Agenda item

(1)       Maggie Blyth, Independent Chair of Kent Safeguarding Children Board (KSCB), introduced her annual report which described the progress made in improving the safeguarding services provided to Kent’s children and young people in 2012/13, and outlined the challenges for the next year.  She also outlined the role and composition of the Kent Safeguarding Children Board and the recommendation set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013) that annual reports of safeguarding children boards be submitted to health and wellbeing boards.    

(2)       Maggie Blyth said progress had been made across Kent in improving child protection arrangements and this had been acknowledged by the three most recent statutory inspections.  She said the KSCB would continue to monitor the numbers of re-referrals to specialist children’s services; the numbers of children with child protection plans being referred for a second or subsequent time; and that the spotlight would be retained on young people at risk of: going missing; child sexual exploitation; and trafficking; as well as understanding why certain groups of children, including some unaccompanied asylum seeking children, go missing and on children who required early intervention.

(3)       Maggie Blyth said she would welcome the views of the KHWB on the following issues in particular:

·        The placement of high numbers of children in Kent by other local authorities;

·        Scoping the commissioning of services for children at risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking;

·        Waiting times for assessment and treatment of some specific groups of children especially teenagers needing mental health and emotional wellbeing services.

(4)       During discussion the need to communicate the findings of the KSCB and other organisations to practitioners engaging with children was raised as was the importance of sharing early warning signs picked up by GPs, education and other services.

(5)       Felicity Cox reported that the directors of nursing in Kent, Surrey and Sussex were undertaking specific work to identify the issues and patterns in the provision of children and adolescent mental health services and would be able to report to this board and the KSCB in due course.

(6)       Hazel Carpenter said:

·        a children’s summit would take place in Thanet next week to review a range of children’s issues and agreed the ambition and direction of services for children;

·        the report of an external review of safeguarding arrangements within Kent and Medway would be available at the end of the month;

·        a year ago, the chief executive of Thanet District Council had written to local authorities placing children in Thanet and that she (Hazel Carpenter) had followed this up by writing to the 16 clinical commissioning groups in those areas and had received some positive responses

(7)       RESOLVED:

(a)       That the progress and improvements made during 2012/13, as detailed in the Annual Report from the Independent Chair of Kent Safeguarding Children Board be noted.

(b)       That a formal response to the KSCB be prepared by the Health and Wellbeing Board in due course.

(c)        That mental health and emotional wellbeing services including early non-specialist intervention, the transition to adult services and tier-four provision be considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board.