Child Protection in Angus

National Guidance - Functions of a Child Protection Committee

CPCs are the key local bodies for developing and implementing child protection strategy across and between agencies. A CPC is expected to perform a number of crucial functions. This section sets out what those functions are and actions that will lead to those functions being carried out to a high standard. This section will assist a CPC in evaluating its own performance. As well as the functions outlined here, each CPC will seek opportunities to share best practice and learning with other CPCs.

The functions are grouped as follows:

public information;
continuous improvement; and
strategic planning.

Public Information

CPCs are required to produce and disseminate public information about protecting children and young people. Each CPC will develop, implement and regularly review a communications strategy that includes the following elements:

raising awareness of child protection issues within communities, including children and young people;
promoting the work of agencies in protecting children to the public at large; and
providing information about where members of the public will go if they have concerns about a child and what could happen.

CPCs will determine the level of public knowledge of and confidence in child protection systems within their area and address any issues as required within their business plans.

Continuous Improvement

CPCs have a key role to play in the continuous improvement of child protection work.

A number of functions relate directly to this key role. These are:

policies, procedures and protocols;
management information;
quality assurance;
promotion of good practice; and
training and staff development.

Policies, Procedures and Protocols

Clear and robust inter-agency procedures are vital to the protection of children and young people.

Each CPC will:

ensure that constituent agencies have in place their own up to date policies and procedures;
regularly develop, disseminate and review inter-agency policies and procedures; and
ensure that protocols are developed around key issues where there is agreement that this is required.

Management Information

CPCs will have an overview of management information from all key agencies about their work to protect children and young people.

Each CPC will:

have an overview of information relating to children and young people on the Child Protection Register;
receive regular management information reports, which include analysis of trends;
identify and address the implications of these reports for services; and
ensure that these reports inform the inter-agency child protection strategy.

Quality Assurance

Whilst individual agencies have responsibility for quality assurance within their own agencies, CPCs have responsibility for the development and implementation of inter-agency quality assurance mechanisms.

Each CPC will:

agree, implement and review multi-agency quality assurance mechanisms for inter-agency work, including auditing against the Framework for Standards;
ensure that these quality assurance mechanisms directly contribute to the continuous improvement of services to protect children and young people;
contribute to the preparation for the integrated system of inspection of child protection services;
consider the findings and lessons from the inspection process nationally and in relation to the inspection of their area; and
report on the outcome of these activities, and make recommendations, to the Chief Officer Group, who are accountable overall for the quality of services including child protection systems.

Promotion of Good Practice

CPCs have a responsibility to identify and promote good practice, address issues of poor practice and encourage learning from practice.

Each CPC will:

have in place mechanisms to identify and disseminate lessons from past and current practice, including systematic reviews of significant cases;
ensure that these lessons directly inform training and staff development; and
identify opportunities to share these lessons more widely.

Training and Staff Development

Training and staff development for those working with children and families must be undertaken at both a single agency and inter-agency level, particularly in respect of child protection. CPCs are responsible for promoting, commissioning and assuring the quality and delivery of inter-agency training.

Each CPC will:

have an overview of single agency child protection training and consider the implications for inter-agency training;
plan, review and quality assure inter-agency training and development activities;
have in place, and review at least annually, a programme for inter-agency child protection training; and
ensure relevant, effective and consistent inter-agency training is provided for practitioners, managers, non-statutory agencies and for CPC members themselves.

Strategic Planning

The CPC is the key local body in terms of the planning of child protection work.

This needs to be done in conjunction with other planning mechanisms and priorities, in particular integrated children's services planning and Community Planning.

The contribution of the CPC to strategic planning falls into three broad categories:

communication and co-operation;
planning and connections; and
public information.

Communication and Co-operation

Effective communication and co-operation, both within and between professions and agencies, is essential to the protection of children.

Each CPC will:

demonstrate effective communication and co-operation at CPC level;
actively promote effective communication and collaboration between agencies;
identify and, wherever possible, resolve any issues between agencies in relation to the protection of children and young people;
demonstrate effective communication with other inter-agency bodies;
demonstrate effective communication about the work of the CPC with staff in constituent agencies; and
identify opportunities to share knowledge, skills and learning with other CPCs.

Planning and Connections

There needs to be clarity about where CPCs link into other multi-agency partnerships and structures. While this list is not exhaustive, these include:

children's services planning structures;
Community Planning structures;
other CPCs;
Community Safety Partnerships;
Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAAT) or their equivalent;
multi-agency partnerships on domestic abuse;
Community Care planning structures;
Child Care Partnerships;
voluntary sector fora where they exist;
Youth Justice structures; and
developing fora on anti-social behaviour.

Each CPC will:

clearly identify the key links that are required to be made with other bodies, and ensure that these links are made;
in conjunction with other bodies, identify issues where either joint working would be beneficial or duplication could be avoided and ensure that action is taken to address these issues; and
have in place, and regularly review the effectiveness of, joint protocols around particular identified issues.

Involving Children and Young People and their Families

Protecting Children and Young People: The Charter reflects the voice of children and young people and what they feel they need, and should be able to expect, when they have problems or are in difficulty and need to be protected. This is a message to all of us politicians, communities, parents, families, neighbours; as well as police, health, social work and education authorities; and people who work directly with children and young people about what is important to them in how we go about helping to protect them.

The perspectives of children and young people and their families will be clearly evidenced in the work of the CPC, and it is vital that this area is not addressed in a tokenistic manner.

Each CPC will:

be able to demonstrate that its work is informed by the perspective of children and young people, including the most vulnerable and those with direct experiences of child protection services;
review and develop their strategy for doing so; and
ensure that children and young people are involved in the development and implementation of the CPC's public information and communication strategies.

There are a number of ways of doing this, and it is envisaged that this area will develop over time. It is not possible to be prescriptive about the methods to be employed.

However, for illustration these could include:

drawing on the experience of the voluntary sector in eliciting the views of children and young people;
receiving regular reports from Children's Rights Officers on the views of children and young people;
commissioning independent surveys, either individually or collectively with other CPCs, on the views of children and their families;
improving decision-making and recording practices to ensure that the views of children and families are better able to be gathered together and reflected;
promoting the establishment of community-based advocacy services for children and young people; or
ensuring that the views of children and young people are accounted for through the application of inter-agency quality assurance mechanisms.

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