Information and Guidance for Members of the Public Concerned about Safeguarding and Child Protection

This information sheet provides members of the public with details of the Government's commitment to safeguarding children, as well as clear guidelines on what to do and who to contact if there are concerns regarding the safety or welfare of an individual child or children.

Safeguarding children is the Government's top priority and it should be the top priority for local agencies too. The Government has acted quickly following the completion of the local review conducted by Haringey into the tragic death of Baby P and asked Ofsted, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, to carry out an urgent Joint Area Review of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Haringey.

The Inspectors final report, submitted to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls on 1 December 2008, highlighted clear failings of practice and management and set out detailed recommendations which the Secretary of State accepted in full in his statement of 1 December 2008.

Ofsted will review the progress made on the implementation of the Inspector's recommendations with a report back to the Secretary of State by the end of June 2009.

Ministers have put in place a new leadership and management team in Haringey children's services to ensure that vulnerable children in the borough are properly protected. The Director of Children's Services was relieved of her post with immediate effect. Haringey Council announced her dismissal in December. 

John Coughlan has been appointed as the new Director of Children's Services in Haringey until 31 December 2008. Peter Lewis will take up the post of Director of Children's Services in Haringey from 1 January 2009. We have asked for monthly reports from both Directors to review the progress made on implementation of the Inspectors' recommendations.
 
The Secretary of State has also directed the appointment of Graham Badman, who recently retired as Director of Children's Services in Kent, as independent chair of Haringey's Local Safeguarding Children Board and asked him to conduct a new Serious Case Review (SCR) into the Baby P case to be completed by end February 2009. The Executive Summary, which must include a comprehensive and fair summary of the full new Serious Case Review, will be published by the end of March. In addition, the Secretary of State wrote to every Director of Children's Services and Lead Member for Children's Services in the country, sending a copy of the Haringey Inspectors' report and asking them to ensure that they are examining their own safeguarding arrangement.

The Secretary of State has accepted Lord Laming's initial recommendation that all Serious Case Review Panels must be chaired by someone of experience and authority, who is independent of each of the reporting agencies. He has also asked every Local Safeguarding Children Board responsible for a Serious Case Review which has been judged inadequate by Ofsted to convene a panel - to be chaired by an independent person - to reconsider the review.

In parallel, the Health Secretary has set out a number of issues arising from the Baby P case for health bodies and outlined how they will be addressed.

The Health Secretary and the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families have also established a Social Work Taskforce, to inform a long-term programme with objectives which include reforming initial social work training and strengthening the delivery system which supports and challenges professional social workers. 

The Government is determined to continue to strengthen the systems for safeguarding and child protection and we look forward to Lord Laming's final report and recommendations due in February.

What to do if you have concerns about individual children

Those best placed to consider what to do about your worries are the specialist professionals in the area the child lives. It is their job, in law, to help safeguard and protect children. It is vital that you discuss your concerns with those who are best placed regarding any concerns that you have, no matter how trivial they may seem initially.

In the first instance the place to go to, if you have any worries about a child's safety or welfare, is your local authority children's services - full contact details of your local services can be found on the LA website.

In addition, you can call the NSPCC Child Protection helpline on 0808 800 5000 to discuss your concerns, or ask for advice by email .

The NSPCC also provide a helpline services for children themselves who are looking for someone to talk to (Childline 0800 1111).

Finally, if you think a child is at risk of immediate harm, please contact the police by calling 999.