Information For Professionals

All the Agencies who come into contact with children or their families have a duty to be aware of children who may be in need or suffering harm.

Professionals in these agencies must be aware of their own professional and Agency resources to help children in need and they must be aware when they need to contact other agencies to provide appropriate help. This is particularly important when professionals encounter children who are in need of protection

What To Do If You Are Worried About A Child

If you are concerned that a child is being abused or neglected you can discuss your concerns with an adviser from the Access Centre and they will help you to decide whether a referral should be made to Children's Social Care.

More detailed guidance on making child protection referrals is given in chapter 3 of our Inter-Agency Child Protection Procedures.

Telephone: 0845 607 2000

Email: socialcare@worcestershire.gov.uk

Post: Social Care, PO Box 585, Worcester WR4 4AD.
Fax: 01905 728744
Minicom: 01905 768052
Text: 07939 572 850

Warning Signs

Warning signs can be rare or hard to spot when a child is being abused. So if you have seen something that concerns you, please don't leave it, remember Safeguarding is Everyone's Responsibility

Abuse can take many different forms, such as neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse and even emotional abuse. There are many possible signs of abuse and neglect, ranging from physical injury to changes in appearance or behaviour. Please click on the NSPCC link for signs of abuse.

Legal Framework For Safeguarding Children

The Children Act 1989 came into force on 14 October 1991. It provides a framework for the care and protection of children and has been amended since its initial introduction, most recently by the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and the Children Act 2004.Working Together To Safeguard Children sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in line with primary legislation and associated regulations and guidance.

Safeguarding Training

Research for the Department of Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health (Carpenter et al 2009) has shown that inter-agency training is highly effective in helping professionals understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) Chapter 4 states that safeguarding training  develops "a shared understanding of the tasks, processes, principles, roles and responsibilities outlined in national guidance and local arrangements for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare."

Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board works closely with statutory and voluntary organisations within Worcestershire to provide a wide programme of multi-agency safeguarding training at all levels.  This programme of training links to agencies induction and single-agency training programmes.  For more information about the training and how to access it please use the link to the Training pages on the right hand side of this page.

Working With Children & Young People

The Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) has formed a Young People's Panel. The purpose of the group is to work through all Child Protection processes and for the young people to recommend changes and improvements to make them more child and young person friendly. The young people also act as a reference point for WSCB and can be consulted on a range of safeguarding children issues.

The panel is made up of young people aged 12-18 who have experienced Child Protection proceedings.  So far the group has looked at child protection conferences and considered how to get children and young people more engaged in their meetings.  They have been involved in the development of an information leaflet for young people about child protection conferences and a feedback form for young people to complete after attending their conference. 

The group has worked with a local film company to produce two DVD's. The first was aimed at practitioners and the second one is for children and young people. The first DVD "Hear me Out, Have My Say" can be viewed at www.arts-extend.com/worcester.  The second DVD, "It's All About You" is aimed at young people who are being invited to a child protection meeting for the very first time. It tells them what to expect and how to prepare and it can be viewed here  http://www.arts-extend.com/worcester/wscb-animation.