Local Safeguarding Children Boards - Effective Local Practice and the Challenge and Improvement Tool

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) commissioned these two pieces of work in order to provide LSCBs with a collection of accessible information and guidance resources aimed at improving their performance and effectiveness.

The LSCB Challenge and Improvement Tool

The DCSF has produced the Tool in response to a need identified by LSCBs. Its use is entirely voluntary. The Tool focuses on effective governance as a starting point for establishing strong relationships, clear accountability and transparency of operation and purpose. LSCBs may wish to adapt the tool to their specific context or stage of development.

Exemplars of LSCB effective local practice

The DCSF is publishing two chapters of material provided by LSCBs as examples of their effective local practice.

The first chapter consists of 13 case studies covering areas highlighted in Local Safeguarding Children Boards: A Review of Progress (June 2007), ranging from addressing local governance, to engaging effectively with partners, to developing local procedures.

The second set of 8 case studies focus on two areas: how the child protection system can intervene to safeguard children and young people at risk of becoming involved in gang activity; and how local services identify and safeguard sexually exploited young people. These case studies have been collated on behalf of the Department from individual LSCBs and provided for information to assist LSCBs in learning from each other.

For further advice LSCBs should refer to the statutory guidance, Working Together To Safeguard Children 2006 and The Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006.