“Nothing is more important than children’s welfare. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable, and loving home. Children who need help and protection deserve high quality and effective support. This requires individuals, agencies, and organisations to be clear about their own and each other’s roles and responsibilities, and how they work together.” (Working Together, 2023)
Providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
Protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
Ensuring that all children grow up in circumstances that are consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
Promoting the upbringing of children with birth parents, or family network whenever it is possible
Take action to enable children to have the best outcomes in line with the Children’s Social Care Framework.
Child protection is part of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and is defined for the purpose of this guidance as activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suspected to be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. This includes harm that occurs inside or outside the home, including online. Effective safeguarding means practitioners should understand and be sensitive to factors, including economic and social circumstances and ethnicity, which can impact children and families’ lives.
In December 2023 the Government published a range of new guidance relating to Children’s Social Care, Child Protection, Early Help, Kinship Care and Data. The NSCP has produced a guide to outline some of the key updates as well as a video providing additional context.
In June 2024 the NSCP welcomed Deborah MacMillan from the Department of Education to deliver a focused overview of the new Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) updates. A recording of this session and slides are available, click on the images below.
Further Reading
The NSPCC have produced a useful summary guide. Please click on the image
To read Working Together to Safeguarding Children (2023) please click on the image
