Devon Safeguarding Digest – March 2025
Welcome to the February Devon Safeguarding Digest! This regular update will help you stay up to speed with safeguarding news and local policy changes.
Opportunity to contribute to local policy review
Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership is currently reviewing its local policies around fabricated illness.
You can see Devon’s existing policy on tri.x. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please get in touch at via our contact form.
Child criminal exploitation to become specific criminal offence
A measure will be included in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill to make a new criminal offence for adults who use children to commit criminal activity, such as county lines drug running or organised robbery.
Church of England rejects fully independent safeguarding
The General Synod, the governing body or Parliament of the Church of England, rejected a proposal for the creation of a fully independent safeguarding model.
Instead, it was decided that the Church of England would create and independent central safeguarding team, but for the time being leave the dioceses and cathedrals unchanged in terms of their safeguarding staffing model.
This option was presented as a positive move that could be implemented more quickly than the fully independent option, but the decision has drawn some public criticism.
Church of England publishes annual report on independent safeguarding audits
The report follows on from and concludes the series of ten independent safeguarding audits undertaken over the past year across ten dioceses.
The Exeter audit report was explored in the Devon Safeguarding Digest for January.
The full report can be read on the Church of England website.
Bedfordshire review finds murdered child was failed by agencies across four counties failing to share information and work at a multi-agency level
A young child who was found dead in June 2023, having been physically abused by her mother’s partner, had been known to a large number of agencies. However, multi-agency discussions and information sharing did not take place.
The BBC have covered this story, or you can read the Child Safeguarding Practice Review from Central Bedfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership.
Government opens recruitment for national commissioners
Recruitment has opened for the following national commissioners:
- Commissioner for Countering Extremism
- Independent Prevent Commissioner
- Windrush Commissioner