District S11 grade descriptors
Dec 2012
Version 2
Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board
Arrangements for Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and Young People
Grade Descriptors
2012/13
Introduction
The following grade descriptors are to be used alongside the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent S11 Audit Tool.
Further guidance on how you can demonstrate compliance against the indicators is contained within Appendix B
The traffic light system indicates how an organisation considers itself against achieving the minimum standard, whilst identifying any areas for improvement if applicable.
If your organisation assesses itself, as red or amber, areas for development need to be recorded along with a timescale for completion.
LSCB S11 GRADE DESCRIPTORS TO INFORM SELF ASSESSMENT OF SAFEGUARDING ARRANGEMENTS Version 3Key Safeguarding Feature / Sub-Section / Grade Descriptors
Black / Red / Blue / Amber / Green / Grey
No submission / Inadequate
(not passed minimum requirements) / Adequate
(Minimum Requirements) / Good / Outstanding / This indicator is not applicable for our organisation
1. Senior Management commitment to the importance of safeguarding children / 1.1 There is a named senior manager who champions safeguarding throughout your organisation
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No named person identified in the organisation / Named person but not widely known or advertised and not regular attendee at safeguarding forums / Widely advertised named person who attends the SSCB and other forums to promote safeguarding. Job description states role and responsibility / Takes a lead in the org. and has undertaken personal training and champions initiatives to create a safeguarding culture. Attends and run forums. Provides support to the designated person
1.2 There are named or designated people with clearly defined roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection across the directorates / No evidence submitted / No named person identified in the organisation / Named person but not widely known or advertised and no safeguarding role and responsibility in job description / Widely advertised name person, job description clearly states safeguarding role and responsibility. Ensures safeguarding policies and procedures are in place, oversee compliance with S11 / Actively promotes their role and undertakes a no. of initiatives to champion safeguarding culture. Attends forums at which safeguarding practice is developed and improved. Provides support to the workforce in safeguarding issues
1.3 Everyone in the organisation knows who the designated or lead person for safeguarding is Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No named person identified in the organisation / Named person but not widely known or advertised / Widely and frequently advertised named person / Spot checks on staff demonstrate knowledge of designated lead person and / or their deputy
1.4 Children are listened to, taken seriously and responded to appropriately / No evidence submitted / No evidence of consultation on population or individual child basis. No response process for children's voice. / Basic levels of opportunity for children to be listened to and some evidence of response to children's voice / Evidenced opportunities for children's voices within case files and through forums such as surveys. Policies in place to ensure children's voice are acted upon. / Each child contact period and evidences an opportunity for the child to be listened and responded to. Regular child forums, opportunities for individuals and population feedback. Programmed child involvement, planned and co-ordinated
2. There is a clear statement of the agency's responsibility towards children and young people and this is available to all staff / 2.1 The organisation has a written policy and procedure for safeguarding and protecting children, which has been endorsed by the LSCB. Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No policy and procedures in place / Policy in place but of a low standard, not clear, out of date, in the process of being written or having key sections missing / Current Policy in place and supports that of the SSCB / Policy in place and in line with LSCB policy and guidance (Statutory members only). Regular planned updates are programmed and the document owner ensures new legislation is incorporated
2.2 The organisation policy and procedures are available to all staff and staff know how to access it
/ No evidence submitted / No evidence of dissemination or availability / Disseminated and accessible but only to a small percentage of staff (no immediate access to the intranet) / Dissemination to all staff / Dissemination to all staff with immediate and easy access. Regular reminders are sent to all staff. Policy and procedures discussed at induction & appraisals. Appropriate staff have been trained in use of the policy and procedure
2.3 The policy and procedure has been reviewed since the introduction of Working Together 2010 / No evidence submitted / Policy written prior to Working Together 2006 legislation so no reference of the legislation / Policy has been written since the Working Together 2006 legislation but only contains some elements / Policy has been written since the Working Together 2006 legislation & contains most elements / Policy in line with LSCB’s
post inclusion of the Working Together 2006 guidelines. Contains all of the requirements and actively ensures organisation has reacted to these requirements. Staff have been made aware of the training in the new requirements
2.4 The policy and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis to maintain compliance with new legislation, service and personnel changes / No evidence submitted / Policy has not been updated since 2006 and no process in place to initiate updates / Procedures in place to update the policy, which has been activated since 2006 / Policy is owned by champion or designated person who ensures regular reviews as per update procedure. Policy updates form part of an annual business service plan / Policy expiry date set to one year ensures it is updated/reviewed on a regular basis and adhoc update enables compliance with new legislation. Process in place to update policy when personnel or service changes
2.5 All staff are aware of their own responsibilities and those of the organisation for safeguarding and protecting children and young people
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No policy, induction or renewable training programme in place / Policy in place which identifies which roles (as appropriate) are required to attend and complete Working Together to Safeguard Children Training. Evidence of the percentages of staff who have completed WT to safeguard children training. / Staff are trained to the level required for their role. Policies dictate the safeguarding training and ongoing developments required for each role. All staff regardless of role have a good of safeguarding awareness / Safeguarding awareness is strongly evidenced from induction, specialist training to everyday activities. Staff training and awareness logs are maintained and short falls addressed. Spot checks of staff demonstrate their own responsibilities and those of the organisation.
Evidence of the percentages of staff who have completed additional training such as
i) Domestic Abuse, ii) Substance Misuse and Parenting
iii) Parental Mental Health and the effects on children training
2.6 The policy and procedures assists staff to recognise the additional vulnerability of some children e.g. ethnicity, culture, sexuality and disability / No evidence submitted / Vulnerable status not defined or detailed in policy / Basic statement on vulnerability / Policy defines and details vulnerable status as in Working Together / Policy defines and fully details vulnerable status as in Working Together and accounts for these different types of vulnerable children within the procedures. Actively identifies, records, changes and tailors response to children dependent on vulnerability status
2.7 The organisation has effective complaint and whistle blowing policies and systems in place for professionals and services which are compatible with LSCB policy and guidance
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No policy in place / Policies in place but has not been widely disseminated to service users & professionals. Policies are not shown to work effectively and there is little evidence of complaints/ whistle blowing being logged and managed professionally / Widely disseminated policies available to professionals and service users. Processes demonstrate to work with complaint/ whistle blowing logs and outcomes. Policies meets LSCB procedures and guidance reporting / Complaint and whistle blowing policies form a wider part of participant’s inclusion in asking for positive and negative feedback. Outcomes and lessons are fedback into practice and service development plans for improvement. Complaint procedures are child orientated and adopted to meet their needs
2.8 The organisation has a clear policy and procedure for dealing with allegations against staff and volunteers which are compatible with LSCB policy and guidance
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No policy in place / Policy in place but has not been widely disseminated to service users & professionals. Policy is not shown to work effectively and there is little evidence of allegations being logged and managed professionally / Widely disseminated policy available to professionals and service users. Process demonstrates to work with logs and outcomes. Policy meets LSCB procedures and guidance reporting / Policy forms wider part of culture asking for positive and negative feedback. Outcomes and lessons are fedback into practice improvements
2.9 The policy is mandatory for staff and volunteers
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No requirement for policies to be mandatory / Staff have been informed of the requirements to adhere to the policies and procedures / Contracts/SLAs and volunteers condition of work specify that policies and procedures are mandatory / Team briefs, inductions and training include additional awareness and knowledge of mandatory policies and procedures
2.10 All incidents, allegations of abuse and complaints are recorded, monitored and available for internal & external audit / No evidence submitted / No policy or procedure in place / Policy in place but of low standard, not clear, out of date, in process or being written or having key sections missing / Policy in place but not yet in line with LSCB policy and guidance / Policy in place & in line with LSCB policy and guidance. Regular planned updates are programmed & the document owner ensures new legislation is incorporated
2.11 All incidents, allegations of abuse and complaints are dealt with in an appropriate manner in-line with policy and procedures / No evidence submitted / No or poor complaints policy / procedure in place / Basic adherence to allegations and complaints procedures with evidence of activities and monitoring of effectiveness of process / Audit programme of complaint and allegations process in which the effectiveness is monitored / Externally assessed audit programme in which the organisation ensures all parties to complaints and allegations are treated fairly and in-line with policy and procedure. Scrutiny panel acts as external verify and moderator
3. A clear line of accountability within the organisation for work on safeguarding and promoting the welfare if the child / 3.1 The organisation has a clear written accountability framework, which covers individual, professional and organisational accountability
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No framework in place / High-level framework with Senior Managers responsibilities / Full framework covering individual roles and hierarchy of supervision, available and accessible / Statement of accountability of teams, senior management roles clearly defined in relation to safeguarding children when appropriate. In areas where children are not direct clients nominated roles ensure safeguarding practices are in place and adhered to. The role of contractors in the organisation is clearly defined and managed through clear reporting lines. Staff on secondment know their reporting lines within their host and parent organisation. Volunteers have clear management structures
3.2 Staff understand to whom they are accountable and what level of accountability they have
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No organisation structure in place, staff do not have accountable lines or have complex reporting arrangements. Staff are unsure of level of responsibility and when to escalate / Organisation structure in place and staff aware of accountability lines, available and accessible / Staff job description & team structures take into account safeguarding responsibilities and accountabilities / Staff in all levels of the organisation are clear on the reporting lines and have been briefed on these. Contractors know who they report to & the level of responsibility they share in safeguarding. Staff on secondment have been briefed by their host organisation on reporting lines and have clear understanding of how they relate to their parent organisation. Volunteers have clear management structures
3.3 Staff working with children receive regular supervisions and appraisals, with a particular focus on cases where there are concerns about abuse, self-harm or neglect of a child or young person
Essential: Minimum Requirement needed / No evidence submitted / No supervision or appraisal process in place / Supervision & appraisal occur at intervals, basic recording. No monitoring of processes / Regular supervision & appraisals, monitoring of compliance / Supervision and appraisal are a central part of the safeguarding agenda for the organisation. Supervision agendas ensure staff can discuss concerns about cases and can access support to improve the outcomes for the child. Appropriate actions from supervisions and appraisals are fed into team and service plans. Outcome from supervision and appraisals are fed into training development plans
4. Service Development takes into account the need to safeguard and promote welfare and is informed by the views of children, young people and their families / 4.1 Service Plans consider how delivery of services will take account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people / No evidence submitted / organisation does not develop service plans or does not include safeguarding items in them / Service Plans indirectly action safeguarding issues / Service Plans have dedicated section on safeguarding which specifies the delivery of services which will be undertaken to address this area / Each part of the organisation includes safeguarding in their service plan. Internal and external sources shape the requirements including legislation, client and staff feedback
4.2 A process exists for the engagement of children and young people in relevant projects and services
Evidence of :
i) Youth and school councils
ii) Children and young people’s forums
iii) Residents groups, community forums, parents associations / No evidence submitted / organisation does not consult with professionals in order to inform CYP plan / consultation indirectly informs CYP plan / Direct consultation with professionals considers aspects that inform CYP plan / Effective, open and honest consultation with professionals is meaningfully used to inform the CYP plan. Feedback is continuous with evidence on the impact and difference made to children and young people
4.3 Residents and children know who to contact if they have concerns about a child / No evidence submitted / No named person within the organisation who oversees this / Basic promotion through posters and other mass communication means / Processes ensure children are informed of the right to be safe at the first interaction and at other appropriate points. This is reinforced by prominent display of posters and leaflets. Residents are provided with a range of information that guides them to where they need to go should they have any concerns about a child. / The organisation utilises a wide variety of communication methods ensuring vulnerable children and hard to reach groups also understand the right to be safe. The information is kept up to date, refreshed ad modified to fit the client group. Constantly looking for ways to reach new audiences and keeping messages fresh and appealing which can be evidenced.
4.4 Frontline staff/ reception staff have information about safeguarding services/ contact numbers to enable them to respond to members of the public / No evidence submitted / No named person within the organisation who oversees this / Basic promotion through posters and other mass communication means / Processes ensure front line staff/ reception staff are informed about safeguarding services/ contact numbers to enable them to respond to members of the public. This is reinforced by prominent display of posters and leaflets. Staff are provided with a range of information that guides them to where they need to go should they have any concerns about a child. / The organisation utilises a wide variety of communication methods ensuring staff have access to and understand safeguarding services. The information is kept up to date, refreshed ad modified to fit the client group. Constantly looking for ways to reach new audiences and keeping messages fresh and appealing which can be evidenced.
4.5 The council promotes their safeguarding policy and the SSCB inter agency safeguarding policies and other information directly to the public and the voluntary sector via website/ posters/ directory etc / No evidence submitted / Evidence suggest that the council does not promote their safeguarding policy.
4.6 Information provided is in a format and language that can easily be understood by service users. / No evidence submitted / No adaptation available for other formats or excessive time taken to adapt information to clients needs / Adaptation available on request in a reasonable timescale / Awareness of client group has enabled organisations to adopt key information sources into the most common formats required. Use of language translation services and prompt response to other required formats / Equality Impact Assessment on all major information sources to assess format and language requirements. Use of client groups to inform organisation of their needs. Child and young people friendly documents
5. There is effective training on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people for all staff and/ or volunteers working with or, depending on the agency's primary functions, in contact with children and families / 5.1 All staff and volunteers who work with or have contact with children and young people and families receive training on their professional roles and responsibilities and those of their organisation (Essential: Adequate Grade minimum for a pass). ( Case File Assessment) / No evidence submitted / No training programme in place / Training programme in place, but not timely delivered to all appropriate staff. / Staff are trained to the required level in their role, with refresher and additional training as specified by the SSCB. Evidence of training records is required. / Training programme is integrated into service and personal development plans and exceeds basic requirements. Staff are encouraged to identify additional training and a learning culture is present in the organisation.