Equality and Diversity Statement of Intent 2011 January 2011
1. Statement of Intent 1.1 At all times, and in all areas of its work, the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board will be guided by the principles of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child. This means that the Safeguarding Children Board and its partner agencies will have respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status, ability or any other aspect of individual difference. 2. Partner Agencies 2.1 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board is a statutory partnership that in itself, does not deliver services directly to the community. It s role is to provide leadership and scrutiny to the partner agencies that make up the Safeguarding Children Board. 2.2 The current membership which makes up the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board are: Independent Chair NSCB Co-ordinator Executive Director of Children s Services Head of Children s Social Care (CS) Children s Safeguarding Standards Manager (CS) Northumbria Police CAFCASS Head of Inclusion (CS) Northumbria Probation Trust Newcastle City Council Legal Services Designated Doctor for Safeguarding Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust North East Strategic Health Authority Newcastle and North Tyneside Community Health Director of Public Health NSPCC Head of Children and Young People in the Community (CS) YOT Manager (CS) Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator 2.3 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board requires each of these agencies to have strategies and policies in place that guide: How they will promote equality for all service users, patients and employees How they will work to eliminate discrimination How they will actively seek to engage any hard to reach groups that access their service How they will monitor and deal with any acts of discrimination by their employees or where applicable, their service users The Safeguarding Children Board will seek evidence of these strategies, and where necessary, will challenge agencies on the implementation of them. 2.4 Where a concern relating to equality or diversity is identified for or by any agency (for example through a Serious Case Review or any other form of analysis or audit) the Safeguarding Children Board will challenge the agency, and the agency will be 17.03.11 1
required to produce an action plan that identifies how the concern will be addressed. All such action plans will be monitored by the Safeguarding Children Board via its Standards and Effectiveness Management Group. 2.5 Annually, the Safeguarding Children Board will require each agency to undertake an audit under S11 Children Act 2004. The audit tool used will include elements related to equality, diversity, consultation etc. The findings of these audits will be shared and subjected to peer scrutiny and challenge. Any aspects of diversity, equality or discrimination requiring attention will require the relevant agency to provide the LSCB with an Action Plan that will be monitored by the Safeguarding Children Board via the Safeguarding Children Board via its Standards and Effectiveness Management Group. 2.6 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and it s partners will actively seek to reduce inequality and oppression, particularly in relation to specific groups whose rights may be compromised. 3. The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board 3.1 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board is not an agency in its own right, it is a statutory partnership that receives funding from it s partners. It is supported in the delivery of its functions and duties by: NSCB Co-ordinator Training and Development Officer Administrator Child Death Review Co-ordinator 3.2 NSCB Co-ordinator and the Training and Development Officer are situated within Newcastle City Council Children s Services, which acts as host organisation and which provides line-management, recruitment support, payroll facilities and other Human Resources functions. 3.3 All Safeguarding Children Board support team are subject to the policies of Newcastle City Council in respect of its employees, including Code of Conduct, Equal Opportunities policies, ant-bullying and discrimination policies etc. 3.4 Recruitment of all staff supporting the Safeguarding Children Board will be supported by Newcastle City Council Human Resources and will comply fully with the council s policy and procedures in relation to recruitment, including safer recruitment and equal opportunities. 3.5 All staff employed for the Safeguarding Children Board to have attended the council s Equality and Diversity training. 3.6 All Newcastle Safeguarding Board members to have attended Equality and Diversity training. 3.7 All agencies who are part of the Newcastle Safeguarding Board to demonstrate their agency has an Equality and Diversity Statement. 3.8 Equality and Diversity training to be provided to new Safeguarding Board members as part of their induction. 4. Training Provision 17.03.11 2
4.1 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board provides a programme of multiagency training that is accessible to the entire children s workforce in the area. 4.2 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board will ensure that the training it provides offers equality of access to all members of the children s workforce in the area. It will do this by endeavouring to promote its training across all agencies, and by ensuring that applications are dealt with on a fair and equitable basis. Training will be delivered at a variety of accessible venues across the area. 4.3 Where a particular section of the workforce face require this training, but face challenges in relation to access, the Safeguarding Children Board will endeavour to promote access by offering training at a variety of venues, times of day etc. to ensure equality of access. 4.4 All training facilities will be accessible to people with disabilities, and where additional needs are identified, the Safeguarding Children Board will take reasonable steps to promote access for example by use of an interpreter. 4.5 In relation to the content of the training it delivers, the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board will ensure that the programme reflects the diverse nature of the area and the challenges and issues that are likely to be faced by professionals in safeguarding children within a diverse community. It will do this be ensuring that where appropriate, all courses feature an element of diversity as a theme. For example, where case studies are used, they will always reflect the diverse nature of the area. 4.6 In addition, the Safeguarding Children Board will offer specific training on relevant aspects of diversity and safeguarding children, as well as training in relation to cultural assumptions in safeguarding. 4.7 In addition, the Training and Development Officer will undertake activity as required in relation to Equality Impact Needs Assessment on behalf of the Board. 4.8 All sub groups will carry out an Equality Impact Assessments. 5. Commissioning 5.1 On occasion, the Safeguarding Children Board will commission external providers to deliver a service of behalf of the Safeguarding Children Board. This may include independent trainers and consultants, Serious Case Review authors etc. 5.2 On such occasions, the Safeguarding Children Board will ensure that people are commissioned in line with Newcastle City Council s existing procedures, to ensure equality. 6. Inter-Agency Procedures 6.1 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board is required to produce inter-agency safeguarding children procedures in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010. 6.2 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board will ensure that where appropriate, these procedures promote equality, and that relevant aspects of diversity (such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation etc) are included in the procedures as supplementary guidance. 7. Case Reviews 17.03.11 3
7.1 The Safeguarding Children Board is responsible under Chapter 8 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 for the undertaking of Serious Case Reviews. 7.2 In addition, in cases that do not meet the criteria for a Serious Case Review, but where learning may be identifiable for agencies, the Safeguarding Children Board will undertake reviews of cases on a multi-agency basis. 7.3 In addition, where the need is identified, the Safeguarding Children Board may require individual agencies to undertake a local Management Review and to present the findings of this to the Safeguarding Children Board. 7.4 In all cases, it is expected that the case review will, regardless of the framework under which it is undertaken, pay full attention to any identifiable issues of equality or diversity, in order to ensure that any relevant learning is captured and addressed. 8. Links with other partnerships 8.1 The Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board has a specific relationship with the Children s Trust. The governance arrangements are contained within a written protocol. 8.2 This relationship is one primarily of mutual challenge in relation to safeguarding children. The Safeguarding Children Board will produce an Annual Report for the Children s Trust that provides an honest appraisal of safeguarding in the area and alerts the Children s Trust to any areas for attention by the partnership. In this way, the Safeguarding Children Board can challenge the partners of the Children s Trust in relation to their performance in safeguarding. 8.3 Independent Chair of Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board is a member of the Children s Trust and attends quarterly meetings. In addition, the Independent Chair can be requested to attend, or can request attendance, at meetings of the Children s Trust to enable particular issues to be discussed jointly. 8.4 In this way, the Safeguarding Children Board can effectively alert the Children s Trust to any areas of concern relating to either equality or to diversity in relation to safeguarding and vice-versa. 17.03.11 4