The York Council has today announced a report on its work in safeguarding children.
” The role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) is to ensure all agencies work effectively together to safeguard children. LSCB’s are required by the Government to produce an Annual Report to report on key issues relating to safeguarding children in their area.
All agencies across the city have a strong commitment to providing the highest levels of safeguarding services in York. The most recent Ofsted inspection which took place in York in March 2012 judged the partnership working which includes the City of York Safeguarding Board as ‘outstanding’ with and an overall judgement of ‘good’ for safeguarding services in York. The Ofsted report highlighted a ‘culture of respect’ which is ‘reflected in the work of the highly effective CYSCB’ with the CYSCB providing ‘effective leadership, support and challenge’ and that ‘…partner agencies are highly committed to the work of the Board’
Following two high profile cases of child neglect in York, the CYSCB undertook a review to try and understand why children are neglected and how best to protect them from the harm neglect causes. The independent chairperson of the CYSCB, Roger Thompson commented “. Many people mistakenly think that neglect is not as serious as physical or sexual abuse. The reality is that neglect usually coexists with other forms of abuse but even on its own it can seriously damage the lives of children. The CYSCB is committed to tackling the causes of neglect and helping children reach their potential”.
New areas of work this year have included focussing on the challenging issue of sexual exploitation of children and young people. Although York may not have the same issues as bigger cities, the work of the CYSCB has identified a number of young people engaging in high risk behaviours which make them vulnerable to exploitation. The CYSCB has taken on a lead role in responding to sexual exploitation in order to ensure a coordinated response from all those working with children. Chief Inspector Nigel Costello from North Yorkshire Police stated “the work undertaken by the CYSCB is paying real dividends. I’m aware of a number of children who have been protected from sexual exploitation by doing the small things well. This means ensuring we work together with one single aim; protecting children”
Mr Thompson also highlighted that “while the current financial situation presents real challenges to all agencies, especially those in the public services, the Board remains committed to ensuring children’s safeguarding is given a high priority across all agencies at a time when all are facing financial constraints”.
The full report can be found at http://tinyurl.com/York-OK-reports