In England the main laws to safeguard children are found in the Children Act (1989) and the Children Act (2004).

The foremost Government guidance to protect children is Working Together to Safeguard Children † (2010). This sets out how all organisations and practitioners should work together to promote children's welfare and protect them from abuse and neglect.

The responsibility for ensuring that the guidance is put into practice is given to Local Safeguarding Children Boards. Each Local Authority has to ensure that its area is covered by an LSCB.

The introduction of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) was a direct response to the Laming Inquiry's 2003 review after the death of Victoria Climbie. Although the Boards functions are largely based on the functions of the Area Child Protection Committee (ACPCs) they actually have a much wider remit. They must be more pro-active and also undertake a co-ordinating and monitoring role. Crucially they are regularly assessed by the relevant inspectorates, which monitor and evaluate their effectiveness in terms of the contribution they make to the welfare of children.

Middlesbrough Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB) was established in April 2010 after extensive consultation took place locally between partners about how best to establish the new Safeguarding Children Board.

MSCB has its main meetings every two months. It has a number of Task Groups, these mainly linked to the core functions of SCBs. The Task Groups are made up of members from the MSCB and practitioners who have relevant skills and knowledge. The Task Groups are:

• Policy and Procedures Group (Tees-wide) – Practitioners Practice Group
• Monitoring & Evaluation Group 
• Communication and Raising Awareness Group
• Training Group
• Serious Case Review Panel/SCR sub Committee 
• Child Death Overview Group (Tees-wide)
• North East Children’s Safeguarding Training Group[
• Tees-wide Child Death Review Group 
• North East Regional Safeguarding Group 
• LSCB Regional Chairs Group 
• Tees-wide Safeguarding Training Group 
  

MSCB Membership includes:

Local Authority

• -Executive Director of Middlesbrough Children, Families & Learning
  • Deputy Director of Safeguarding
  • Deputy Director of Achievement
  • Assistant Director, Children’s Trust & Performance 
• Cleveland Police – 1 representative 
• Durham and Tees Valley Probation Trust - 1 representative 
• CAFCASS - 1 representative 
• NHS Tees (Middlesbrough PCT) – 1 representative 
• MRCCS - 1 representative
• South Tees Hospital NHS Trust – 1 representative 
• TEWV NHS Trust – 1 representative 
• Strategic Health Authority – 1 representative 
• North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust – 1 representative 
• Adult Services - 1 representative 
• Director of Public Health 
• Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service – 1 representative 
• Third Sector – 3 representatives (Including National and Local Vol Sector) 
• Lay Member 
• Executive Member (Participant Observer)– 1 representative 
• Schools – 1 representative
• Housing - 1 representative
• Prison Service - 1 representative

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010:

In The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report Lord Laming made a number of recommendations which the Government has proposed to address through the revision of Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance. This revised draft guidance addresses 17 of Lord Laming's recommendations, as indicated in the National Safeguarding Delivery Unit's earlier pre-consultation. The revised draft also updates the guidance to reflect changes to the policy and legislative landscape since Working Together was last published in 2006.

If you would like to contact MSCB, please email gary_watson@middlesbrough.gov.uk. (Please note that this is not the contact address to use if you believe that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect. For more information about this, see below.)

Click here if you need to know what to do if you think a child may be at risk of abuse or neglect

Updated News on Safeguarding.
The Protection of Children in England: A progress report by the Lord Laming March 2009

2009 Lord Laming Report