Farewell to our Independent Chair, Penny Thompson CBE
In September, the new chairing arrangements for Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership as outlined in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 will come into effect. Sadly, this means that we will be saying goodbye to our Independent Chair of eight years, Penny Thompson CBE. We sat down with Penny to discuss her time at the partnership…
Why did you initially apply for the role of Independent Chair? 
At the time when I was asked if I would consider the position, children’s safeguarding in Birmingham was in a very different position to what it is now. I wanted to be a part of creating safer services and arrangements for children, so I decided to go for it.
What have you learned about Birmingham as a city since taking on the role?
It’s big! But I’ve always said that big is an aggregate of small, so I’ve been keen to make sure that we could learn from the best and adapt ideas from elsewhere. I’ve also learned that it’s a very friendly and responsive city, and it’s been a delight to work with so many committed colleagues. I’ll miss it.
So from your perspective, what are the key safeguarding issues currently facing Birmingham children?
I think the two biggest issues are the wellbeing of very young children, particularly in straitened circumstances. I think it’s incumbent on everyone to give the best possible antenatal and postnatal care and support to families with very, very young children. The second area, I think is the issue of youth violence. What we found in the last few years is those terribly sad cases where children have died or been injured at the hands of other young people. The conditions that give rise to serious youth violence mean that young people could equally be assailants or victims and very often have been both. But equally there are lots of strengths in the city and a great deal of determination to work well in communities, not just physical communities, but communities of interest.
Our BSCP Business Improvement Plan outlines our 2023-25 priorities; areas where we are focusing on improving partnership intervention, to further strengthen our collaborative working arrangements to safeguard and protect children and young people across the city.
What are you most proud of during your time as independent chair?
I’m not given too big on pride – apart from wishing I could have been at some of the Pride celebrations in the year!
But in all seriousness, I think I’m proudest of the fact that I really do think we’ve got a partnership culture underpinned by mutual respect, collaboration, and openness, which wasn’t always the case so I’m very proud of the small part I’ve played in that. I’m also very proud of the fact we now have a learning culture and one of my sayings is, ‘you can’t turn the clock back, but you can always learn’ and that’s what we try to do every day.
The other thing I’ve learned is that if you support practitioners and give them the tools they need to help them in their work, they really appreciate that. Whether it’s the annual conference we’ve introduced, sustaining the Practitioners’ Forums every quarter, or improving the learning materials that we produce every time we undertake a local child safeguarding practice review.
So all of those things I’m pleased with, but I’m not complacent. And whilst Ofsted has found children’s services now to be ‘good’, which is an absolute delight to me, it’s really important that we build on progress.
What advice would you give Birmingham practitioners working with children and young people?
Keep doing what you are doing! Listening, being curious, being empathetic, and trying to do your best for them. Recently, Baroness Floella Benjamin said, “childhood lasts a lifetime” and that is so true. It’s important that all of us remember that and do our best to create the conditions for children to have wonderful childhoods.
Absolutely, I love that quote too, it’s one you keep thinking about after you’ve heard it.
Yeah, I do. And I think you should be picked up a bit more really, because on the one hand with things like education, you can argue it’s never too late, but the early years of childhood are irreplaceable. And we know the science tells us now that those early years lay down the basics for life. It’s one of the things that becoming a grandparent has taught me, their natural curiosity and interest and funness, you know, it’s just brilliant.
I have to say, you know, one of the best bits of training I ever did was for chairing child protection conferences. This is years and years ago now, but it really gave me something that I’ve never lost; it’s often the person with the least ‘status’ that has the best information about what life is really like for that child or young person.
So you’ve got to be able to hear all the voices, you know, not just hear the ones that are loud or entitled and I do think the power of convening an important one. I like to think one of the things I’ve been able to do as chair is to bring people together without fear or favour.
Lastly, I would like to thank Simon and the whole BSCP Business Support Team for the magnificent support I’ve received throughout my tenure. I have been in awe of the strength of the team and standards have been maintained despite challenges – Covid being not the least of them! As Business Manager, Simon leads the team well and creates the conditions for terrific performance.
On behalf of the partnership, we would like to thank Penny for the dedication, energy and careful consideration she has brought to the role of Independent Chair over the past eight years. She will be greatly missed by the partnership, and we will endeavour to continue her mission to keep children and their experiences at the heart of all we do in Birmingham.