About STSCB
South Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board (STSCB) was established in February 2006 under section 13 of the Children Act 2004. STSCB's Structure consists of an Executive Board and 4 standing subgroups. The Board is a multi-agency partnership whose membership consists of a number of local agencies with childcare and / or safeguarding responsibilities.
The core objectives of Local Safeguarding Children Boards, set out in the Children Act 2004 (Section 14(1) are:
- To co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in South Tyneside
- To ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in South Tyneside
In essence, the Board exists to ensure that childcare agencies fulfil their statutory duties established under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 and Section 175 of the Education Act 2002. The Board also addresses our adherence to Standard 5 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services.
From April 2008 there is also a duty upon LSCBs to review all child deaths that occur within it's area and for the assessment of a Child Death Overview Panel.
The Board replaced Area Child Protection Committee that had focussed solely on child protection, how we respond to children at risk of abuse or neglect. Whilst this area of work remains the core function of the Board, safeguarding encompasses a much wider range of issues such as bullying, crime and accidents.
Local Safeguarding Children Boards were a key part of the Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme (ECM) and our Board in South Tyneside will take a leading role in shaping our policies, procedures and services that will deliver the objectives and aims that fall under the Stay Safe ECM Outcome. It will do this both through developing its own work plans and by establishing close working relationships with the Children and Young People's Alliance so that it can inform the development of the Children and Young People's Plan designed to deliver all 5 ECM Outcomes. The Board also has a line of governance to the Local Strategic Partnership that manages our Local Area Agreement.
Our duties
11 of the Children Act 2004 places duties on named agencies to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people.
The agencies involved in South Tyneside are:
- South Tyneside Council
- The North East Strategic Health Authority
- Northumbria Tyne and Wear NHS Trust
- South Tyneside Primary Care Trust;
- South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust
- Northumbria Police
- Northumbria Probation Service
- South Tyneside Youth Offending Service
- Connexions
The duties are defined as:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children's health
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 places similar duties upon schools and further education providers.
What does the Duty Mean?
Section 11 places a duty on key persons and bodies to make arrangements to ensure that in discharging their functions, they have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This also applies to any functions they 'contract out'. The arrangements require all agencies to have:
- Senior management commitment to the importance of safeguarding and promoting children's welfare
- A clear statement of the agency's responsibilities towards children, available for all staff
- A clear line of accountability within the organisation for work on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
- Service development that takes account of the need to safeguard and promote welfare and is informed, where appropriate, by the views of children and families
- Training on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children for all staff working with, or in contact with, children and families
- Safe recruitment procedures in place
- Effective inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
- Effective information sharing
There are also some specific issues local authorities and their partners will need to address. These include:
- Private fostering - private fostering guidance and the national minimum standards for private fostering came into force on the 1st of July 2005 and;
- Looked-after children - partners will need to review support for looked-after children in light of the duty to promote their educational achievement as well as safeguarding and promoting their welfare.
National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (NSF) - Standard 5
The NSF establishes clear standards for promoting the health and well-being of children and young people and for providing high quality services that meet their needs. Standard 5 of the NSF is entitled 'Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and Young People'. It sets out the expectations upon health agencies and their partners in delivering health services. The standard expected is that all agencies work to prevent children suffering harm and to promote their welfare, provide them with services they require to address their identified needs and safeguard children who are being or who are likely to be harmed.
It is the Safeguarding Children Board's role to co-ordinate what is done to fulfil the duties and standards set out in the legislation and guidance referred to above. They do this by monitoring what individual agencies do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and by ensuring there is effective coordination between agencies enabling them to work together to achieve this aim.
