What our Citizen Survey told us
People reporting that they feel safe
79% of carers, 90% of children and 77% of adults feel safe from any kind of abuse, physical harm or from falling both inside and outside their home. Many supporting comments from carers and adults refer to a fear of falling due to unsuitable home environments, ill-health, age or due to having already experienced a fall.
Fear of falling outside my home.
I trip quite often and fear I may damage myself with a fall again.
How well are we doing?
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- We’re still working on embedding our practice with regard to adult protection enquires, and keeping a close eye on our performance (PMA18)
- 11% of children who were on the Child Protection Register were re-registered (PMC27)
- Children were on the Child Protection Register for an average of 216 days (PMC28)
How Conwy support the North Wales Safeguarding Board priorities
1. Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Conwy has invested considerable time and effort to increase awareness and ensure communication across agencies in the last 12 months. The CSE forum is led by social care, and continues to be held regularly with multi-agency and other council input. Conwy also works closely with the North Wales Police particularly PCs/PCSOs as these are the professionals dealing with CSE regularly and on a day to day basis.
We recently held a multi-agency workshop to help raise awareness around CSE. The afternoon consisted of the ‘Mirror Mirror’ drama production by Collingwood Learning Solutions Ltd, a production that was shown in secondary schools in North Wales to raise awareness for young people. This was followed by a video presentation by Ms. Gladman, who was involved in exposing what occurred in Rotherham. There was also an opportunity to network and to discuss what more can be done to help reduce such risks within Conwy. Attendance included over 100 representatives from Council members, departments across the Local Authority, Safeguarding Leads, Primary School Head Teachers, Pupil Referral Units, North Wales Police, Health, Youth Services, Youth Justice Service, and those from the third and private sector.
The Family Intervention Team [FIT] have developed a CSE group work programme, which has been called the “Armour Programme”.
The programme covers healthy relationships, sexual health, grooming and exploitation, cybercrime/social media, substance misuse, disclosures and ‘keep safe’ work, and there are points of contact with Education, Health, local police and youth services should there be a need for support after the programme.
Conwy was represented at the National CSE Conference in London, and have added CSE to the Foster Carer Learning Pathway.
Key priority: Going forward Learning Sets will be held every six to eight weeks for cases involving CSE for both internal staff and involved external professionals. We will also be implementing the regional action plan, and feeding into the statutory guidance, through the Welsh Government Task and Finish group.
2. Harmful Sexual Behaviour
Conwy delivered a Harmful Sexual Behaviours course for Foster Carers, Social Workers and Support Staff and has commissioned G Map to deliver specialist training to Social Workers on the ‘Aim 2’ model of assessment. This is an area where we have identified a need for specialist knowledge and expertise. We also contribute to the NSPCC sexual behaviour audit.
3. Risk Taking Behaviour Strategic Regional Response
Conwy led on the development of the strategic response to children and young people engaged in the most common risk-taking behaviours, such as drug and alcohol misuse, harmful sexual behaviour, going missing, susceptibility to radicalisation/extremism etc. The resultant policy offers a holistic approach to protecting the most vulnerable or at-risk children to mitigate the increasing demands placed upon front-line resources throughout the public and third sectors.
4. Domestic Abuse
Conwy contributes to the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) which support the protection of children through developing effective action plans, timely sharing of information and assessment of risks to children. The impact of domestic abuse on children is reduced because they, their families and perpetrators can access a sufficient range of commissioned local services.
An online learning module, Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Abuse (VAWDASA), has been rolled out to all Conwy staff and is mandatory base-level learning for all new and existing staff in the Local Authority. Regionally Conwy is contributing to develop a Level 2 ‘Ask and Act’ VAWDASA course.
5. Home Education
Conwy has embedded practice developments in relation to Home Education. Each school term Conwy holds a Home Education Panel which is multi-agency. The Panel reviews any families who have not evidenced the work completed at home within the timeframe of twelve months and considers whether any safeguarding concerns are apparent. If there are safeguarding concerns, appropriate enquires are made by social care.
We are awaiting the Welsh Government response in relation to the Cascade Report – an evidence-based review of the risks to children and young people who are educated at home and the recommendations that have been put forward.
6. Raising awareness
There has been a drive to ensure safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility within Conwy. A number of actions have been taken, including training for staff and Elected Members, 3rd Sector and the Direct Care Workforce, and improving managing practices, quality assurance and reporting.
A key priority going forward is to continue in this path of improvement.
7. Outcomes for adults who are the subject of adult protection plans are improved as a result of all agencies across North Wales consistently delivering high quality adult protection services according to agreed best practice.
By raising the profile of adult safeguarding and improving multi-agency working, the number of protection plans for adult safeguarding have risen from 76 in 2016/17 to 114 in 2017/18. There is a more consistent approach and common understanding to adult safeguarding through awareness and the delivery of training.
8. The North Wales Safeguarding Board (NWSB) is assured of the quality of safeguarding services across North Wales
Safeguarding cases are audited and the outcome of the audits are shared with the NWSB
9. The risk that vulnerable adults suffer or become subject to abuse or neglect is reduced because staff and the public are fully aware of the need to safeguard and protect, and know what to do if there is a safeguarding issue.
We provide training sessions to staff, undertake one-to-one supervision sessions, encourage peer discussions, and advocate immediate escalation to line managers and the safeguarding lead should any safeguarding concerns arise within our staff groups.
We remind all Conwy staff that “safeguarding is everyone’s business” and have dedicated managers for safeguarding in each service area of the council. These are displayed on our intranet.
Our website offers members of the public the opportunity to report safeguarding concerns for adults and children via our ‘I’m worried about someone’ section.
10. Have a North Wales multi-agency approach to understand and manage incidence of self-neglect and the needs of those affected.
Our Self-Neglect Policy has been devised and implemented amongst staff teams and adopted as the regional procedure. The Head of Service was involved in delivering the training to professionals across the region.
It has also been submitted for an Accolade award.