 In the coming weeks, we will be changing how you register for Safeguarding Boards training. We will be switching over to FormLMS. To register for our training, you will need a FormLMS account with access to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Safeguarding Training workspace.
Once you are registered, you will be able to see the events on offer, book a place, as well as being able to see training that you have completed and print certificates to evidence attendance.
If you book on training now (using booking bug), we will send you a link during August to set you up onto FormLMS. We will try to make this transition as simple as possible, but please bear with us if there are glitches. If you have any problems, questions, suggestions or concerns, please email safeguardingboardstraining@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Safeguarding Partnership Boards Conferences are back!
 We will have more information about speakers and registration soon. If you would like to attend, hold the date in your diary.
| 21st November 2023 |
Safeguarding Adults Conference |
| 13th December 2023 |
Safeguarding Children Conference |
Both conferences will be held at Delta Hotels by Marriott Huntingdon - Google Maps
Working Together to Safeguard Children is the multi-agency statutory guidance that sets out expectations for the system that provides help, support and protection for children and their families. Working Together applies at every level from senior leaders to those in direct practice with families, and across all agencies and organisations that come into contact with children. It gives practitioners clarity about what is required of them individually and how they need to work in partnership with each other to deliver effective services. It was last revised in 2018, with a limited factual update in 2020.
In February 2023, the government published Stable Homes, Built on Love, which set out an ambitious plan to transform children’s social care, committing to support every child to grow up in a safe, stable and loving home. Updating Working Together is central to delivering on the first phase of this transformation journey, implementing strengthened multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection for children and their families, re-balancing the system towards help at an early point, and ensuring strong, effective and consistent child protection practice.
Read more about the planned changes and share your views.
Consultation closes - 6th September 2023
The Government are seeking views on amending the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) legislation in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (DVCVA) to ensure a DHR is commissioned when the death has, or appears to have, resulted from domestic abuse as defined by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Currently, the DVCVA 2004 specifies that a DHR should be considered in instances where ‘the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by either:
- a person to whom he was related or with whom he was or had been in an intimate personal relationship
- a member of the same household as him’
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a statutory definition of domestic abuse that incorporates a range of abuses beyond ‘violence, abuse and neglect’ to include controlling or coercive behaviour, emotional and economic abuse. Explicitly including the term domestic abuse (DA) would ensure that DHRs continue to contribute to our understanding of DA, and capture learnings to prevent fatal DA.
They are also seeking views on amending the term ‘homicide’ in DHRs to reflect the range of the deaths which fall within scope of a DHR. The statutory guidance was updated in 2016 to clarify that DHRs could be conducted for suicides by victims where the circumstances give rise to concern, for example it emerges that there was controlling or coercive behaviour in the relationship. This was in recognition of the number of victims who die by suicide linked to DA. The term ‘homicide’ in a DHR can be confusing and problematic for families after their loved one has died by suicide linked to DA. The term ‘homicide’ is also not applicable when conducting a review into deaths ruled as ‘unexplained’ or ‘unexpected’ by a coroner.
Read more about the planned changes and share your views
Consultation closes 11 August 2023
 You may be aware of a house fire that occurred in Cambridge at the end of June 2023 which sadly took the lives of two children and their mother. It is believed that the house fire was caused by an e-scooter charger/battery.
The below resources have been shared by our colleagues in Fire and Rescue:
https://www.cambsfire.gov.uk/home-safety/specific-safety-advice/electrical-safety/e-bikes-and-e-scooters/
They also offer a free online home fire safety check, it can be completed individually, as a family or possibly with a neighbour/friend that may be vulnerable. https://www.cambsfire.gov.uk/home-safety/home-fire-safety/. The online home fire safety check is a useful tool, not only does it give advice using a risk matrix, it also can be used as a referral tool for us to send face to face specialist officers to a property if members of the public would like a visit.
Training for professionals
The training is usually 2-3 hours and they can do in person face to face or virtual depending on numbers and needs of the agency. Managers or team leaders can register interest via this page: Invitation to register: FREE Fire Safety Training (previously Olive Branch) from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (govdelivery.com)
 A new briefing has been produced, which is designed to provide an overview of Child Neglect and reminders of tools available to support practitioners who might work with families where neglect is a concern.
Please share this briefing widely Neglect | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk)
Our MCA page Mental Capacity Act | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk) has been updated to include new resources.
These include a briefing on lessons from Safeguarding Adults Reviews related to mental capacity, and a guide to developing an MCA recording template for your organisation. We would like to thank James Codling (MCA/DoLS Learning and Development Team) of Cambridgeshire County Council, who has written these document and identified the resources contained within it.
You will also find videos, specific resources addressing cognitive impairment in dependent drinkers from Alcohol Change UK, and links to more tools to help understand, assess and record mental capacity in practice.
 Below is a list of newly published or updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
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