Safeguarding Children Procedures
The Safeguarding Children’s Procedures for the West Midlands should be used where necessary to take action to protect a child from harm. This page details different documents and protocols to follow under different circumstances.
The Procedures apply to all children and young people aged 0 to 18 years and also unborn children.
They are addressed to all organisations, agencies and individuals who work with children and young people in Dudley, including those whose work with adults brings them into contact with children and young people.
They set out how agencies and individual professionals will work together to protect children and young people from significant harm, and safeguard and promote their welfare.
Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures
Local Procedures
This guidance sets out a clear framework for how we work together and share information to assess and support families in Dudley. It outlines the service responses that can be expected across the partnership for children, young people and families who have differing levels of need, working collaboratively to improve children’s life experiences and chances.
The guidance aims to support families to become stronger by building on their existing strengths and working with them to find early solutions, preventing the need for more intrusive interventions. Understanding children’s experiences within their family and community context is key to effective support. While most children’s needs are met through universal services, some require additional help to stay healthy and safe.
All organisations, agencies and individuals who work with children and young people in Dudley, including those whose work with adults brings them into contact with children and young people should understand these levels.
The Request for Help and Support Form is available via the Childrens Services Portal site.
Visit our MASH page for more information on the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.
Early Help Strategy
Dudley’s Early Help Strategy and early help assessment has now been launched and sets out what is early help, its importance and what it means for the children and families of Dudley. The strategy has been approved by the cross partner/stakeholder Children and Young People’s Alliance CYPA. The assessment is used where a child’s needs do not meet the threshold.
For more information on Early Help visit our Early Help page.
It is important that all those with worries about a child or young person in Dudley have confidence that they will be listened to and their concerns responded to. The below document sets out the arrangements for how we do this in Dudley. It is intended to be as clear and simple as possible. It is about how decisions are made.
Professional Challenge and Resolution is a process of formally challenging a decision made by another professional, group or organisation. This procedure ensures that all professionals have a quick and straightforward means of resolving professional differences in order to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and adults.
The Multi Agency Professional Challenge and Resolution template is available to download here.
Practice Guidance is available for those involved in Gore Group meetings.
Following the publishing of the Multi Agency Child Safeguarding Report relating to Child T, the below practice guidance has been created to assist agencies:
This guide, produced by DMBC Children’s Social Care, summarises the good practice standards within Child Protection Conferences.
Dudley’s Centre for Professional Practice have produced a practice briefing around Deprivation of Liberty and the Mental Capacity Act, access this below:
Research in Practice have also developed Practice Guidance for you to view:
Young babies are particularly vulnerable to abuse, and work carried out in the antenatal period can help minimise any potential harm if there is early assessment, intervention, and support.
This procedure sets out how Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership (DSPP) responds to concerns for unborn babies where vulnerability and risk factors are identified.