Structure and Sub-Groups

The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) brings together representatives from different organisations and is a mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in Surrey will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.  Please see the Performance Management, Quality Assurance and Scrutiny  page for further information.

The statutory partners and relevant agencies together form the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership.

Members of the partnership will typically represent  an agency (e.g. the council; the ICS; Surrey Police) or a ‘constituency’ (e.g. schools; third sector). All will have statutory responsibilities in respect of safeguarding children. This code of conduct applies to all individuals nominated to serve as members of the partnership and is designed to clarify the expectations we should make of ourselves and our agencies in undertaking this most important work.

The three statutory Safeguarding Partners are Surrey County Council, Surrey Police, and the Integrated Care System (ICS). They form the Executive Group for the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership in providing the strategic direction. The Executive Group is joined by representatives from the county’s schools and colleges; district and borough councils; and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Third sector representatives will also attend the Executive Group on an issue by issue basis.

The purpose of the Business Group is to drive and progress the SSCP Strategic Plan to support the assurance role of the SSCP. It has an overview across the safeguarding system through the multi-agency data and quality assurance activity that is collected to provide assurance on the effectiveness of practice. Membership includes the chairs of the subgroups, forums and network.

The role of the Case Review Group is to; identify the core membership and additional participants for all Rapid Review Panels,  to agree the Terms of Reference and commission each review, to monitor the progress of reviews and agree the content of the final report prior to it being submitted to the Executive Group for final approval and sign off.  The Case Review Group works closely with the Learning from Practice Group and Surrey Children’s Academy to identify and disseminate learning arising from case reviews across partners and agencies.

The role of the Learning from Practice Group is to embed a learning culture and ‘cycle’ into the  safeguarding arrangements that improves outcomes for children and families. This includes commissioning a programme of multi and inter-agency audits, overseeing the statutory Section 11 self-assessments and ensuring that the learning from all audit activity, formal and informal safeguarding practice reviews and performance management reviews is disseminated appropriately.

The role of the Engagement and Communication is to provide strategic oversight and challenge to ensure that the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership can:

• identify new and emerging safeguarding issues being experienced by children, young people and families.
• ensure that the work of the partnership is child centred.
• ensure that it there are a range of mechanisms in place to ensure that the voice of children and families continue to be at the heart of decisions about their lives.

The overarching role of this Forum is to provide scrutiny of child safeguarding arrangements across the health community in line with statutory duties under Section 11 of the 2004 Children Act and Children and Social Work Act 2017. The Forum will enable the ICS to engage Surrey’s other health stakeholders in contributing to the priorities of the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership.

The role of the Schools and Education Safeguarding Forum is to:

• promote and influence effective safeguarding practice in all educational settings from Early Years to post 16.
• ensure that the partnership priorities are reflected in the work plan
• promote effective inter agency working that keeps the child or young person at the centre of everything we do
• be responsive to local and/or national emerging needs and patterns

The role of the Third Sector Safeguarding Network is to contribute to improving the health, wellbeing and the safety of children and young people in Surrey. The network will help third sector organisations in Surrey who work with children and young people in the following ways:

• Supporting each organisation’s understanding of their responsibilities for keeping children and young people safe and promoting their welfare.
• Sharing good practice across the sector
• Informing the work of the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership from the Third Sector perspective
• Disseminating important information and learning from the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership across the sector.

The purpose of the District and Borough Safeguarding Forum is to:

• To ensure strong and effective partnership working in child protection and safeguarding practice across the county and to promote the continuous improvement of these services.
• The Forum will be focused on information exchange and on addressing issues where district and borough councils can play important roles in shaping and implementing safeguarding policies and practice at a local level.
• Through the connection with Partnership Governance arrangements the D&B’s Forum is influential in forward planning, co-ordination and determination of safeguarding priorities.
• Through representation, the Forum should contribute to and influence the work of the SSCP and Executive Group. Members of the Forum should contribute to other lead areas of work aligned to the Partnership’s strategic priorities and enjoy full engagement with partner organisations.