Walsall Safeguarding Children Board

Working in Partnership and Engaging Communities

Working to keep Walsall’s children and young people safe

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Working in Partnership

Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART)

Collaboration between statutory agencies and the voluntary sector

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The Why Higher proportion of repeat victims than any

other crime. Increasing number of referrals to Children’s

Social Care Services Strong voluntary sector advocacy Rise in hospital admissions Unmanageable numbers of high risk

perpetrators. Increasing demands on primary care services

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The How

Engagement with Community Safety Agenda Built on existing working relationships Clarified key priorities for individual services Enabled voluntary sector to play a key role

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The Story So Far

Clear pathway for all new police referrals Clarity about what we can offer perpetrators,

children and victims Reduction in referrals to Children’s Services Early information sharing Single system for capturing information

including service user views

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Engaging Communities

Madressah Good

Practice Guide

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The Catalyst

Large scale child protection investigation Interviews with 196 children Serious allegations but no criminal charges Angry community response

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The Approach

Created time and space to speak to local communities

Agreed a joint approach Negotiated consensus on key issues Must “do’s” agreed Appropriate independent cultural and religious

advice Consultation with children and young people

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The Story So Far

Lasting relationships and points of contact

Produced Good Practice Guide Delivered training to 150 Madressah

staff

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Key Messages

Think about outcomes early on and how success will be measured

Meaningful consultation and engagement

Partnership working takes time Regularly review progress