In 2017, the Contextual Safeguarding programme (CSP) began partnering with local authorities to begin testing the Contextual Safeguarding (CS) framework in practice. This project was the first systematic attempt at evaluating the extent of the programme’s reach and impact. The Reach and Impact (R&I) workstream aimed to evidence the value that the CSP adds in terms of influencing policy and practice in response to extra-familial harm (EFH). Below is one of the case studies from the Reach and Impact Project. This case study describes how Contextual Safeguarding has influenced local systems and practice to improve the lives of young people experiencing or at risk of extra-familial harm. Names and some details have been changed to preserve young people’s anonymity.
What was the vision for Contextual Safeguarding?
West Sussex County Council is a large county council in the southeast of England on the English Channel coast. While there is an established multi-agency partnership targeting child sexual exploitation, it was recognised that the system was not equipped to respond to the needs of young people who did not meet the threshold for child protection. Contextual Safeguarding (CS) offered an opportunity to strengthen safeguarding practice in response to extra-familial harm (EFH).
What has been put in place?
The CS framework underpins the county-wide exploitation strategy. In 2019, the council’s community safety team – based within council’s communities directorate - was re-structured and a CS lead professional role established. The CS lead professional has a broad remit and has initiated change by:
- Developing CS policies and operational structures county-wide
- Raising awareness of CS across strategic and operational teams
- Developing CS training packages for staff within the districts and boroughs
- Advising service leads in children’s services how to incorporate CS within their transformation and development plans
- Supporting safeguarding partnerships within the districts and boroughs to initiate and advance a range of CS responses
A county-wide partnership CS steering group was formed to help promote and steer CS practice within the districts and boroughs and support practice development within Childrens Services. This is now part a wider multi-agency Violence and Exploitation Strategic Group reporting to the Safer West Sussex Partnership.
At operational level, the county’s districts and boroughs have introduced extra-familial risks panels – known as peer group conferences - which convene to plan safeguarding responses for young people not meeting thresholds for statutory child protection intervention.
A CS resource pack has been developed and a CS eLearning module will be published this year. The CS lead
professional also co-developed the West Sussex Education for Safeguarding (E4S) curriculum alongside the Council’s Skills and Education Directorate and the Safeguarding in Education and health teams. The curriculum draws upon the CS framework in supporting schools to develop staff’s safeguarding responses and associated learning resources for pupils.
What were the challenges?
Transformation of children’s services is focused on implementing family safeguarding as a new way of working with families where there are risks to children within the home. There is recognition of the value of CS approaches and securing wide-system understanding on-going. Practice at CS level 1 - work with individual children and families – is developing but processes to accept level 2 work – around peer groups and locations of concern – are yet to be fully implemented.
What were the key mechanisms of change?
Family safeguarding is now live in West Sussex and work underway to develop more robust CS-informed responses to young people experiencing or at risk of EFH. A missing, exploitation and violence specialist social work hub is being established with a head of service, team manager and specialist social workers and child and family workers who will be co-located within the Integrated Front Door (MASH).
Depending on the outcome of a scoping exercise, in future this team may incorporate the police missing and
exploitation team as well as health and education representatives. The hub practitioners will not hold cases but will provide specialist case management support to family safeguarding practitioners. The team will be trained by the CS lead to act as practice champions within children’s services to support implementation of the approach at level 1. At level 2, all districts and boroughs hold regular meetings to discuss community-based concerns about young people and locations.