Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements for Children and Young People in Devon

Our response to Working Together 2023

This document sets out how agencies in Devon will work together in the safeguarding of children and young people in the County. The Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (Devon SCP) continue to build on our learning and experiences to make these arrangements as effective as they can be and to respond accordingly.

Every local authority, ICB and constabulary in England must be covered by a multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. The purpose of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements is to ensure that, at a local level, organisations and agencies are clear about how they will work together to safeguard children and promote their welfare.

This means:

• There is a clear, shared vision for how to improve outcomes for children locally across all levels of need and all types of harm
• when a child is identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm there is a prompt, appropriate and effective response to ensure the protection and support of the child organisations and agencies are challenged appropriately, effectively holding one another to account
• the voice of children and families combined with the knowledge of experienced practitioners and insights from data, provides a greater understanding of the areas of strength and/or improvement within arrangements and practice
• information is sought, analysed, shared, and broken down by protected characteristics to facilitate more accurate and timely decision-making for children and families, and to understand outcomes for different communities of children
• effective collection, sharing and analysis of data, enables early identification of new safeguarding risks, issues, emerging threats, and joined-up responses across relevant agencies
• senior leaders promote and embed a learning culture which supports local services to become more reflective and implement changes to practice senior leaders have a good knowledge and understanding about the quality of local practice and its impact on children and families

Local arrangements are expected to change over time to ensure they continue to work effectively for children and families, to keep pace with changing demographics and evolving social and economic challenges. Any changes should be reflected in updated published arrangements.

Agencies identified by the Lead Safeguarding Partners (LSPs) must act in accordance with local safeguarding arrangements and should ensure they:

• have a clear understanding of its responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children locally, and how it will discharge them
• co-operate with safeguarding partners to improve, implement, and monitor effectiveness of the local safeguarding arrangements
• share information and data about safeguarding issues and concerns affecting the children involved in their organisation to contribute to local priorities
• ensure local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements are fully understood, and rigorously applied within their organisation

Introduction

Protecting children, especially the most vulnerable, is the core duty and responsibility for all agencies in the County. Protecting, safeguarding and ensuring the wellbeing of children are complex tasks that can only be successfully achieved by agencies working together in a coherent and effective manner.

The complexity of the task is compounded by the multiple and elaborate partnership arrangements in Devon. At the heart of the partnership are some simple value propositions that guide our safeguarding work:

• The welfare of the child is our paramount consideration, and our overall purpose is to ensure children and families can get the right support, in the right place, at the right time;
• We will achieve this through shared management of risk and a strengths-based, trauma informed, restorative approach in our work with children and their families;
• Our strength and capacity are greater when we work together and working together in partnership is our default position;
• Safe and effective practice is rooted in purposeful quality assurance and challenge – and purposeful challenge is rooted in mutual respect, transparency and honesty which underpins our approach to scrutiny and practice improvement;
• We have developed a model of practice evaluation based on learning from what works as well as looking openly and forensically when the system does not work as well as it should or needs to.

The Devon SCP needs to be understood as a complex system of dynamic, moving parts made up of people. At its centre are four Early Help Locality Partnerships, co-terminus with their corresponding community safety partnerships. These Locality Partnerships bring together the operational system leaders who have the greatest impact on the quality of multi-agency practice. The depth and breadth of the relationships established through these partnerships are crucial to ensuring that there is a clear understanding of responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children locally, and how to discharge them as well as an understanding of the importance of:

• co-operating with safeguarding partners to improve, implement, and monitor effectiveness of the local safeguarding arrangements
• sharing information and data about safeguarding issues and concerns affecting the children involved in their organisation to contribute to local priorities
• ensuring local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements are fully understood, and rigorously applied within their organisation

Local arrangements are expected to change over time to ensure they continue to work effectively for children and families, to keep pace with changing demographics and evolving social and economic challenges.

The Devon SCP has constructed these multi-agency safeguarding arrangements to meet the statutory duty to:

• Set out how in Devon partners will work together to identify and respond to the needs of children in our area;
• How we will commission and publish child safeguarding practice reviews;
• How we will ensure the effectiveness of our arrangements are subject to robust and independent scrutiny.

The area covered by these arrangements

Children and families in Devon are served by:

• A Police force that covers four local authorities – Devon, Cornwall, Torbay and Plymouth;
• Integrated Care Board that covers three local authorities – (Devon, Plymouth and Torbay);
• Providers of adult and child health services which include acute and community services; mental health and learning disability services for children and adults; and out of hours services and primary care services;
• Devon County Council is a two-tier authority with eight district councils;
• There are 364 primary schools and 105 secondary schools in the County;
• A large and active community and voluntary sector.

Plymouth and Torbay are the two unitary councils within the wider Devon and ICB footprint. For this plan, the Safeguarding Partners (SP) are:

Lead Safeguarding Partners LSPs): 

• Donna Manson, Chief Executive, Devon County Council
• Steve Moore, Chief Executive of the Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• James Vaughn, Chief Constable, Devon & Cornwall Police

The Chair of the LSP Group is currently being decided.

Delegated Safeguarding Partners (DSPs): 

• Chair – Roy Linden, Policing Commander for South Devon, Devon & Cornwall Police
• Julian Wooster, Director of Children & Young People’s Futures (Children’s Services, Devon County Council
• Penny Smith, Chief Nursing Officer, NHS Devon
• Helen Casson, Chief Executive Officer, Wave Multi-Agency Academy Trust

The Delegated Safeguarding Partners collectively from the Devon SCP Executive Group and have delegated responsibility for making most decisions required of the partnership, However, certain decisions such as yearly budgetary arrangements, key strategic decisions and the Devon SCP annual report will be agreed at LSP level. The geographical area covered by the Devon SCP corresponds to the boundary of Torbay Council with immediate neighbouring areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership, the Plymouth Safeguarding Devon Partnership and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Safeguarding Children Partnership.

The Chair will rotate every two years, in line with neighbouring Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships (LSCPs).

Devon SCP exercises its strategic and operational leadership responsibilities within three inter-related domains – child protection, safeguarding and wellbeing, each is led by one of the SPs and each working to a slightly different footprint, as follows:

• Child protection – is the lead responsibility of Devon County Council and works to the DCC footprint.
• The South West Child Protection Procedures sets out the agreed processes by which this work is done.
• Safeguarding – is the lead responsibility of the Police.
• Health and wellbeing – The NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) develops plans to improve health outcomes, deliver high-quality care, and safeguard children and young people in their care.
• Community safety – Partnerships sit at district and unitary level with a county-wide Safer Devon Partnership (SDP). Some safeguarding responsibilities are delivered across a wider peninsula footprint that includes Cornwall; most notably work to safeguard children and young people at risk of all forms of exploitation including CSE and County Lines

Details of the work of the SDP can be found here: https://new.devon.gov.uk/emergencies/safer-devon-partnership

Devon’s Health and Wellbeing Board includes councillors and chief officers from Devon County Council and Devon’s district councils, along with representatives from Healthwatch Devon, NHS Devon , the Joint Engagement Forum, Probation Services, Devon and Cornwall Police, Devon Partnership Trust, the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. The Devon SCP LSPs and DSPs need to understand the Board‘s duty to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment or JSNA (an assessment of current and future health and care needs in the local population) and a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (a local strategy for the local population addressing the needs identified in the JSNA).

• Happy and Healthy Communities
• JSNA headline tool – Devon Health and Wellbeing

Serious Incidents that warrant notification to Ofsted and the National Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, the completion of any subsequent rapid review and local child practice safeguarding review, will only be for children within the Devon County Council boundaries, unless they involve children from other local authority areas. Then these reviews will be carried out with our pan-Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership colleagues in Torbay and Plymouth.

These local safeguarding arrangements will be shared with and be easily accessible to all partners and relevant agencies. Relevant agencies will also be provided with information about how to escalate concerns and how any disputes will be resolved including details of the independent scrutiny and whistleblowing procedures.

Independent scrutiny

The Safeguarding Children Partnership’s scrutiny arrangements are part of a larger system that includes statutory inspections. In Devon, scrutiny is a collective effort and central to the partnership’s audits and learning activities. It focuses on learning and takes a positive approach. The Devon SCP aims to create a culture where everyone involved in safeguarding children, from frontline workers to leaders, actively participates in scrutiny, learns from each other, and takes responsibility. The goal is to improve by using evidence-based good practices. The Devon SCP assurance system will mainly evaluate how well the safeguarding arrangements work for children and families, and assess the effectiveness of leadership and decision-making in supporting practitioners.

The Devon SCP Independent Scrutineer (IS) is independent from the safeguarding partners and has expertise in child safeguarding, local needs, and effective partnership working. The role of the IS includes:

• Reviewing and overseeing all partnership audits.
• Assessing the effectiveness of arrangements and identifying needed changes.
• Reporting on the quality of local safeguarding arrangements.
• Engaging with practitioners, children, and families to understand frontline practice.
• Promoting a positive culture of scrutiny and assurance focused on learning.
• Ensuring children are central to all scrutiny activities by challenging partners and gathering feedback from children and families.

Contributions agreed with relevant agencies

These published arrangements set out clearly any contributions agreed with relevant agencies,

LSPs will ensure that the agencies named in these arrangements have appropriate, robust safeguarding policies and procedures in place and will enable relevant information to be shared amongst all relevant agencies and the safeguarding partners by:

• Regular multi-agency meetings (groups, sub-groups, task and finish)
• Newsletters
• Secure digital platforms (website, emails)
• Training, learning and development resources
• Email communications
• Case audits and thematic reviews

The Designated Safeguarding Partners (DSPs) and relevant agencies will be in regular communication about local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and their effectiveness.

The relevant agencies are named below:

• Devon County Council Children’s services, including children’s social care
• Devon County Council Adult Social Care Services
• Public Health Nursing
• Public Health England
• Devon & Cornwall police
• The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
• British Transport Police and Border Authorities
• Health agencies (ICB/NHS and SW Ambulance Trust)
• Schools, colleges further and higher education providers
• Early Years and Childcare Settings and Childminders – comprising of private, voluntary, independent and statutory sector
• Prison and probation services including youth justice services
• Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
• CSW Group (previously Careers South West)
• Devon & Somerset Fire Service
• Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services
• Other providers of services to children and families in Devon, currently:
  • Voluntary sector
  • Community, church and faith groups
  • Sports clubs and uniformed groups
  • Drug and alcohol treatment providers
  • Domestic abuse support services
  • Adopt South West
  • Fostering agencies
  • Language schools
  • Sexual health services
  • Dentist/oral heath services
  • Residential homes for children
  • Charities

The Devon SCP has elected to collaborate and work together with the above multi-agency partners to improve outcomes for children and families in Devon. This list is not exhaustive and will be amended and updated as required at the request of the Lead and/or Delegated Safeguarding Partners

These organisations and agencies have chosen in line with guidance published in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. It is essential that Devon SCP works closely with these agencies to collaborate, work together and improve outcomes for children and their families.

Agencies named in these arrangements, play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and welfare of children.

• Collaborative safeguarding: This multi-agency approach ensures that different perspectives and expertise are utilised to protect children effectively.

• Policy development and implementation: These agencies will work together to develop and implement policies and procedures for safeguarding children. This includes setting thresholds for intervention, training staff, and ensuring safe recruitment practices.

• Monitoring and evaluation: Agencies assist with the monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of safeguarding practices. They support with assessing how well each agency is performing its safeguarding duties and provide recommendations for improvement.

• Information sharing: Effective safeguarding relies on timely and accurate information sharing between agencies. Devon SCP facilitates this process, ensuring that relevant information about children at risk is shared appropriately to protect them from harm.

• Learning and improvement: Devon SCP conducts reviews of serious cases to identify lessons learned and improve future safeguarding practices. This continuous learning process helps agencies to refine their approaches and prevent future harm to children.

• Community engagement: These agencies engage with the community to raise awareness about safeguarding issues and encourage public involvement in protecting children helping to create a safer environment for children by promoting vigilance and reporting concerns.

By working together, these agencies ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to safeguarding children, making sure that no child falls through the cracks. Relevant agencies currently provide assurance to the Devon SCP regarding their safeguarding effectiveness via self auding processes and associated action plans. Relevant agencies are also required to give regular updates and assurance about their work, when requested, as part of the scrutiny process to ensure safeguarding is embedded in their arrangements. The currently required audits include those under S157/175 of the Education Act 2002 for independent schools, early years providers and all other educational institutions, and S11 of the Children Act 2004 for other agencies deemed ‘relevant’ by the Devon SCP.

Information sharing

Safeguarding partners will share information and data safely and effectively by following structured arrangements that clearly outline the processes and principles for sharing.

• Clear policies and protocols: Establishing clear information sharing policies and protocols that comply with data protection laws. These should outline what information can be shared, with whom, and under what circumstances.
• Data sharing agreements: Creating formal data sharing agreements between agencies specifying the purpose of sharing, the type of information to be shared, and the measures in place to protect the data.
• Secure communication channels: Using secure methods for sharing information, such as encrypted emails, password-protected documents, and secure online platforms ensuring that sensitive information is protected during transmission.
• Training and awareness: Providing regular training for staff on data protection and information sharing best practices so that everyone understands their responsibilities and the importance of safeguarding information.
• Consent and legal basis: Ensuring that information sharing is based on a legal basis or with the consent of the individuals involved, where appropriate.
• Regular reviews and audits: Conducting regular reviews and audits of information sharing practices to ensure compliance with policies and to identify areas for improvement.
• Principles of Information Sharing: Adhering to key principles such as necessity, proportionality, and transparency and only sharing information that is necessary for the purpose, ensuring it is proportionate to the need, and there is transparency with individuals about how their information is used.

DfE non statutory information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services for children, young people, parents and carers

https://www.devonscp.org.uk/training-and-resources/a-guide-to-information-sharing/

Multi-agency training, learning, and development

We believe that training and workforce development is essential to help protect children and young people in Devon.

The Devon SCP has a structured approach to commissioning, delivering, and monitoring training to ensure it has a meaningful impact.

• Needs assessment: regular needs assessments are carried out to identify gaps in knowledge and skills among professionals working with children. This helps in designing relevant training programmes, resources and materials.
• Collaborative planning: Working with various agencies, the Devon SCP workforce development team plans and commissions training that address identified needs and complies with statutory requirements.
• Multi-agency training programmes: Devon SCP delivers multi-agency training sessions that bring together professionals from different sectors to foster a shared understanding of safeguarding practices. Specialised workshops on specific topics such as child exploitation, domestic abuse, and mental health to address are offered in respect of particular areas of concern and partnership priorities.
• Online and in-person Sessions: Training is delivered through a mix of online and in-person sessions to accommodate different learning preferences and schedules.
• Feedback mechanisms: Devon SCP collect feedback from participants through surveys and evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the training.
• Impact assessments: Devon SCP conduct impact assessments to measure how the training has influenced practice and improved outcomes for children. This includes follow-up evaluations to see if the training has led to changes in behaviour and practice.
• Regular Reviews: Training programmes are regularly reviewed and updated based on feedback, new research, and changes in legislation or policy.

By following these steps, the Devon SCP ensure that all plans, resources, training courses are effective, relevant, and continuously improving to better safeguard children.

Our training and resources – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Multi-agency and inter-agency audits

The Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (Devon SCP) undertakes multi-agency audits through a structured and collaborative approach to ensure the effectiveness of safeguarding practices.

• Thematic reviews: Devon SCP conducts thematic reviews based on identified priorities and recurring themes from various sources, such as rapid reviews, local safeguarding practice reviews, and feedback from children and families.
• Appreciative inquiries: These are used to explore what is working well within the safeguarding system. Appreciative inquiries involve gathering positive examples and best practices to inform improvements.
• Multi-agency file audits: These audits involve reviewing case files from different agencies to assess the quality of safeguarding work. This helps identify strengths and areas for improvement in multi-agency collaboration.
• Data analysis: Regular analysis of quantitative data helps identify potential issues in practice and areas that require further investigation.
• Feedback from Children and Families: The partnership actively seeks the views and experiences of children and their families to understand the impact of safeguarding practices and to ensure that their voices are heard.
• Challenge sessions: These sessions are part of the audit process where findings and recommendations are discussed. They provide an opportunity for agencies to reflect on their practices and make necessary adjustments.
• Reporting and action plans: Findings from audits are compiled into reports with clear recommendations. Action plans are then developed to address any identified issues and to implement improvements.
• Continuous monitoring: The impact of the implemented changes is continuously monitored to ensure that they lead to better outcomes for children and families.

By using these methods, Devon SCP ensures a thorough and effective approach to safeguarding children through multi-agency collaboration.

Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR)

The Devon SCP follows a structured process for undertaking Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (LCSPRs) to ensure thorough analysis and effective learning. When a serious incident occurs, a rapid review is conducted to gather initial facts and determine the extent of agency involvement with the child and family.

• The review identifies any immediate actions needed to ensure children’s safety and shares initial learning appropriately.
• Based on the rapid review, a decision is made whether to proceed with a full LCSPR or an alternative learning review.
• All relevant agencies contribute to the review by providing detailed information about their involvement with the child and family.
• The review team analyses the information to identify key findings, learning points, and areas for improvement. A report is then compiled with recommendations.
• Key findings and recommendations are shared through learning briefings, which are disseminated to all relevant agencies and professionals.
• The final report is published on the Devon SCP website, ensuring transparency and wider access to the learning.
• Regular workshops and seminars are held to discuss the findings of LCSPRs and to train professionals on implementing the recommendations.
• Online training modules are developed to ensure that all staff can access the learning at their convenience.
• Policies and procedures are updated based on the findings from LCSPRs to ensure that best practices are embedded in everyday work.
• New guidance documents are created and existing ones are revised to reflect the learning from reviews.
• Regular impact assessments are conducted to evaluate how well the learning has been integrated into practice and to identify any further improvements needed.
• Continuous feedback is sought from professionals and agencies to refine and improve safeguarding practices.
• Multi-agency training sessions are organized to foster a shared understanding and collaborative approach to safeguarding.
• Establishing learning networks where professionals from different agencies can share experiences and best practices.

By following these steps, Devon SCP ensures that the learning from LCSPRs is effectively embedded across all organisations and agencies involved in safeguarding children. Safeguarding Practice Reviews – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Commissioning and publishing Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

The Devon SCP follows a well-established system for managing serious incidents from the receiving of the Serious Incident Notification (SIN) through to Rapid Reviews and Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPR). SINs are reviewed by a multi-agency panel of senior safeguarding partners within five days of being received by the Devon SCP and if the required criteria are met, the Devon SCP arranges a Rapid Review. If the SIN criteria are not met, the Devon SCP review the information within the referral with a view to identifying or extracting potential learning. If potential learning is identified, the multi-agency panel will consider other non-statutory mechanisms for using the referral to improve local safeguarding practice.

Rapid Review Process Flowchart – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Commissioning

When a serious incident occurs, a rapid review is conducted to gather initial facts and determine the extent of agency involvement with the child and family. The review identifies any immediate actions needed to ensure children’s safety and shares initial learning appropriately. Based on the rapid review, a decision is made whether to proceed with a full LCSPR or an alternative learning review. All relevant agencies contribute detailed information about their involvement with the child and family. The review team analyses the information to identify key findings, learning points, and areas for improvement. A report is then compiled with recommendations.

Publishing LCSPRs

• Learning briefings: Key findings and recommendations are shared through learning briefings, which are disseminated to all relevant agencies and professionals.
• Public reports: The final report is published on the Devon SCP website, ensuring transparency and wider access to the learning.

By following these steps, Devon SCP ensures that the learning from LCSPRs is effectively embedded across all organizations and agencies involved in safeguarding children. Safeguarding Practice Reviews – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Devon SCP – child death overview arrangements (simplified)

In Devon, child death reviews are part of the South West Peninsula Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), managed by Livewell Southwest. The review partners, as defined by the Children Act 2004, include:

• Cornwall Council
• Council of the Isles of Scilly
• Devon County Council
• Plymouth City Council
• Torbay Council
• NHS Devon ICB
• NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB

These reviews follow the guidelines from “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023” and the “Child Death Review: Statutory and Operational Guidance (England) 2018.” Devon and Cornwall Police also participate to ensure the process is complete.

The review process has four stages:

1. Immediate decisions and notifications.
2. Investigation and information gathering.
3. Child Death Review Meeting (CDRM).
4. Independent review by the CDOP.

In 2024, NHS Devon ICB represented the Devon SCP at CDOP. New arrangements starting in 2025 will ensure continuous learning from child deaths with broader partnership involvement. The learning from CDOP will feed into the Devon SCP, and the outcomes will be shared back with CDOP to complete the learning cycle.

Using data to inform practice

The Devon SCP has created a data dashboard to spot trends and concerns that need further analysis to improve practices. All key partners will have access. Currently, the dashboard is in its early stages of development and doesn’t fully reflect local practices as yet, but as data sources and analyses develop, its use and impact will grow across local safeguarding arrangements.

Levels of Need

The Devon Levels of Need tool has been designed to align with the Devon SCP safeguarding arrangements. This tool helps supports a consistent and effective approach to assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people by adopting a continuum of need model, which provides a multi-agency, whole-system approach to assessment, prevention, and intervention. This model helps professionals identify the level of support required, from universal services to targeted and specialist interventions and ensures consistency for professionals working across different geographical areas in Devon. By using a common framework, all agencies can work together more effectively, ensuring that children receive the right support at the right time.

Levels of Need framework – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Voices of children and families

The Devon SCP has several strategies to ensure the voices of children and families are included.

• Devon SCP actively seeks feedback from children and families through surveys, focus groups, and direct consultations. This helps to understand their experiences and perspectives.
• Children and families are encouraged to participate in safeguarding practice reviews, ensuring their voices are heard in the evaluation of services.
• Providing access to independent advocates who can support children and families in expressing their views and concerns.
• Establishing support networks that help families navigate the safeguarding system and ensure their voices are represented.
• Devon SCP has clear protocols for escalating concerns. This includes a Conflict Resolution and Case Resolution Protocol, which outlines steps for raising and resolving disagreements about safeguarding decisions.
• Encouraging professionals and families to use whistleblowing policies to report concerns about safeguarding practices without fear of reprisal.
• Conducting regular multi-agency audits that include feedback from children and families to assess the effectiveness of safeguarding practices.
• Using the findings from these audits to make continuous improvements in how services are delivered and how children’s voices are incorporated.
• Ensuring that all professionals involved in safeguarding are trained to listen to and act on the voices of children and families.
• Running campaigns to raise awareness among children and families about their rights and how they can escalate concerns.

Professional challenge, escalation and case resolution protocol

Safeguarding partners and relevant agencies should always attempt to resolve any professional challenges and disputes locally. Whilst every effort will be made to work across the partnership in a strengths-based way, there may be occasions where necessary agreement cannot be reached. In these situations, the Devon SCP escalation protocol may need to be utilised. Effective working together depends on an open approach and honest relationships between agencies. Problem resolution is an integral part of professional co-operation and joint working to safeguard children.

Escalation protocol – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership

Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is when someone in an organisation reports wrongdoing or a cover-up. This could involve illegal activities or risks to health and safety, whether it happened in the past, is happening now, or might happen in the future.

It’s important for people to feel safe and heard when raising concerns. Encouraging whistleblowing promotes openness and transparency, and helps ensure that service users are treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. This approach makes good care and safety a core part of the organisation’s culture.

Whistleblowing or Raising Concerns at Work

Funding

According to WT2023, the Lead Safeguarding Partners (LSP) will decide the funding needed for Devon’s multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. This includes business and analytical support, independent scrutiny, infrastructure, and core functions like child safeguarding practice reviews and multi-agency training. The LSP will ensure that funding is adequate, fair, and aligned with priorities. Funding will be reviewed regularly to meet the partnership’s financial needs. It will be transparent to children and families in Devon, with each partner’s contributions detailed in the Devon SCP Annual Reports.

By implementing these strategies, Devon SCP ensures that the voices of children and families are central to safeguarding practices and that there are robust mechanisms for escalating concerns when necessary. How we work – Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership