Local Safeguarding Children Liaison Groups

The Local Safeguarding Children Liaison Groups (LSCLG) are two inter-agency forums covering the East and West of the county that meet on a bi-monthly basis to consider joint working practice in respect of child safeguarding arrangements. They are formal subgroups of the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership sharing information (e.g. about thematic service developments or referral pathways), strengthening multi-agency working, disseminating learning, escalating practice issues and promoting ESSCP training courses relevant to topics discussed and group membership.

PURPOSE

The Groups aim to:

To ensure the ESSCP priorities and related action plans are implemented and learning from audits and SCRs is disseminated across partner agencies.
To allow a safe forum for professional challenge and case discussion in order to learn, develop and improve practice.
Co-ordinate the management and local implementation of the Safeguarding Children Strategy as well as specific and related policies from member agencies which link and relate to child protection and welfare.
To improve joint working practice and the protection of children. This will be done by discussion of any practice issues raised within case practice.
To promote positive working relationships, effective communication and information sharing between agencies.
To enhance communication and where appropriate, to challenge each other in order to continually drive forward service developments and maintain high practice standards.
To ensure policy, procedure and practice are integrated to promote the learning and understanding of child protection practice within professionals across all agencies
To act as the forum to resolve professional differences where there are local disagreements between agencies with regard to thresholds of intervention and/or action to be taken.
To inform the development of an annual Training Plan. This will be done by carrying out an analysis of training needs across agencies, identifying learning requirements for specific staff groups linked to the service provision within that specific agency.

MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANISATION

The Core Membership will consist of representatives from:

Children’s Services – Social Care and Education
LSCLG East – Hastings & Rother PCT
LSCLG West – East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT
Sussex Police
East Sussex Hospitals Trust
Sussex Partnership Trust
Voluntary Sector
Additional representatives will be sought from Housing and the voluntary sector when case issues are determined.
The membership will need to represent a mix of practice and management so that recommendations can be properly discussed and implemented.
The Groups will meet bi-monthly and a record of the meeting will be made available to senior managers in each agency. A summary of key issues will be provided for the ESSCP on an annual basis.
The Groups will ensure that the voices of young people and service users are heard and that their views are valued by inviting representatives from Xpress Advocacy.