The LSCP is a partnership established under the Children Act 2004 to co-operate with each other to safeguard children and promote their welfare. Guidance is set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018. The Partnership is responsible for ensuring services are delivered, in the right way, at the right time, so that children are safe and we make a positive difference to the lives of them and their family. This is achieved by:
1. Co-ordinating local work through:
- Communicating the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and explaining how this can be achieved
- Working closely with local Partnership Boards with an aim to share agendas with the Children and Families Trust Board (CFTB), Early Help Board, Community Safety Partnership (Safer Leeds) and Leeds Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB)
- Working with local partners to ensure safeguarding children and young people is understood and embedded within practice
- Sub groups and task and finish groups in response to identifying specific pieces of work.
2. Ensuring that local work is effective by:
- Monitoring working practices by partner agencies that safeguard and promote the safety and welfare of children
- Undertaking Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and other multi-agency case reviews, and ensuring any learning identified is shared in a timely manner
- Collecting and analysing information about child deaths
- Publishing an annual report on the effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements which safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Leeds.
The new Multi-agency Safeguarding Arrangements came into effect on 1st September 2019. The Safeguarding Partnership has continued to be known as the LSCP to ensure the well-established and recognised ‘brand’ is preserved. The LSCP has remained an independent intermediary body with an Independent Chair, and continues to work with all agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in Leeds. The new arrangements are underpinned by the LSCP Learning and Improvement Framework. A full list of partners can be found in Appendix 1.
The LSCP Executive are in the process of reviewing and reflecting on the past 12 months of the new safeguarding arrangements and the future leadership model in Leeds. The LSCP Executive have agreed to review the arrangements of both the CFB and the LSCP to look at a new partnership model.
This review will allow the Partnership to strengthen its resolve to challenge not only the safeguarding system but also challenge the wider elements that put children and families in situations where their safety and wellbeing is compromised. The new partnership discussions are being developed and are anticipated to be operational from April 2021.
Structure and Governance
Sal Tariq
Director of Children and Families
Leeds City Council
Jo Harding
Executive Director of Nursing and Quality
Leeds Health and Care Partnership
Damien Miller
Chief Superintendent -
Leeds District Commander
West Yorkshire Police
Cllr Fiona Venner
Executive Member for Children and Families
The LSCP has effective linkages to other strategic groups in Leeds to ensure a clear remit and cross partnership working, as well as strong working relationships with other strategic safeguarding boards across the city.
The Independent Chair has met with and established regular meetings with the Chairs of all strategic boards and where appropriate, heads of service, to seek agreement on working together on common themes. These discussions have led to both a review of the transitional arrangements for young people becoming 18 and how young people experience domestic abuse services across Leeds. Both of these areas have been identified as opportunities for collaboration and therefore achieving greater changes for children and young people.
The LSCP manages and has its own website which brings together information and advice, promotes safeguarding messages and allows access to training and professional development opportunities for professionals.
The LSCP Chair
The LSCP Independent Chair, Jasvinder Sanghera CBE, was appointed after an extensive recruitment campaign in 2019. This involved a series of interviews with partnership members and young people who formed an interview panel. Jasvinder brings additional independent scrutiny for the partnership and extensive experience from within various sectors. She is noted as someone who has driven lasting changes across national policy, practice and procedures, and legislation to safeguard the most vulnerable groups. Jasvinder also has past extensive experience of working with partners in Leeds and therefore has established relationships with partners across the city.
Financial contributions to support the Partnership
The previous funding arrangements have remained for the initial year of the new safeguarding arrangements. This includes the three statutory partners providing the majority of the funding as follows:
- Local Authority 59%
- Leeds Health and Care Partnership 35%
- West Yorkshire Police 5%
- Probation Partners 1%.
It is also important to note the significant contributions from all our partners within their safeguarding roles, which accounts for a significant ‘in-kind’ contribution to the work of the Partnership. Furthermore, the ‘in-kind’ contribution of partners to the LSCP Training Pool.