tool – not all the Standards or 52 statements are fully relevant to the type of service delivered and therefore an assessment of compliance against the Standard may not be possible. If you think this is the case for your service, feel free to enter ‘not applicable’. However, we may contact you following audit submission to clarify the basis for using ‘not applicable’ for some items. PART B - Overall Summary The summary gives an overall picture of your service’s scorings. This helps us to analyse the results and helps you to identify where your service may need to target its improvement plans.

2 PART C – Governance Sign-Off We ask that the Executive Lead for Safeguarding Children, Chair of the Governing Body or Board, Chief Executive or senior manager of a service should sign off the completed self assessment to say it has been formally endorsed.

The Formal Annual Audit Process We encourage you to use the Self-Assessment Tool flexibly whenever you feel it would be useful for your service development. However, each year there is a formal annual audit process using the Self-Assessment Tool. If your service is selected for formal audit, we request that you send your completed return to the Chair of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Scrutiny Committee of the Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board with all three sections completed. The audit will be completed in the autumn with 50% of the city’s services audited each year. The audit is not an inspection. It is a process to both enable your service to improve its practice at keeping children safe, and enables the strategic bodies within the city to deliver support for practice improvement. The formal audit process will always include a moderation process through brief visits to a sample of services for face-to-face discussion and consideration of the basis for the scorings. The information on the audit return will be confidential to the members of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Scrutiny Committee, although a formal report based on overall findings will be presented to the PSCB. However, where an audit return indicates that significant and immediate action is needed to ensure children are kept safe, this will be reported to the senior manager for the service concerned for action and shared with the Independent Chair of the Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board. Support with any questions about completing the formal audit process will be made available by members of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Scrutiny Committee and the details of this will appear in the accompanying letter. We hope that you find the self-assessment process useful and look forward to engaging with you through the formal audit process each year.

3 A Few Words on Language The language we use in public service delivery shifts over time, none more so than in the world of safeguarding. Below is a guide to some language used in the Safeguarding Compact together with some of the key documents referenced in the tool.

Safeguarding - has threes component parts - 1. protecting children from maltreatment; 2. preventing impairment of children’s health or development; 3. ensuring children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care. Within this document ‘safeguarding’ covers a variety of issues. Current priority areas for the City are around issues of neglect, domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation. However this list is not exhaustive and there are a range of significant safeguarding issues related to physical, emotional and sexual abuse, all of which can be related to wider risk factors around substance misuse, mental health, disability and the quality of care afforded a child. Therefore the term safeguarding within this self assessment tool promotes practice to support all vulnerable children regardless of identified risk factors. Agencies need to consider this when completing their self assessment. Child protection - is a part of safeguarding. It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.

Harm - means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development, including for example impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another

Early Help - is a term replacing ‘early intervention’. It has emerged from the work of Professor Eileen Munro’s review of child protection in England and is a helpful term for describing work with children and families at an early point before problems become too complex or entrenched

Early Help Processes - are those processes that enable the effective identification of vulnerable children, their assessment and the multi- agency work to meet their needs at an early point. It therefore includes the Single Assessment Framework (SAF), the role of lead professionals and Team Around the Child practice

SAF - stands for ‘The Single Assessment Framework’ and is a tool for assessing the strengths and needs of children and families. The tool includes a simple plan which outlines what the child and family needs to do to improve outcomes and how services can help Lead Professional - is a named professional from any service responsible for co-ordinating the SAF plan and providing a single point of contact for the family. It is possible for a parent to be their own family’s lead professional.

Team Around the Child/Family - describes the ‘virtual’ team of practitioners from different agencies who may be working with a particular child or family. 4 SAF Champion - is the manager or experienced practitioner within a service who takes a lead for supporting staff in the organisation to carry out good SAFs and related Early Help processes. This is often but not always the same person who has the designated lead for safeguarding.

Portsmouth Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) - formerly known as the Joint Action Team or ‘JAT’. The MASH is a multi-agency team of professionals in Portsmouth – managed within Children’s Social Care – whose role it is to work with services to embed early help processes. All completed SAFs have to be logged with the MASH.

4LSCB - is the name given to the partnership of the four Safeguarding Children Boards in Portsmouth, Southampton, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

4LSCB Procedures - are the agreed local child protection procedures to be followed by all agencies in Portsmouth, Southampton, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The procedures are on-line and available at http://4lscb.proceduresonline.com/

LADO - stands for ‘Local Authority Designated Officer’, the single point of contact in Portsmouth for reporting child protection allegations made against paid professionals and volunteers working for agencies in Portsmouth.

5 Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Compact Self-Assessment Tool 2015-16

Please complete all sections highlighted in YELLOW

Name of Service:

Standard One: Strategic leadership and management

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement

Some responsibility Responsibility for Senior management My organisation has a strategic senior manager No senior allocated but this is not most aspects responsibility for all responsible for ensuring effective early help and management set out anywhere allocated but there aspects is clear. 1.1 safeguarding practices and processes. This person is responsibility may be some gaps skilled, knowledgeable and supported by the allocated organisation to carry out this function Please tick as applicable Policy in place, Policy in place – may Policy in place, up to reviewed annually, My organisation has a Safeguarding Children Policy that 1.2 No policy in place need updating date and known to led by a senior is reviewed annually and led by a senior manager most staff manager and known to all staff

Responsibility not My organisation’s responsibility in relation to Responsibility stated and Responsibility Responsibility clearly clearly stated nor 1.3 safeguarding is clearly communicated to all staff clear to some staff clearly stated and stated and known by known by staff known by most staff all staff

My organisation has internal processes that support proper reporting of child protection concerns to Processes in place and Processes in place Processes in place No processes in 1.4 Children’s Social Care (i.e. compliant with 4LSCB known by some staff and known by most and known by all place procedures available at staff staff http://4lscb.proceduresonline.com/)

Case management Some case management Most case All case My organisation has internal ‘case management’ processes have processes are compliant management management processes that support the use of early help processes 1.5 not been processes are processes are fully (i.e. the Single Assessment Framework, lead developed compliant. compliant. professional and Team Around the Child.

7 My organisation knows which children who access the service are vulnerable. Staff in my organisation play an Partially in place Mostly in place Completed in full and Not in place 1.6 active part on the assessment and plan for that child and consistently reviewed family.

Where my organisation contracts services to children out to other providers, steps have been taken to ensure Steps are taken but not In most cases, we All contracted 1.7 No steps taken that the provider organisation is compliant with this consistently applied ensure Compact services are Compact. compliance Compact compliant

Total number ticked in column

8 Standard Two: Early Help Processes

There is an identified My organisation has an identified staff member to Person identified person who supports support practitioners with early help processes – i.e. the Person identified who No SAF Champion who holds most SAF, Team around the SAF, lead professional and Team Around the Child holds some aspects of identified aspects of this child, Lead practice across the organisation. This staff member is this responsibility 2.1 responsibility Professional and known as the ‘SAF Champion’ information sharing processes Please tick as applicable PSCB Safeguarding PSCB Safeguarding PSCB Training - Early Help Training Basic Safeguarding Module, Child The ‘SAF Champion’ has attended relevant training – Awareness Module, SAF Training - Early Protection Module and for example, the Integrated Working and Safeguarding No training Awareness E learning Help Module Supervision Module Training Programme. attended 2.2 module attended attended attended Additional training i.e. domestic abuse attended

Significant support The SAF Champion receives senior management No support Some support Significant support including protected support within the organisation to carry out this role. 2.3 time and resources

My organisation uses the SAF to make and receive Referral processes The SAF is not referrals (or requests for support) to other services - In some cases only In most cases fully meet this 2.4 used at all emergency child protection situations excepted. description

Standard Three - Staff Responsibilities and Competencies

9 4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 – Outstanding improvement Staff in my organisation with access to All job descriptions clearly children have statements within their Job Some general Responsibilities No responsibilities set out a full description of 3.1 Descriptions and Person Specifications that responsibilities articulated but may not articulated safeguarding and integrated articulate responsibilities their around articulated be complete working responsibilities safeguarding and integrated working. Please tick as applicable Staff are aware of who in their service to Most staff have good 3.2 discuss/report concerns about a child’s No staff are aware Some staff are aware All staff understand this fully awareness safety and welfare.

All Staff in my organisation are able to Some staff have Most staff have Staff are not aware All staff have awareness of, access the 4LSCB on-line inter-agency child awareness of, can awareness of, can 3.3 of and do not use can access easily and use protection procedures. Staff are aware of access easily and use access, and use the procedures appropriately the procedures and use them appropriately. appropriately appropriately

My organisation has identified which staff have clear responsibilities to conduct a It is clear which staff it is clear which staff have it is clear which staff have It is not clear which Single Assessment Framework assessment have this responsibility this responsibility and this responsibility and it is 3.4 staff have this to identify child and family strengths and but it is not laid out in their job specification clearly laid out in their job responsibility needs and this is laid out in their job their job specification loosely refers to it specification specification.

It is clear which staff it is clear which staff have it is clear which staff have My organisation has identified which staff It is not clear which have this responsibility this responsibility and this responsibility and it is 3.5 are able to act as lead professionals and staff have this but it is not laid out in their job specification clearly laid out in their job this is laid out in their job specification. responsibility their job specification loosely refers to it specification

10 My organisation has ensured relevant staff Some of the relevant No responsibilities Most of the relevant have clear responsibility and necessary responsibilities and Responsibilities and 3.6 and competencies responsibilities and competencies to be part of a Team Around competences are competencies fully in place Identified competencies in place the Child including working to the SAF plan. identified

11 Standard Four - Staff Recruitment and Selection 4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement My organisation has quality recruitment and selection procedures for all personnel (including volunteers) that Procedures used No procedures Some procedures in Procedures set out include methods for exploring a candidate’s attitude to but not set out 4.1 in place place but may not be clearly and monitored children and their perception of boundaries of acceptable explicitly or used consistently regularly behaviour towards children. monitored Please tick as applicable Staff in my organisation who are responsible for recruitment Training Some training All relevant staff have and selection receive the appropriate ‘safer recruitment’ No training completed but no 4.2 completed but it is out completed and updated training in order to identify recruits with the core skills undertaken systematic of date training required for safeguarding and inter-agency working. monitoring/review

No checks Staff in my organisation, including regular visitors and All staff and volunteers routinely in Checks are routinely Checks are volunteers with access to children, or information about have secure checks and place conducted but routinely in place 4.3 children undergo the appropriate level DBS check updates in place and this updating inconsistent is monitored regularly

Most references Both references always My organisation obtains two references that are orally No checks in Some checks take 4.4 are checked orally checked before any checked before job offers are made to candidates place place orally job offer is made

This is required All staff recruited into my organisation have to provide a full This is required but Always required and Not always and mostly 4.5 employment history, including periods of unemployment and often not challenged always checked and required challenged where proof of qualifications where necessary challenged if necessary necessary

12 Probationary period No Probationary period All staff undertake a specified probationary period during Probationary required for all staff and probationary required but review which time they are assessed and supported as to their period required they are properly 4.6 period required and assessment is not suitability to work with children. and implemented assessed and supported. strong Training needs fully met.

13 Standard Five - Staff Induction, Training and Appraisal

All staff in my organisation with direct access to children (or No planned All staff experience their information) have a planned induction that includes induction or Some induction Induction and 5.1 induction and assessment of and assessment assessment mainly assessment of individual learning needs around safeguarding assessment of their learning needs – variable quality good and early help practice. learning needs Please tick as applicable Some induction During their induction, new staff in my organisation will No induction in into these All staff fully inducted access in house and 4LSCB child protection procedures. these systems systems but Most staff inducted in in recognising signs of 5.2 Their understanding is checked. They are inducted into my nor expectation to implementation these systems maltreatment and how have read the organisation’s internal systems for identification and reporting not consistently to raise concerns procedures of suspected child maltreatment. monitored

All staff in my organisation understand the need for accurate No or very limited Partial Most staff have good 5.3 record keeping where there are concerns for the safety and All staff understand understanding understanding awareness well-being of a particular child. this fully

All staff in my organisation with direct access to children (or Training provided their information) receive regular training on safeguarding Training provided All staff receive No training but no quality 5.4 and child protection issues and reporting processes, from an approved approved training and provided assurance of refreshed at least once every three years. Training is from a provider timely updates outcomes Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board approved provider.

Relevant staff in my organisation have attended the multi- None of relevant Some of relevant Most of relevant staff All of relevant staff 5.5 agency Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board Training staff attended staff attended attended attended Programme.

14 None of relevant Some of relevant All staff in my organisation with management responsibility Most of relevant staff All of relevant staff staff aware and staff aware and will be aware of the professional development needs of their aware and able to aware and able to 5.6 able to able to staff and be able to demonstrate planned activities to meet demonstrate planned demonstrate planned demonstrate demonstrate those needs. activities activities planned activities planned activities

My organisation has annual appraisal processes that includes Appraisal occurs Appraisal occurs and All staff experience a review of each worker’s skills, competencies and No systematic 5.7 but coverage and mostly covers relevant annual appraisal of knowledge around safeguarding and child protection, early practice content variable areas these areas help practice and multi-agency working.

15 Standard Six - Staff Supervision and Accountability

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement Every member of staff has a named identified manager at all No clear Expectation in times including times when the organisation has Expectation in place Consistently applies 6.1 expectation in place but practice management vacancies and mainly achieved for all staff place variable Please tick as applicable

Staff in my organisation who are working with children No clear Expectation in through early help or child protection processes, receive Expectation in place All staff consistently 6.2 expectation in place but practice regular (at least monthly) supervision on an individual or and mainly achieved receive this. place variable team basis and can access further support when required.

My organisation is working towards embedding the Not seeking any Some planning Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Board’s13 standards on Some work underway Actively working improvement in underway to 6.3 quality safeguarding supervision - Integrated Supervision to improve towards meeting all supervision of improve Standards for people who work to safeguard children in the supervision supervision standards staff supervision City of Portsmouth (May 2012)

My organisation has a culture which allows staff to raise Culture and Culture and process Safe culture for raising concerns about a colleague who does not have the ‘Closed’ culture process in place 6.4 in place and mainly concerns. Quality necessary competencies to work with children. Appropriate and no process but practice achieved process always used investigative procedures lead to appropriate action. variable

16 My organisation has a clear accountability structure - all Accountability Structure in place personnel understand the management structure and how Structure in place and Structure in place and No structure in but not fully 6.5 they receive support and guidance in their work with and for understood by almost support arrangements place spelled out or children all staff fully understood by all understood staff

17 Standard Seven - Equal Opportunities

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement My organisation has an Equal Opportunities Policy and staff Policy in place – Policy in place and All staff fully 7.1 understand the implications of the policy in contributing to No policy in place only partially understanding is good understand the policy safeguarding practice and early help understood Please tick as applicable My organisation ensures that all staff are aware of equal Some support in All staff are supported opportunities issues in policy and in practice and have the No support given place to achieve Good support is in 7.2 in fully understanding necessary skills and strategies to provide an anti- to staff in this way this level of place and works well these issues discriminatory service awareness

My organisation keeps records of ethnicity, gender and disability to help evidence that practice is non-discriminatory. Complete records are Some partial Records kept are 7.3 Exceptions to this may be appropriate for separate boys or No records kept consistently records kept mainly good girls activities or for religious or other groups where maintained exclusivity can be demonstrated to be necessary

18 Standard Eight - Safe Working Practices

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement My organisation has processes and procedures in place to No clear Full processes and Some in place but 8.1 ensure that staff with access to children (or their information) processes and procedures ensure not Most aspects covered have the knowledge, understanding and skills to establish procedures in staff have excellent comprehensive and maintain safe working relationships with children. place skills Please tick as applicable All staff in my organisation receive clear written guidance on safe working practices with children. Guidance may include All staff access clear No guidance in Partial guidance Guidance in place 8.2 statements on professional boundaries, safe group sizes, and comprehensive place in place covering most aspects appropriate physical contact, home visiting, lone working, guidance outdoor education etc

When and if my organisation provides site-based services to children, we offer safe physical environments that offer No particular Some Most aspects covered Services provided are 8.3 personal space appropriate to the child’s age and arrangements arrangements in reliably consistently safe development that offers personal safety and security for the planned place child that respects their dignity

Comprehensive My organisation has processes and procedures in place to No clear Some in place but processes and assess and manage risk with regard to children. This processes and 8.4 not Most aspects covered procedures ensure includes risk to children from access to certain people, procedures in comprehensive staff assess and physical environments, equipment and particular activities place manage risk effectively

19 Standard Nine - Complaints and Allegations against staff

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement My organisation has a designated manager in the All aspects of handling organisation trained to handle complaints and allegations of Some No responsibility Most aspects clearly complaints and 9.1 a safeguarding nature made against the organisation’s staff responsibility identified designated allegations clearly including volunteers. identified assigned to a manager Please tick as applicable

My organisation knows who the Local Authority Designated No or very limited Most staff have good 9.2 Officer (LADO) is and how to contact them to report Some awareness All staff fully aware awareness awareness allegations

Some in place but Procedures in place, Procures in place, My organisation has clear, reviewed and updated written No procedures in may not be reviewed and reviewed and 9.3 procedures on complaints and allegations. These are in line place completely clear understood well by understood fully by all with the 4LSCB procedures. and up to date most staff staff

My organisation has processes and procedures in place to Procedures in place, support and enable ‘whistleblowing’ on individuals within my Some in place but Procedures in place, No procedures in reviewed and organisation - and individuals in other partner organisations - may not be reviewed and 9.4 place. ‘Closed’ understood fully by all where there are concerns that colleagues are harming completely clear understood well by culture staff. Safe culture for children or failing to protect children from harm. My and up to date most staff ‘whistleblowing’ organisation promotes a culture that enables ‘whistleblowing’

20 Standard Ten - Client Confidentiality and Information Sharing

4 - Inadequate 3 - Requires 2 - Good 1 - Outstanding improvement 10.1 Staff in my organisation are aware of good and effective No or very limited Most staff have good practice around client confidentiality, consent and sharing Some awareness All staff fully aware awareness awareness information with other agencies – with and without consent. Please tick as applicable All staff in my organisation receive guidance and training on Guidance/training Guidance /training in No or very limited All staff receive good information sharing practice based on the national in place but place and 10.2 guidance/training guidance and training guidance in ‘Information Sharing: Guidance for Practitioners conent/coverage coverage/content is in place of a high standard and Managers’ is partial good

My organisation has a confidentiality policy which includes procedures for obtaining and maintaining consent to share 10.3 Policy in place – Policy in place- All staff fully aware of and includes the security of personal records held by my No policy in place awareness partial awareness good the policy organisation.

Staff in my organisation understand that it is their duty to share information even without user consent where there are 10.4 No or very limited Partial Most staff have good All staff understand safeguarding concerns and that the organisation will support understanding understanding awareness this fully all such actions taken in good faith.

My organisation shares completed SAF assessments All staff consistently do 10.5 appropriately. We ensure that the Joint Action Team is made No staff do this Some staff do this Most staff do this this. aware of completed SAFs.

21 Not signed up My organisation is signed up to the Portsmouth Information Signed up and shared Signed up and shared 10.6 and not aware of Signed up Sharing Protocol [n.b. sign up is expected by January 2013] with relevant staff with relevant staff it

22 PART B - Overall Summary

Please transfer your totals for each standard on to the summary chart below to provide a quick overview of your self assessment and to help identify priority areas for development.

Standard 3 - Requires 1 - 4 - Inadequate 2 - Good improvement Outstanding 1. Strategic leadership and management

2. Early Help Processes

3. Staff Responsibilities and Competencies

4. Staff Recruitment and Selection

5. Staff Induction, Training and Appraisal

6. Staff Supervision and Accountability

7. Equal Opportunities

8. Safe Working Practices

9. Complaints and Allegations against staff

10. Client Confidentiality and Information Sharing

23 PART C - Governance Sign-Off

This self-assessment was completed by:

Name: ………………………………………………………………………….

Position/Post : …………………………………………………………………………….

Date: …………………………………………………………………………….

This self-assessment has been seen by the chair of the governing body, chief executive or senior manager:

Name: ………………………………………………………………………….

Position/Post : …………………………………………………………………………….

Date: …………………………………………………………………………….

This year's audit is to be completed online via this link