Evaluation of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Reforms
Background
Child safeguarding is about keeping children safe from harm so that
they can have the best outcomes in life. Safeguarding needs all people
working with children to work well together. This can be difficult
because there are so many different organisations involved and because
family circumstances vary so much. Through recent reforms, the
government has brought together the Local Authority, Health and the
Police in Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships (LSCPs) and given
them joint responsibility for safeguarding. However, we do not know how
well LSCPs are doing, and it is difficult to measure the impact because
of differences between local arrangements, and also because the COVID-19
pandemic increased risks for children and young people and led to
changed ways of working.
National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) launched an
invitation to bid for a two year research project on evaluating the
multi-agency child safeguarding reforms and TASP has partnered with
Kings College London, Universtity of Bedfordshire & Camden
Safeguarding Children Partnership to complete this project, also in
collaboration with the Association of Child Protection Professionals and
Family Rights Group. By using a Theory of Change model, extended
collaboration with partners in Safeguarding at a local level and
engagement with an extensive Strategic Steering Committee the aim will
be to map out the interconnection between the activities required to
achieve longer term goals of improving children's outcomes locally.
Aims
In this project we will provide evidence about what makes LSCPs
effective. We will focus on how well joint working happens and how
oversight arrangements may improve outcomes for children in different
local circumstances. We will take into account the impact of the
pandemic. We will explore effective ways of making sure that LSCPs hear
and adapt to the views and experiences of children, young people and
families. We will recommend ways to check how well the reforms are
working and whether the safeguarding system is improving children’s
outcomes over time in local areas and nationally.
The project is led by experienced academics from King’s College London
and the University of Bedfordshire in partnership with The Association
of Safeguarding Partners and Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership
Young Advisors and in collaboration with The Association of Child
Protection Professionals and Family Rights Group.
Methods
The project lasts for two years with three key stages. In Stage 1, we
will send an online survey to LSCPs. From the results we will work out
what might explain effective multi-agency working in different areas and
suggest some outcomes we could measure to check progress. In the second
stage, we will select local ‘case study’ areas where we will run
workshops to test our ideas. We will explore with professionals, parents
and carers, and children and young people how different circumstances
and arrangements in different local areas influence what works best and
how COVID-19 has affected how well the reforms have worked. In the final
stage, we will develop a tool to capture local and national progress on
improving outcomes for children and young people in the future. To be
successful, the tool must reflect what outcomes are important to
children, young people and families as well as professionals and the
government, and must be easy to use and interpret. Therefore, we will
provide progress reports and invite discussion and feedback throughout
the project, using a variety of formats to communicate with different
audiences.