天美传媒

The two-year study has听been given almost 拢500,000 in funding from the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) and is听to be led by academics at King鈥檚 College London and the 天美传媒鈥檚 Safer Young Lives Research Centre (SYLRC). The project will also work in partnership with听The Association of Safeguarding Partners (TASP)听and听Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership Young Advisors, in collaboration with听The Association of Child Protection Professionals听&听Family Rights Group.听听

Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships (LSCPs) were introduced by the Children & Social Work Act 2017 to replace Local Children鈥檚 Safeguarding Boards. These new arrangements established joint accountability for oversight and governance of child safeguarding arrangements between local authorities, health services and the police.听

The evaluation is set to conclude in December 2024 and will culminate in the creation of听a framework of outcome measures for ongoing evaluation and measurement of the impact of the reforms.听In the context of听current financial pressures facing both service providers and communities, the research will address how the work of LSCPs is funded and whether investment in LSCPs appears to be a cost-effective use of resources, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on multi-agency safeguarding and how the work of LSCPs has addressed that impact.

Principal Investigator Dr Jenny Driscoll, of the School of Education, Communication & Society at King鈥檚 College London, said: 鈥淭his research provides a unique opportunity to address the longstanding challenges of multi-agency collaboration for the protection of children and to establish a set of outcome measures which reflect what is important to children, young people and families as well as professionals and the government, while being easy for agencies to use and interpret.鈥澨�

Professor Jenny Pearce OBE, Professor of Young People & Public Policy at the 天美传媒鈥檚 SYLRC, commented: 鈥淧lacing children and young people at the heart of evaluating provision is essential. This work will engage with a range of different Safeguarding Children partnerships to provide holistic multi agency insights into what works, for whom and in what circumstances.鈥�

Alison Thorpe, Co-Investigator from TASP, added: 鈥淲e welcome this important investment in finding out how reform has impacted the effectiveness of partnership arrangements and working. The Wood reforms represented a significant shift in partnership working and accountability for how partners meet their statutory responsibility to work together, and this research project represents an important opportunity to establish the level of confidence children, families and communities can have in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. With strong engagement from all stakeholders, we can aim to ensure that the outcomes framework meets the needs of all groups.鈥�

Suraya Miah, who will lead a team of young researchers, said: 鈥淐amden Safeguarding Children Partnership Young Advisors are delighted to lead on engaging children and young people in the research to ensure their perspectives and experiences are at the heart of the work of听Local Children鈥檚 Safeguarding Partnerships.鈥澨�