welcome. suspicion, disclosure and discovery helen edwards independent safeguarding advisor
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome
Suspicion, Disclosure and Discovery
Helen Edwards
Independent Safeguarding Advisor
Aims to provide Information about national
and local thinking and direction for learning from case reviews
to raise awareness and challenge to build individuals confidence to take action in safeguarding systems and processes
Safeguarding in Context Saville 214 reported crimes. 1955 was the first
reported incident, the last reported offence was 2009. 80% of children who experienced childhood abuse
had attempted disclosure before they were 18 years old.
500,000 children in the UK are abused or maltreated at home each year, but only one in 9 are known to child protection services. “How safe are our children?” NSPCC 2013
Over 60 Serious Case Reviews published in 2013
Safeguarding Adults Rise nationally in the number of
Safeguarding Adult Referrals Year on Year increase in Safeguarding
investigations in registered care settings Raised awareness ‘the Saville effect’ Focus on standards in care Media interest in the vulnerability of
adults with Learning disabilities
National trends in Safeguarding children Neglect is usually present 60% of mothers were under 21 at birth of first
child Disabled children feature in 12% of cases 10% of children were subject to a child
protection plan Only 42% were receiving a service from
childrens social care A knowledge of child development is essential
for front line workers
Child Sexual Exploitation
The issues:Risk factors = vulnerability Confusion around sexual activity
and the issue of consent Child sexual exploitation and risk-
taking behaviour Disclosure of sexual exploitation
Lessons for improving practice Identifying and assessing child
sexual exploitation Interventions Identifying and dealing with
perpetrators
Parental Substance Misuse Assessments Rule of Optimism Communicating with parents Interventions
Domestic Violence High Risk Factors: Mental Health Problems Substance misuse History of violence Young parents Lack of take up of serivces Different cultural norms
Learning for improved practice Understanding the roles of men in the family Seeing the mother alone - text messages are a
risk Avoiding an over-reliance on the mothers
ability to protect their children Seeing the bigger picture Maintaining healthy scepticism - diguised
compliance Talking about Domestic Violence between
agencies
People who’s first language is not English Imbalance of power Lack of confidential space Children involvemnet in adult topics Social isolation Misreading of indicators of abuse
Learning for improved practice Awareness of language issues Recording first language Written Communication Use of interpreters
Common themes in Safeguarding Adults Transition from Children to Adult Services
– Protection planning The need for robust risk assessments
particularly where services are refused. Knowing what risk looks like Understanding of Mental Capacity Raising Standards of Care Follow up actions
41 Adult Serious Case Reviews from around the country analysed by Steve Clay Safeguarding Adult Partnership Board Manager Hull
Learning for improved practice Identifying Risk factors in transition Working together across child and adult
services Risk assessments are multi agency and
include contingency plans Use clear the Mental Capacity Act
Learning for improved practice
Know what good care looks like Reporting concerns Confidence to challenge Creative solutions to supporting those
who self neglect
Overlaps and Learning Mental Health Investigations
Domestic Homicide reviews
Delilah and the Wizard of Oz…
Why, why, why….
Because, because, because….