Cylch Gorchwyl y Grŵp Cynllunio Busnes

Policy Context

Reviewing the performance of the Board in carrying out its responsibilities

134. Responsibility for a Board’s effectiveness lies with a Board on a corporate basis and with each Safeguarding Board partner individually. Safeguarding Boards are required to coordinate the activities of each person or body represented on the Board in relation to protecting and preventing abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm to children and adults, and to ensure the effectiveness of those activities. In turn, each Safeguarding Board partner has a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Board on which it is represented is operating effectively.

135. Some Safeguarding Boards have a Performance and Impact Framework whereby measures (related, for example, to child or adult practice reviews or the development of policies, procedures and practice by the Board or Board partners) can be recorded and analysed for review year-on-year. A Self-Assessment tool developed for Safeguarding Children Boards (SAIT) continues to be found a valuable way of evaluating a Board’s performance. The Annual Report and Annual Plan are important means by which a Safeguarding Board is publicly accountable for reviewing its effectiveness.

[Working Together to Safeguarding People: Volume 1 – Guidance on the functions of Safeguarding Boards, SSWBA 2014]

Purpose

To support the South East Wales Safeguarding Children Board (SEWSCB) and the Gwent-wide Adult Safeguarding Board (GwASB) by co-ordinating the development of strategic plans and reports which record the effectiveness of safeguarding practice across the region. The group will oversee the progress against and outputs of the relevant action plans, thus driving forward the strategic safeguarding agenda, across the region. In addition the group will facilitate a free flow of communication between local groups, sub groups and Boards

Objectives

To manage the work of each sub group, by a regular reporting framework
To receive updates from sub group chairs of individual work plans
To ensure strategic priorities are regularly reviewed and resulting actions are allocated to relevant groups
To report to Boards the effectiveness of safeguarding practice highlighting
areas of best practice or areas for improvement
To support effectiveness of the Safeguarding Boards through the use of an appropriate Self Assessment Tool.
To ensure adherence to all Welsh Government reporting frameworks
To oversee the production of annual reports and plans
To contribute to the development of Local safeguarding Networks via each Local Authority safeguarding lead
To contribute to and participate in annual development days for each statutory board

Membership

The Chair and Vice chair will be selected from different organisations from core membership.

The minimum core membership will include representation from:

Safeguarding leads for children and adults from each local authority area
Chairs of each sub group
Gwent police
National Probation Service
Community Rehabilitation Company
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Other members will be co-opted onto the group as need arises.

Process

The Business Planning Group will meet quarterly and support will be provided by the Regional Safeguarding Business Unit.
Members of the Business Planning Group will nominate staff from their organisations to sit on task and finish groups, as and when required, to develop specific activities from the Boards’ strategic plans

Governance

The Chair of the group will report on behalf of the group to SEWSCB and GwASB on a quarterly basis
The activity of the group will be reflected in the Boards’ strategic plans and annual reports
The Boards and their constituent agencies will be alerted to any issues that require immediate attention.