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What are Local Safeguarding Partnerships

The Children and Social Work Act (2017) replaced Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) with Safeguarding Partnerships. Working Together (2018) sets out what is expected of Local Safeguarding Partnerships and how organisations will work individually and jointly, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Following these national changes, it was decided that Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire would have a joint safeguarding partnership. This was in place until October 2021 when it was agreed that Stoke-on-Trent would have its own Safeguarding Partnership separate to Staffordshire. Whilst some work things will be done separately in future, there will continue to be strong co-operation between Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, and wherever possible joint arrangements and protocols will remain in place to avoid duplication and keep our safeguarding arrangements as simple, effective and joined up as possible.

The Stoke-on-Trent Safeguarding Children Partnership is led by three statutory safeguarding partners who will hold equal responsibility for safeguarding children in the area. The statutory safeguarding partners are Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System (ICS) and Staffordshire Police.

The purpose of the local safeguarding children partnerships is to support and enable local organisations and agencies to work together in a system where:

  • children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted
  • partner organisations and agencies collaborate, share and co-own the vision for how to achieve improved outcomes for vulnerable children
  • organisations and agencies challenge appropriately and hold one another to account effectively
  • there is early identification and analysis of new safeguarding issues and emerging threats
  • learning is promoted and embedded in a way that local services for children and families can become more reflective and implement changes to practice
  • information is shared effectively to facilitate more accurate and timely decision making for children and families