Learning from Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

Date: Thursday, 01st Aug 2024 | Category: Uncategorised

Since June, Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership has published two Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews.

Serious Youth Violence – Breaking the Cycle

The first review, published on the 12th June, titled ‘Serious Youth Violence – Breaking the Cycle’ examines the lives of ten boys in the city; some were victims of fatal stabbings, and some were responsible for fatal attacks. All the boys were believed to have been involved with inner-city urban street gangs.

Most of the boys had suffered significant childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences. There was an absence of positive paternal role models in their lives and in some cases, the adult males that were present, encouraged, or condoned violence. Many of the boys were known to carry knives and had known other young males who had been murdered due to knife crime and gang affiliation. Significant disruption and breakdowns in their education were common, with repeated extensive use of fixed-term and permanent exclusions from school.

For almost all the boys, partnership intervention attempted to break the cycle and divert them from gang affiliation and criminal exploitation, however the pull of “Place” i.e. their local neighbourhood, meant they were still exposed to risks. There were missed opportunities to engage better with some of the boys at crisis points; these ‘reachable moments’ included when they had been excluded, stabbed, arrested, or returned home after being missing.

Practitioner Resources

You can also watch the webinar, hosted by BSCP, which begins with an overview of the case focusing on the emerging themes and learning identified, delivered by Dr Russell Wate. This is followed by a talk from the Birmingham Children’s Trust EmpowerU Hub further exploring the issue of serious youth violence and sharing tips and guidance for improving safeguarding practice.

Never Assume: Working with Substance Misusing Parents

The second review, published on the 23rd July, focuses on parental substance misuse and neglect, which led to the death of a three-month-old baby. The family was known to agencies in Birmingham, predominantly due to drug and alcohol abuse. Both parents suffered adverse childhood experiences themselves, coming from families in which the use of illegal substances was normalised.

In the two years prior to the baby’s death there was a deterioration in the family’s circumstances and home conditions, and there were numerous opportunities where practitioners could have intervened earlier to safeguard the children.

The key learning is about the importance of sharing your piece of the jigsaw and never assuming that agencies fully understand the child’s lived experience, make sure you share your vital information, so we can make a difference.

In this webinar Joanna Nicolas, Lead Reviewer, provides an overview of the case and the learning. This is followed by a presentation by Kerry Clifford, Quality and Governance Manager at Change Grow Live, a national health and social care charity specialising in helping people facing challenges involving drugs and alcohol, housing, justice, health and wellbeing.