BF Safeguarding Board Bulletin No. 6

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Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Board


Bulletin No. 6    06 August 2020

Brian Boxall

Message from the Independent Chair and Scrutineer - Brian Boxall

The Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Board and the Safeguarding Partnership have both continued to meet regularly. The combined East Berkshire Safeguarding Boards meetings have now ceased and the Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Board has returned to its usual meeting schedule.

Safeguarding partners have now agreed:

  • That the Board priorities of Prevention, Protection, Partnerships and People are underpinned this year by the requirement for partners to continue to work together to identify risks in the new, ever changing COVID-19 environment, in order to be able to take required mitigating action in a timely fashion.
  • The continued development of the risk register that will be progressed via the Board and its Partnership meetings.
  • A new all age safeguarding training and professional development framework that supports partners in their efforts to ensure high quality safeguarding training is provided and enables an evaluation of the impact of training.

I am delighted with the work of the Safeguarding Partnership and members agreement to continue to meet regularly to share information on risks and to identify opportunities to work together to address them.

At the recent Safeguarding Partnership meeting several partners reported an increase in recorded incidents of domestic abuse, although this was not evidenced by the police; it was suspected that third party reporting of abuse had decreased during lockdown. It was also suspected that there were increased incidents where the victim did not want police involvement and incidents where the victim and perpetrator were locked down in the same property.

The #BLM campaign has challenged many of us to reflect on the impact of prejudice and discrimination, and I know that organisations will also wish to reflect on the part their safeguarding structures can play in maintaining inequalities.

I see the work of the communications, engagement and prevention (CEP) subgroup as vital in helping the Board better understand the diverse experiences of those living in the borough and this will help inform the safeguarding partners understanding of how inequalities impact specifically on the lives of individuals.

They will also help ensure that the Safeguarding Board and Partnership’s work will be informed by the voices and experiences of adults and children. Colleagues within the Business Unit have drawn on their links with other boards across the country to learn from initiatives that are taking place to tackle inequalities.

As you may now be aware Nikki Edwards, Executive Director: People for Bracknell Forest has recently been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Bath and Wells Academy Trust. We wish her well in her new role and thank her for her excellent work to safeguard vulnerable people in Bracknell Forest.


Professional meeting

Professional resources 

Some resources you may want to discuss in team meetings, as part of group/individual supervision or for your own development. 

Bruising in immobile children: Frontline staff across Berkshire should also be aware of the bruising protocol.  Reviews and inquiries have shown that where children have been physically abused, people have not always recognised the significance of injuries and bruising to children.  The guidance requires that professionals refer such cases to children’s social care who will consider the reason for any bruises or injuries along with health professionals.  An explanation should be sought from parents/carers where it is safe to do so.  There is a leaflet for parents and carers that explains the process. 

Thresholds GuidanceThe Thresholds guidance and animation provides a framework for professionals working with children and families to identify circumstances when children may need additional support.  It introduces a continuum of help and support, provides information on the levels of children’s need and gives examples of some of the factors that may indicate when a child or young person needs additional support or protection. 

Risk managementThe BFSB multi-agency risk framework has been developed to provide support and guidance on how to manage cases relating to adults where there is a high level of risk but where the circumstances sit outside the statutory adult safeguarding framework.  The risk framework offers a multi-agency method to support the management of these risks in an effective way. The Board’s website gives an overview of the framework (audio), as well as the full framework documentation and the risk tool itself. For additional help or advice, please contact the Board’s Business Unit.    


Professional Curiosity 

Waltham Forest Strategic Partnership resource pack aims to raise awareness about professional curiosity and includes a short video, top tips and act out or discuss scenarios. Professional curiosity is a combination of looking, listening, asking direct questions, checking out and reflecting on information received. A lack of professional curiosity can lead to: 

  • missed opportunities to identify less obvious indicators of vulnerability or significant harm 
  • assumptions made in assessments of needs and risk which are incorrect and lead to wrong intervention for individuals and families.

Families in Lockdown 

Adfam have launched a new report (based on a survey with 241 people coping with a friend or family member’s alcohol, drug or gambling problem) which sought to understand how some of their usual daily challenges associated with addiction-fear, domestic abuse, isolation, loneliness and mental stress, might be further exacerbated by Covid-19 and the lockdown measures imposed.  They also asked what kind of support they would benefit from going forwards. 


Isolated senior

ADASS guidance – Safeguarding people in ‘closed’ environments 

checklist aimed at both senior managers and front-line practitioners has been producedbased on a review of evidence from serious case reviews and other research about what to look out for when reviewing placements or ‘closed’ environments where people may be experiencing abuse. As well as help identifying problemsit also gives some ideas on how to help organisations make any changes and improvements deemed necessary. 


Senior in nursing home

Guidance for visiting people in care homes  

This information is for staff visiting people who live in residential and nursing care homes. It lists things you might look out for or want to talk about with the person you are visiting, or other people involved in their care and support.  


DHSC Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act  

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have produced a newsletter, giving an update to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), specifically with reference to the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) that were supposed to come into force from 1 October this year. Full implementation has now been delayed until April 2022, with a public consultation on the draft regulations and Code of Practice for LPS being undertaken in 2021. Unfortunately, this newsletter is not available online, so if you would like a copy please contact the Business UnitAdditional information about LPS and resources available can be found here. 


Further messages and information can be found on our website and social media. We would urge agencies and individuals to further promote these via their personal and corporate networks.

Website https://bracknellforestsafeguarding.org.uk

Facebook www.facebook.com/bfsafeguarding

Twitter https://twitter.com/BFSafeguarding

 Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Board • Time Square • Market Street • Bracknell • RG12 1JD

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