To receive the Complex Safeguarding Annual Report from the Director of Early Help and Children’s Social Care.

The Director of Early Help and Children's Social Care opened the item by providing a brief introduction to the report. The Director noted that Greater Manchester had eight complex safeguarding practice principles that the service worked towards, expressing pride in the work carried out in this area alongside Greater Manchester colleagues. It was emphasised to the Committee that the children and young people supported by the SHINE (Complex Safeguarding) service were amongst the most vulnerable in Trafford.

An overview of some of the key strengths and reflections presented in the report was provided by the Head of Service for Vulnerable Adolescents. The Head of Service expressed that the Greater Manchester Complex Safeguarding Hub was a real strength for Trafford, as it helped to understand themes and trends of exploitation and thus target resources appropriately. The Safeguarding Hub was also very current with research, the findings of which was shared across the ten Local Authorities.

The Head of Service identified that there was a stable team of practitioners and social workers within the service, and that this stability helped children and young people build and maintain relationships with their practitioners. Practitioners had also conducted outreach efforts to engage with communities and raise awareness about exploitation, receiving a positive response from the community.

Positive feedback from children and young people detailing the experiences they had within the service was discussed. It was identified however that feedback rates from children, parents, and carers was still low – having increased 10% to reach 46%. The Head of Service voiced there was still work to do to digitise the feedback process to encourage more engagement.

Finally, the ongoing priority areas for the service were discussed, including the need to further develop how to support children who are neurodiverse, have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), are from mixed heritage backgrounds, or are in alternative educational provisions. In addition, further work on transitional safeguarding as well as supporting children earlier by linking in with family help hubs and building closer relationships with schools, were raised as priority areas.

The Chair praised the report for being helpful and informative, and opened the floor to questions from the committee. Councillor Hirst complimented the report and the reflections, commenting on the importance of recognising areas that needed to be developed. The Councillor asked for more information on the approach to victim blaming, how this looks with other agencies, and the effect this had on children. The Head of Service informed the Committee that training had started with partners regarding victim blaming, and that while changing culture is slow, a difference had been noticed regarding the language that was being used about children and young people.

Councillor Hirst also queried the capacity in the service, and whether there was a waiting list for children to access support. The Head of Service assured that although there was a protected caseload for SHINE social workers, there was no waiting list. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services remarked that there had been further investment into SHINE in the last four to five years which had grown the team.

Councillor Maitland wondered if it was possible to have a breakdown of figures by neighbourhood, which the Head of Service advised could be included in the next annual report. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services reminded the committee that ward-level data may look different depending on what area was assessed, such as where children lived or where they went to school.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)  That ward-level data is included in the 2024-2025 annual report.