Contact:
  • Children and Families Services 
  • Address:

    Bath & North East Somerset Social & Housing Services, P. O. Box 3343,Bath.BA1 2ZH

  • E-mail:
    children_family@bathnes.gov.uk 
  • Telephone:
    (01225) 397985 
  • Fax:
    (01225) 396115 
  • Minicom:
    (01225) 477815 
  • Page Updated:
    14/09/2007
  • Author:
    Ted Head 
A to Z Index

Local Safeguarding Children Board

Annual Report and Business Plan 2007 - 2008

Introduction

This is the Annual Report and Business Plan of Bath and North East Somerset’s Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) which was established in February 2006 and came into operation from 1 April 2006.  It details the Annual Report and the Review of the first Work Programme of the LSCB.

It has been developed by representatives of the constituent agencies of the LSCB, and was informed by consultation within the LSCB’s stakeholder forum in November 2006.  This Plan is intended for professionals and others who provide services to vulnerable children, young people and their families, whether as a targeted user group or as part of the universal service.

The aim of this report is to be informative about the work of Bath and North East Somerset’s Local Safeguarding Children Board and to make the results of our efforts accountable to safeguarding children professionals, to those who fund and support safeguarding children services and the LSCB, to the Lead Member for Children’s Services, to the Executive Council of Bath and North East Somerset, to The Children’s Trust Arrangements, to our service users, and to the public of Bath and North East Somerset.

The Business Plan sets out:

a)         The Mission Statement, vision, aims, principles, objectives and role of the LSCB.

b)         The Membership and meeting structure.

c)         A review of the 2006/2007 activity and achievements.

d)         The Work Programme for the LSCB 2007/2008.

The Business Plan contains the Local Safeguarding Children Board vision for the Board’s purposes on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset’s children and young people.  It also sets down the values and principles, which guide its actions, as well as the key objectives leading to the outcomes it intends to deliver.  It identifies the extensive programme of work to be undertaken.  Inevitably new tasks will be added from new responsibilities set down by Government, and from new needs and challenges which will emerge. 

An important part of the energies of the LSCB will go into maintaining the structure, resources and working processes of the Board as an organisation.  We are not apologetic about this.  While it must not be too inward looking or self absorbed, without maintenance there is no organisation to impact on our goals or to break new ground.  Some important responsibilities involve reviewing and updating existing arrangements, for example, the procedures, and training.  Some other responsibilities, which are new (e.g. Child Death Review Panels) will require new methods of work.

The LSCB will be the key mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in the Local Authority area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Bath and North East Somerset, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.  The work of the LSCB contributes to the wider goals of improving the wellbeing of all children, with a particular focus on the aspects of the Staying Safe outcome.  Within the wider Children’s Trust governance arrangements its role is to ensure the effectiveness of the arrangements made by individual agencies and the wider partnership to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. 

The development of the Business Plan 2007/2008 has been shaped by the Every Child Matters agenda and The Children Act 2004, the new Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006, the National Service Framework for Children, and informed the compilation of and is central to the Children and Young People’s Plan 2006-2009 for Bath and North East Somerset which was published on 31 March 2006.  The Business Plan will have a particular focus upon the Staying Safe outcome and through its contributions to the Children and Young People’s Plan will contribute to the other outcomes – Being Healthy: Enjoying and Achieving: Making a Positive Contribution: and, Achieving Economic Wellbeing.

The Business Plan will be distributed and made available to all key agencies and key stakeholders and is a public document.  It is accessible on the Bath and North East Somerset Council Information Service website.  The LSCB will audit the distribution, awareness and knowledge of its Business Plan amongst frontline staff, and how it is incorporated into Service Plans of individual agencies.