News

March 2025

Previous news items are available by month of publication from the news tab.

Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership circulate monthly E-Bulletins; if you would like to be included on the distribution list, email sscp@salford.gov.uk.

Space to Think: Reflective Practice Launch

Findings from reviews in Salford highlight the need for multi-agency professionals to have dedicated reflective spaces, particularly outside statutory processes. National reviews also emphasise the importance the importance of professionals needing the space and support to reflect on their practice to make better decisions for children and families

The SSCP in Salford has created the guidance on Space to Think: Reflective Practice aimed at shifting from a compliance-driven approach to one that values professional expertise, continuous learning, and multi-agency collaboration in a supportive environment.

The approach will be useful for any practitioner and manager who would benefit from a multi-agency reflective space particularly: ​

  • In situations where professionals feel ‘stuck’ or unclear about the systems, processes or decisions being made ​
  • Where you are wanting a reflective space to think about what might be needed or helpful for a child, young person and their family. ​
  • Wanting a safe and supportive space to think about what you and your colleagues may need help or support with, to improve practice including what might be needed or helpful for a child, young person, their family and the support network.​
  • Reflection and debrief following a significant event to enable a safe space to process the event with other multi-agency colleagues encouraging self-care of yourself and others to support future planning. ​

Child Exploitation Week 

This week (17-21 March) has been aligned to National Child Exploitation Day and, coincides with Social Work Week and Neurodiversity Celebration Week. There are a number of training and events taking place throughout the week. For more information on training and events that are taking place, please visit Greater Manchester Programme of Learning & Development Events

Exploitation in the Home 'Cuckooing'

Please watch this short video that has been adapted for Salford and share it with your teams / colleagues. It explains how criminals target people who may be vulnerable in some way, take over their homes and use them for criminal activity such as dealing drugs or storing weapons. It explains who may be at increased risk and what sorts of things to look out for and it’s only 3 minutes long.

Salford CVS already deliver safeguarding training for the voluntary sector. However, due to demand, they have developed a new session, on ‘Cuckooing’ also known as Home Takeover. The next Safeguarding Spotlight: Cuckooing will take place on 8th May. This session is for staff and volunteers working in the voluntary sector only and should be booked directly with Salford CVS via the link above. 

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

 

This year (March 17-23) we have access to more panel discussions than ever before, with inspirational speakers from a range of backgrounds and professions. The discussions will all be focussing on key neurodiversity topics, and aim to educate while inspiring conversations about neurodiversity. All events are free of charge and open to all. Sign up to as many events as you like and share with your networks, so we can all join together in celebrating different minds! 

Building Relationships

Learning from recent multi-agency case reviews has highlighted that there is still a need for practitioners working in Salford to fully adopt the Family Partnership Model approach to building trusting relationships when working with families. A new 7 Minute Briefing has been developed which summarises the principles of the SSCP Creating Strength-based partnerships with families in Salford guidance.

For more information access the Building Relationships 7 minute briefing including the accessible version 

Lived Experiences of Cared for Children

Take a look at the brilliant piece of work that GMYN have completed with our Salford care leavers: a comic called Hear My Voice. It has been featured in ITV news and the radio. Read and watch the article on the New comic book that reveals the lived experiences of Salford children in foster care | ITV News Granada 

You can also view and order copies of 'Hear My Voice from GMYN

Safeguarding in Housing

February brings the launch of the new safeguarding in housing webpages which have been designed to provide safeguarding information in the context of housing for our partners, professionals and the public including;

  • The role of housing in safeguarding
  • Safeguarding and housing in Salford
  • Local Authority safeguarding teams
  • Salford City Council Housing Services and safeguarding
  • Registered Providers and safeguarding
  • Privately rented sector and safeguarding
  • Information for partners and professionals (Housing Awareness Pack / list of useful resources)

The information and resources are designed to help in identifying and responding to safeguarding issues  where you may need assistance from a housing provider or services, however People & Communities Safeguarding Team are here to help if you’re unsure who to contact in housing with your queries or for more complex case discussions.

The offer of attending team meetings/inputs to promote these new web pages if this would be useful, please get in touch peoplecommunitiessafeguarding@salford.gov.uk  (please allow 3 working days for a response)

7 minute Briefings and Case Review updates

The SSCP produces 7 minute briefings to offer insights from case reviews and themed learning, along with challenge questions for agencies, teams, and individuals to reflect on and consider in their practice.The briefings can be used in a variety of ways:

 7 minute briefing for the Equality Act 2010
  • Individuals can use the briefing independently for their own learning and development and share with others.
  • Teams/Managers encourage circulation and use for information and development and share learning amongst their team i.e. team meetings, supervision, peer support to reflect and improve practice and systems.
  • Use at a structured event during training and/or briefing sessions to complement overall learning and development

New and updated 7 Minute Briefings include;

 

Reflect: on the learning also spotlighted in the CSPR Panel annual report and the NSPCC national case review collection- Eight case reviews have been added this month featuring issues including sibling sexual abuse, suicide, neglect identification & intersectionality.

Developing Professional Curiosity

In partnership between the SSCP and the Salford Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB) we have produced some joint webpages with information on professional curiosity which contains links to various resources including a short animation. Please take some time to look at these resources and share them with your teams / colleagues. They are still being developed so if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by emailing  michelle.hulme@salford.gov.uk or shahanara.begum@salford.gov.uk

Think Family 


A number of reviews have highlighted the need for professionals to adopt a ‘Think Family’ approach to working with families. Please read the 7-Minute Briefing or plain text version including the Think Child - Think Adult - Think Family Guidance and please share and discuss it with your teams. Both documents can be found on the new joint Think Family webpages.

Cultural Consciousness

As Salford continues to become more ethnically and culturally diverse, we need to be aware of and proactive about equality, diversity and inclusion so that we can ensure that our city is a fair, respectful and supportive environment for everyone.

In response to reviews, Salford Safeguarding Children's Partnership has been developed Cultural Consciousness Guidance to support practitioners to be culturally aware and conscious in their practice. This contains information on intersectionality and the social graces framework. This guidance can also be used by practitioners working with children, young people, adults and their families.

Other Campaigns and Calls to Action

Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness 

"Victims and survivors of intra-familial child sexual abuse can and do recover from their abuse, especially when supported by professionals who are trained to best support them and their families" (CSA Centre)

The SSCP has created a CSA repository of training, resources and information in response to feedback from Salford professionals . We are calling for your action to ensure all practitioners, managers and leaders access and share this resource Child Sexual Abuse | Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership across your workforce and with children, young people, parents/carers and community members.

I wanted them all to notice: Protecting children and responding to child sexual abuse within the family environment

 

National/Local Updates and Learning

'Its Silent': Race, Racism and Safeguarding Children - CSPR March 2025

The latest report from the National Child Safeguarding Review Panel on Race, racism and safeguarding children was published on 11 March 2025.  It examines the impact of race, ethnicity and culture on multi-agency practice where children have suffered serious harm or died. It raises questions about how and why issues about race, racism and ethnicity remain so marginalised, understated and under-explored in safeguarding reviews and suggests that there is a need for a sea change in how we address issues about race, culture and ethnicity in safeguarding practice. 

  1. There is silence around talking about race and racism. We need to activate conversations that not only ask why there are silences but, crucially, activates our safeguarding responsibilities to think about how we might need to work differently to address the myriad ways in which race, racism and bias affect how we help and protect this group of children.
  2. Leaders and practitioners need to develop their capacity to understand and use intersectional approaches to better address the safeguarding need of Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children. An intersectional approach takes account of how social identities related to race and racism, gender, poverty and class overlap and are woven together.
  3. The report seeks to increase system learning by sharing examples of good practice and addressing where critical questions are avoided, evaded and side-stepped. It states that leaders have a crucial role in naming these issues and taking ownership of professional responsibilities to recognise and address race, racism and bias in safeguarding practice.

There is also a short briefing note for child protection professionals that summarises the key learning points from the independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report on race, racism and child safeguarding. Read the practitioner Briefing Note - 'It's silent': Race, racism and child protection

The SSCP will aim to respond to any new learning. Don't forget to familiarise yourself with the SSCP Cultural Consciousness Guidance and embed this into your practice and organisation.

Learning Disability and Autism

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is named after Oliver McGowan, whose death shone a light on the need for health and social care staff to have better training. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a statutory requirement that regulated service providers must ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role.     

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is the government’s preferred and recommended training for health and social care staff.

Access this course on E-Learning Courses | Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership 

Forced Marriage

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has developed a forced marriage e-learning package for professionals. The modules aim to enable professionals to recognise the warning signs of forced marriage and ensure that the appropriate action is taken to help protect and support all those at risk. 

Access this course on E-Learning Courses | Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership 

Multi-agency Working and Information Sharing

NSPCC Learning has published a suite of resources exploring how safeguarding professionals can successfully work together and share information within and between agencies. The resources include: an evidence snapshot summarising findings from research published between 2014 and 2023 about multi-agency working and information sharing in children’s social work; a series of practice points designed to help social workers focus on the actions that support good multi-agency working and information sharing; and three expert insight films. The resources highlight the importance of multi-agency working and information sharing in achieving the best outcomes for children and their families.

Read the evidence snapshot: Effective multi-agency working and information sharing: evidence snapshot  
Read the practice points: What helps to support effective multi-agency working and information sharing?  
Watch the films: Multi-agency working and information sharing: expert insights 

Keeping children safe, helping families thrive

Keeping children safe, helping families thrive outlines the government’s commitment to keeping families together and children safe.

It also outlines a commitment to support children to live in family settings where children cannot remain at home, including through kinship or foster care, rather than residential care.

Alongside this, the statement sets out ambitions to fix the broken care market, and ensure the system is working effectively for vulnerable children and families.

Right Care Right Person

Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is a new approach to dealing with calls to the police from people with issues to which policing is not always the best agency to help. This could be where there are concerns for a person’s welfare linked to such issues as mental health, medical or social care needs where a police response isn’t always appropriate.

This new approach is about getting the right person with the right skills, training and experience to provide the best support for that individual.

Now with the new launch of RCRP, the police call handler will signpost callers to other more suited agencies where appropriate. Here in Greater Manchester, this could be Greater Manchester Mental Health, North West Ambulance Service or a service in their local authority. This approach will enable police officers to have more time to fight, prevent and reduce crime, harm, and anti-social behaviour; investigate and solve crime, and keep people and communities safe.

Get the right care from the right person

Self Care: Trauma Responsive Workforce

Whatever you have planned following the holiday period, try and make time to pause, reflect and take care of yourself.

Alongside support, supervision and services available to us in our organisations to support you and your colleagues, you should also prioritise taking better care of yourself and pay attention to what you need.

The following information and resources have been identified to support the wellbeing of our people and teams in the workplace including how we look after ourselves.

WorkWell in Salford

WorkWell is a free offer designed to support people with health conditions or disabilities whether a mental health or physical health concern such as a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition. The experienced WorkWell team will help you stay in work or return to work if you are employed, self-employed or recently unemployed and facing health related challenges to either remain in work or return to work. This includes: 

  • a personal assessment to understand the best support for your needs
  • tailored plans to address your physical and mental wellbeing
  • access to local health services, wellbeing activities, and community support
  • careers advice and guidance to help you progress in your current job or explore new opportunities
  • tailored support from a dedicated Work and Health Coach

For more information visit WorkWell (Health and Work Support)

 

Information and learning on a variety of subject matters related to safeguarding children and adults, can also be accessed through the SSCP Training Programme, 7 minute briefings, learning from Practice Reviews and the SSCP YouTube Channel.

All enquiries concerning the welfare or safety of a child or requests for information MUST BE SENT DIRECTLY to the Bridge Partnership.

The Bridge Partnership can be contacted on 0161 603 4500. All referrals and requests for support must be completed on the online referral form. The Bridge Partnership is available Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm. If you need to speak to someone outside these times, please contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0161 794 8888. If a child is in immediate danger of being harmed or is home alone, call the police on 999.

If you are worried about an adult - Report abuse or neglect by telephone on: 0161 206 0604. For further information visit the Safeguarding adults page on the Salford City Council website.

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