Swindon and Wiltshire Local Safeguarding Children Boards

Swindon and Wiltshire Local Safeguarding Children Boards

SECTION 11 AUDITS

Guidance & Audit Toolkit

Parts 1 - 4

Introduction

What is Section 11 (S11)?

Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility. S11 of the Children Act 2004 places a statutory duty to have the regards to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It plays an important role in embedding this responsibility in the work of key agencies that have contact with children and young people

S11 does not give agencies any new functions, nor does it over-ride their existing functions. Instead it requires you to carry out your existing functions in a way that takes into account the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Who does S11 apply to?

S11 compliance is a mandatory requirement for key organisations involved with children and young people, including:

· Local Authorities

· The police

· The Probation Service

· NHS Bodies (Strategic health authorities, designated special health authorities, primary care trusts, NHS trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts)

· Organisations providing services under section 112 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000

· Youth Offending Teams

· CAFCASS (Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service)

· Governors/Directors of Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions

· Directors of Secure Training Centres

· The British Transport Police

How do we know if S11 is being implemented properly?

Working Together (2010) recommends that Local Safeguarding Children Boards audit compliance with S11. All organisations will be asked to complete a self-assessment and submit evidence of how they comply with S11 when carrying out their day to day business. This audit will give an indication of how well organisations are working to keep children safe. The audits will be repeated annually, and agencies will be asked to develop action plans to address any weaknesses identified.

The following documents relating to the audit are available to download from the Local Safeguarding Children Board website.

· Part 1: Guidance for completion of section 11

· Part 2: Section 11 Audit Toolkit - includes evidence of examples to demonstrate compliance

· Part 3: Section 11 Action Plan

· Part 4: Peer Review form

Further Information

If you have any questions, please contact the LSCB Business Manager (Swindon) on / 01793 463803 or Steve Pemberton (Wiltshire) on / 01225 713000

Statutory Guidance on making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under S11 of the Children Act 2004 is available to download from the Department for Education website:

http://education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFES-0036-2007

Part 1: Guidance for the completion of Section 11 (S11) Audit Toolkit

The S11 toolkit is a self-evaluation tool that covers eight key areas. Within each of these ‘areas’ there are a number of standards that the agency should meet. To complete the toolkit, evidence should be given that would demonstrate how your agency meets each of the standards. In Part 2 of the toolkit are some examples, which may help you when thinking about how to evidence the ways in which your organisation complies with S11. They are intended as a guide only and are not an exhaustive list. Evidence may be electronic based such as websites or electronic documentation. Evidence of internal audit work (case files etc.) can be submitted.

Agency auditors should assess each standard as either being:

· Emerging (Meaning the process for identifying needs and requirements has been initiated but strategic and operational arrangements are not in place, not operational and the organisation is not meeting minimum standards in an area)

· Developing (Meaning an organisation’s strategic and operational arrangements are partly in place and the organisation is meeting their obligations partly)

· Consolidating (Meaning an organisation’s strategic and operational arrangements are in place, and the organisation is meeting standards of its statutory obligations under Section 11)

Providing Evidence

When providing evidence to support compliance with the standards you must be assured that statements made within the completed tool are correct and based on accessible evidence. When submitting large amounts of supporting documents it is the responsibility of the audit author to highlight specific evidence for the attention of the reviewer.

It is important that the evidence you provide is detailed enough to enable any follow up work to quickly identify the protocols/guidance/systems that are referred to. If, when completing the toolkit, you identify areas where your organisation is not complying fully with a standard, please paste this into the ‘action plan’ (Part 3) and fill in the steps needed to meet the standard and the timescales this will be achieved within.

Audit Process

The completed audit form should to be submitted to LSCB at the following email address: by date to be determined with service. Audit authors will then take part in a peer review meeting where the audit findings will be discussed and action plans finalised. Findings will be reported back to the LSCB by a date to be determined with service. The appropriate LSCB chair will raise any concerns with relevant organisations within one month of the audit findings being reported to the LSCB.

The outcome of the S11 process will be used to

• Communicate to the senior managers of the organisation the effectiveness of the strategic management of safeguarding training within the service

• Periodically, report to the relevant LSCB the effectiveness of the strategic management of safeguarding training

• Prepare an action plan to improve the effectiveness of the strategic management of safeguarding training

Swindon & Wiltshire LSCB Section 11 Audit Tool Kit 2012