Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership

The Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) is a statutory body, as required under the Children Act 2004, which consists of senior representatives of all the key agencies in Leeds who are jointly responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

The Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) is the collective name for the Partnership which oversees the implementation of the Multi-agency Safeguarding Arrangements within Leeds.  The Partnership consists of senior representatives of all the key agencies in Leeds who are jointly responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.  These agencies include, but are not limited to, the relevant NHS trusts, West Yorkshire Police,  West Yorkshire Probation Service, the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), Leeds Adult Social Care and representatives from the third sector, schools and higher education settings.

Children and young people, their welfare, protection, and the promotion of their best interests are at the heart of everything the LSCP does.  Their vision is for Leeds to be a child friendly city in which children and young people are safe from harm in their families, their communities, and their neighbourhoods.

What are the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements?

The 2017 amendments of the Children Act 2004, placed the responsibility for safeguarding equally with Local Authorities, the police and health (Integrated Care Board). Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 placed a duty on the three agencies to work together and define the local multiagency safeguarding arrangements. It also placed a duty on other agencies to co-operate with the new arrangements, but for local areas to decide how this should work in practice.

Within Leeds these arrangements were published in September 2019 and set out how the arrangements would work in practice.

What are the functions of the LSCP?

The LSCP has three statutory functions:

  1. Undertaking Rapid Reviews and where appropriate Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews in order to identify good practice and learning from the most serious cases.
  2. Review all child deaths in line with the national Child Death Overview Process guidance in order to identify any matters relating to the death(s) which are relevant to the welfare of children.
  3. Seek assurance that agencies are fulfilling their safeguarding requirements through partner agencies completion of an online safeguarding self-assessments.

In addition, the LSCP also:

    • Develops policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in Leeds;
    • Communicates to partner agencies the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, raising their awareness of how this can best be done;
    • Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of what is done by partner agencies, individually and collectively, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, and advise them on ways to improve;
    • Participates in the planning of services for children and young people in Leeds.

What training is available through the LSCP?

The LSCP provides multi-agency safeguarding learning and development opportunities to all staff and volunteers in the city. There are two core safeguarding courses, as well as specialist courses and briefings on subjects such as child exploitation, safeguarding children with a disability, the SUDIC Process and safer recruitment. See their website for full details: www.leedsscp.org.uk.

If you want to know more about the work of the LSCP, you can contact them on [email protected] or visit their website: www.leedsscp.org.uk.

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