Agenda item

To submit a report by the Director of Social Services.

The report of the Director of Social Services was presented for consideration by the Committee.

The Portfolio Member for Children, Young People & Families said that Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.  All the Authority’s Services and employees, regardless of their role, have a responsibility to safeguard people.  He referred to the data within the report which highlighted the number of staff who have completed mandatory safeguarding training during 2023/2024.  He further said that a new Action Plan will be introduced together with a review of the Corporate Safeguarding Policy and the Training Plan which will be undertaken in Q4.

The Director of Social Services reported that the report highlights the County Council’s responsibility to ensure that staff, volunteers and contractors are aware of safeguarding in their day-to-day work for the Council and know how to raise concerns.  A review of the Corporate Safeguarding Plan has been undertaken which will be published on 1^st April, 2025.  The Council will continue to ensure that effective practice, that includes setting clear and effective standards and robust contract compliance requirements with all external providers of services to the public. 

In considering the report, the Committee discussed the following main matters-

·     Questions were raised as to the role of the Deputy Chief Executive as the anti-slavery champion.  The Deputy Chief Executive responded that he is a member of the joint Community Safety Board with Gwynedd Council which encompasses attending regional meetings with the Chief Executive attending national safeguarding meetings.  The Director of Social Services said that there are several wide-ranging areas as regards to safeguarding (i.e. modern slavery, prevent, violence against women and girls) with different Officers from the Council attending different meetings.  He noted that there is a need to ensure that the appropriate Officers attend these meetings and to share information thereafter.

·     Reference was made within the report that the Director of Social Services has recently visited each Service across the Council to promote how safeguarding encompasses every service within the Council.  Questions were raised as to level of seniority these visits were undertaken.  The Director of Social Services responded that he has a statutory responsibility as Director of Social Services to ensure that people are aware and understand the meaning of Corporate Safeguarding.  He said that he attended meetings of Senior Managers, grade 8 and above, to highlight safeguarding issues and to gauge the requirements of specific services. He referred to ‘Teulu Môn’ which is the first point of contact for social care services that takes a family-based approach to early intervention and prevention.  He noted that any person can contact ‘Teulu Môn’ to report any issues of concerns. 

·     Questions were raised as to what assurances can be given that the Local Authority is meeting its Corporate Safeguarding obligations.  The Director of Social Services responded that there are strong policies and procedures in place which have been embedded into the services of the Council, staff also access regular training, however, there is always a risk that a child or adult can be abused.   

·     Reference was made that the report refers to a review of safeguarding training needed to be undertaken by School Governors.  The Director of Social Services responded that it is considered that safeguarding training needs to the strengthened with School Governors and to remind them of the ‘Teulu Môn’ provision.  The Chief Executive said that a Training Plan for 2025/2026 has been established for Elected Members and members can request areas of additional training needs through their Group Leaders.

·     Questions were raised as to how the Council will ensure that local businesses and services actively participate in sharing information and developing interventions to support corporate safeguarding as is outlined within the report as it is considered that these establishments are in a unique position to spot the signs of exploitation and other forms of abuse.   The Director of Social Services responded that the appropriate wording as regards to safeguarding has been agreed and training will also be afforded to these establishments i.e. hotels, restaurants, takeaways, off-licences, taxi drivers, B&B’s, cinemas or other licenced premises which may come with children and adults at risk of harm.  The provision of ‘Teulu Môn’ is also highlighted as an avenue to report any concerns and ‘Teulu Môn’ attend several community events and schools to raise awareness of safeguarding.    He further said that the Councils’ contracts now include a paragraph highlighting the need for all contractors to adhere to Safeguarding policies. 

·     Questions were raised as to what measures are in place to ensure full compliance with Corporate Safeguarding training arrangements and how is it monitored.  The Director of Social Services responded that the data of the number of staff who have completed the five mandatory safeguarding training provisions afforded is noted within the report.  He referred that the data highlights the need for improvement in schools which is not necessarily targeted at teachers only but all the supporting staff in the day-to-day running of the schools.  Training will be afforded within schools for those requiring safeguarding training but due to the ‘turn-over’ of staff it can be difficult to target all the staff in the schools.  Further questions were raised whether there is a need to afford refresher course every two years rather than the current requirement of four years.  The Deputy Chief Executive responded that the Education Service and schools follow the Welsh Government guidelines as regards to safeguarding training of four years.  However, the schools prepare a list of training opportunities for individuals on the Governing bodies, but it is up to those on the Governors to take advantage of the opportunities afforded for training.  He further said that apart from the data listed within the report the schools have their own data as regards to safeguarding training attendance.  The Chief Executive said that there has been considerable work undertaken to improve the statistics over the last three years by the Human Resources Department.  The training afforded needs to be available to all staff members within the schools which can be a challenge whilst the staff need to carry out their day-to-day work. 

·      Questions were raised as to whether the mandatory safeguarding training data, as is reported within the report, should exclude schools as they have their own data analysis as the number of staff attending mandatory training is lower than other services.  Reference was also made that the cyber security awareness course attended by schools were much lower than other services. The Director of Social Services said that the safeguarding training data submitted is for 2023/2024 and it must be recognised that school staff are part of the corporate staffing of the Authority and are also part of the key safeguarding procedures. He noted that there are processes in place to improve the data within schools.  The Deputy Chief Executive said that a Members Briefing Session can be arranged to inform Elected Members of the school’s contribution towards the Corporate Safeguarding arrangements.  

·     Reference was made that the data on mandatory safeguarding training completed by Elected Members should be included within the training data.

·     Reference was made to the increase in home-schooling and questions were raised whether the Council is monitoring and attending the homes of these children and whether there are adequate workforce resources within the Council to carry out home visits.  As Chair of the Education Scrutiny Panel, Councillor Gwilym O Jones said that the Panel receives regular reports and scrutinise home-schooling, and the Education Officers visits the home of children who receive home-schooling.  He noted that there is close collaboration between the Education and Social Services Departments as regards to home-schooling.  The Director of Social Services responded that information is shared between both the Education and Social Services Departments, and he assured that there is adequate workforce in the Social Services Department as regards to Social Workers.  However, he said that the legislation does not allow to forcefully attend a child’s home who receives home-schooling.  He further said that both the Learning and Children’s and Families Services responded to the Welsh Governments consultation on home-schooling.  The Authority would prefer to see a Teacher and Social Work meeting the family of a child intending/receiving home-schooling, but the recommendation was not accepted by Welsh Government.  He said that this is continued to be raised with Welsh Government as the number of home-schooled children is increasing across Wales.  The Deputy Chief Executive said that a Members Briefing Session was undertaken recently as regards to home-schooling.  He noted that there are national guidelines and requirements as regards to home-schooling.  An Officer has been appointed within the Learning Services whose role incorporates home-schooling and the Officer and Teacher visits the home of the family who register their child for home-schooling and arranges schooling sessions and a yearly session on safeguarding is afforded which complies with national requirements. 

·     Questions were as to what strategies will be used to ensure comprehensive responses when consulting with children and young people, to understand their experiences in a child-centred approach to safeguarding.  The Director of  Social Services responded that there are processes in place to support children as they spend most of their day in school.  It was noted that schools are able to  approach ‘Teulu-Môn’ to express any concerns for a child.  He noted that he and the Safeguarding Manager are part of the Headteachers Forum which enable them to share experiences and concerns as regards to safeguarding.  He further referred that some children might not be comfortable in sharing experiences with a teacher but would be willing to speak to a Youth Worker or if they have an Advocate.  He noted there are different forums that enables children and young people to express their concerns and Barnardo’s and NSPCC have helplines available.   The Deputy Chief Executive said that a Counselling provision is afforded within the Learning Service and every school on Anglesey has completed the Trauma Informed Training to date.  He further said that the cyber security will also be considered.

·     Questions were raised as to whether contacting ‘Teulu-Môn’ can be anonymous. The Director of Social Services responded that the role of ‘Teulu-Môn’ is to offer advice and assistance and take referrals where appropriate.  We like to think that all professionals would be willing to share their concerns with a family (where appropriate) before calling Teulu Môn so that we are transparent with the families we work with.  He noted that there is a danger that people will report an incident anonymously which are untrue, and evidence is required to support the concerns of an individual.  Further questions were raised as to how long it takes to respond to an issue of concern.  The Director of Social Services responded that the respond does vary regarding different cases.  Firstly, the Police is contacted, and joint decisions are undertaken.  He noted that if an emergency arises it is the Police that take the leading role and Social Services staff will also attend.

·     Questions were raised as to whether safeguarding issues are discussed within the Social Services Scrutiny Panel as is undertaken within the Education Scrutiny Panel.  The Chief Executive suggested that in the future the Education Scrutiny Panel and the Social Services Scrutiny Panel could discuss the work of scrutinising the Corporate Safeguarding reports. The Chairs of both Panels thereafter can report back to the Chairs/Vice-Chairs Scrutiny Forms before they are presented to the Partnership and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee.

It was RESOLVED that following examining the information shared and reviewing developments over the past 9 months, it was agreed that the Council is fully meeting its Corporate Safeguarding obligations.

ACTIONS :

·         The Chairs / Vice Chairs Scrutiny Forum be invited to consider the contribution of the Education Scrutiny Panel and the Social Services Scrutiny Panel to the work of scrutinising Corporate Safeguarding reports before they are presented to the Partnership and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee. [Scrutiny Manager to action].

·         To ensure that both Elected Members and staff prioritise attendance at mandatory training on cyber security. [Head of Democracy – Elected Members; All Heads of Service – staff].

·         That arrangements be made for a presentation to a Member’s Briefing Session on the contribution of schools to the Authority’s Corporate Safeguarding arrangements. [Director of Education, Skills and Young People].

·         To consider the structure of future Corporate Safeguarding reports in the future, and specifically the priority of including separate information on safeguarding arrangements in schools. [Director of Social Services].