January 2023

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

News items are available by month of publication from the menu on the right.

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.  

For any problems related to the portal contact worriedaboutachild@salford.gov.uk 

If you are worried about an adult - Report abuse or neglect by telephone on 0161 631 4777.  The new number from February 2023 will be: 0161 206 0604. For further information visit the safeguarding adults page on the Salford City Council website.

Bridge referrals

A recent upgrade to the Salford City Council Portal allows referrals to the Bridge to be made anonymously.  

Please remember that professionals making referrals to the Bridge cannot choose to remain anonymous. (See 4.2 Making Referrals to Children's Social Care, Section 4 of the Greater Manchester Safeguarding Children Procedures Manual).

The ability to make a referral anonymously should only be used by a member of the public.

Salford Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

In the last month 2 'Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews' were concluded in Salford.  Two 7 Minute Briefings and one Executive Summary have been published detailing the learning from the reviews:

• 7 Minute Briefing: Fabricated and Induced Illness/perplexing Presentations
• 7 Minute Briefing: CSPR ‘Nicholas’
• Executive Summary: CSPR ‘Nicholas’

Mental Capacity Act and young people

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 applies to all people in England and Wales aged 16 and over.  It provides a framework for decision-making for people who have difficulty in making their own decisions because of a disturbance or impairment of the mind or brain.

A new webpage page has been published on the SSCP website titled Mental Capacity Act and young people | Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership.  On this page you will find helpful documents and links with more information.  Further resources will be added in the coming months.

'Real Love Rocks' - Updated resource from Barnardos

The second edition of Real Love Rocks Healthy Relationships and Exploitation Educational Resources has been produced by Barnardos, to take account of the new statutory Relationships and Sex Education guidance and the updated Keeping Safe in Education 2022.  It has been designed in collaboration with young people.  The resource packs can be purchased by schools and other universal settings working with children and young people.

More information and access to this and other resources can be found on the Barnardos Real Love Rocks website.

Neglect

NSPCC have published a summary of learning from case reviews on Neglect.  This review is based on case reviews published between 2021 and 2022.  Case reviews highlighted the impact of risk factors on the parents’ ability to provide safe and appropriate care, and to meet their children’s needs. These included:

• parental domestic abuse or drug and alcohol misuse
• parents with mental health problems or learning disabilities
• young parents
• social isolation
• financial problems including housing problems, homelessness, poverty and unemployment
• children with complex health needs, disabilities or who were born prematurely

Triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2022 – learning for the future 

Research in practice have published a new set of resources to support professionals in social work, education, police, criminal justice and health in learning from the ninth and final periodic review of serious case reviews, which looked at 235 serious case reviews relating to incidents between April 2017 and September 2019.

The learning themes from the review include: 

• Professional challenges in identifying and responding to neglect, often in the context of poverty. 
• Focusing on the child’s lived experience; noticing and responding to children’s behaviour. 
• Information exchange and communicating what the information means for the child. 
• Responding to the dangers of abusers in cases of intra-familial child sexual abuse. 

Safer sleep for babies in winter

The Lullaby Trust have published advice on 'how to keep your baby safe when the weather gets cold'.

They highlight that parents and carers may have worries about heating bills and how to keep their baby warm over the winter months.  Thye recognise that it can be tempting to wrap baby up to keep them warm but warn that overheating as a result of this can increase the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Their webpage provides information on what to consider for babies and their sleep spaces during the winter, things to avoid and what to do if a baby appears unwell.

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care have also produced a poster which can be displayed in public settings, with tips on how to keep a baby safe in winter.

Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility relates to the design of technology products and environments.  It is about universality and making something that can be used by as many people as possible.  

The SSCP is undertaking work to improve the accessibility of the website and the documents available for download.  

There is government guidance available to support you in becoming more aware of digital accessibility and on creating accessible documents. 

Equality and Diversity

Our vision is to make Salford a fair and inclusive city where everyone has an equal voice, access to services and opportunities, and are included and represented in decisions that affect them, irrespective of their age, disability status, ethnicity, faith, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation or socio-economic background.  Salford has a strong commitment to tackling inequality which is reflected in The Salford Way, a city-wide approach to ensure partners work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all.  A key part of this approach is the  Salford Equality Strategy our catalyst for change to ensure we work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all.

All partners of the SSCP are required to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are a thread through all our priorities/activity, as are the views and voices of young people.