1. Pan-London Project Co-ordinator
Safeguarding Children in Partnership with London’s BME & Faith Communities
13th May 2011
Emma Aiyere
Pan-London Project Co-ordinator

2. Project timeline and information
Outline
Project Aims
Project Outputs
Project Strands
Local projects (12 Local Authorities)
LSCB Audits
Focus Groups
Professionals
Culture community
Faith community
Project timeline and information

3. Project Aims

4. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Co-ordination of this project is jointly by London Board & London Borough of Bexley.
Project Aims are:
To build capacity in BME & faith communities to safeguard children
To foster partnership working between statutory services and the communities they serve

5. Project Outputs

6. Project Outputs
Guidance on culture and faith issues to accompany the London Child Protection Procedures
A Strategy Toolkit to assist LSCBs engage with local communities whose culture and faith distinguishes them from the host nation
A Training Toolkit to assist professionals to better safeguard children whose circumstances include culture and faith issues

7. Project Strand 1 – Local Projects

8. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Local projects:
Barnet is developing a voluntary and community sector safeguarding advice service; supporting progress in safeguarding by faith groups & engaging with supplementary schools
Bexley is piloting community parenting support groups to assist families from minority ethnic communities and faith groups
Brent is undertaking a comprehensive community engagement exercise, followed by establishment of a community-led sub-group within the LSCB

9. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Local projects continued:
Enfield is piloting a training programme for professionals, church & community leaders and parents aimed at promoting prevention of harm and early intervention
Greenwich is improving the engagement of the voluntary sector with the Greenwich Safeguarding Children Board in six key areas e.g. information sharing
Hackney’s Youth Parliament members are interviewing young people and parents on the topics of HBV, domestic violence and forced marriage, to make recommendations for improving practice

10. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Local projects continued:
Haringey is developing a best practice training toolkit to equip staff to work competently with BME and faith communities
Merton is tracking child protection interventions for minority ethnic & faith communities and engaging communities to better safeguard children;
Also Merton children & young people will interview their peers to identify any culture or faith related differences in their views about their own safety& wellbeing
Newham is piloting an education programme to raise community and multi-agency/faith understanding & awareness of child sexual abuse and spirit possession

11. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Local projects continued:
Newham is piloting an education programme to raise community and multi-agency/faith understanding & awareness of child sexual abuse and spirit possession
Sutton is engaging local faith and community groups (and supplementary schools) and linking them into local voluntary sector umbrella organisation with advice and training
Tower Hamlets is piloting the introduction of a multi-agency cultural competence training programme for professionals, to assist them to respond competently to children & families from a variety of communities and faiths

12. Individual Borough Project

13. Individual Borough Project
Borough & project profile:
Population – 33%+ ‘other than White’; over one third born outside UK; 170 languages and dialects spoken in schools; Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim & other faiths. 25% children (much higher proportion of children in minority ethnic groups than in adult population)
Key project strengths – joint project management between LA & local voluntary service; senior LA & LSCB buy-in and the project builds on existing relationships between the statutory and voluntary sectors and uses existing community & faith networks
Goodwill & trust was already being fostered e.g. with an annual ‘BME month’ and a part-time voluntary sector safeguarding support service

14. Individual Borough Project
Emerging themes:
Community & faith group priority is for trust and confidentiality
Communities & faith groups are not clear about the difference between parenting support and safeguarding
Individuals in community and faith groups have concerns over bringing shame on their community or group through reporting
Local faith leaders are powerful and it is difficult for followers to challenge them. The leaders need to be positively engaged
Professionals need to better understand cultural norms e.g. the caring role of older siblings in some large BME families

15. Individual Borough Project
Emerging themes continued:
Professionals need to understand extremes within a faith and culture
Professionals should query and understand perceptions of disability across different faiths and cultures
Professionals lack the confidence to challenge where the safeguarding issue clearly has a cultural origin
Stereotyping of communities & faith groups continues to be evident
Media stereotypes of faith groups – negative images of extremism

16. Individual Borough Project
Areas for improvement:
Protocols to include involvement of voluntary sector groups relevant to family culture. Joint assessments. Consistent practice. Better signposting needed
Improved networking across statutory and voluntary sector professionals re safeguarding
Guidance/training on rules of engagement with a family of a different culture e.g. times to ring, suitable dress, norms for eye contact. Increase understanding of cultural norms and where they come from. For statutory and voluntary sector staff working across cultures

17. Individual Borough Project
Areas for improvement continued:
Improve training for statutory services about the local community profile and the voluntary sector – update and deliver frequently to cover new staff/turnover
Encourage diversity in members of the LSCB
Develop a role for safeguarding advisers from the voluntary sector with knowledge of community languages – to advocate for a family
Create more opportunities for dialogue across faiths to get a better understanding of beliefs in different areas e.g. faith and health, faith and parenting, faith & marriage

18. Individual Borough Project
Areas for improvement continued:
Develop a list of individuals and groups who can provide advice on faith/culture, with an understanding of safeguarding
Provide information simply & in different languages
Provide parenting programmes delivered in community languages
Increase preventative work with families

19. Project Strand 2 – Audits for all 32 LSCBs

20. Policies and Procedures
Most LSCBs audited have Child Protection Policy in place, quality assured and reviewed annually or in the event of local or national developments
Professionals and service users are aware of the Child Protection policy and have access to it via the borough’s intranet (with links to it via the LSCB website) and hard copies distributed during training
Recording of incidents, concerns and referrals in relation to BME children and young people achieved by
Routinely collecting data on ethnicity on contact, referral and interventions by Management information
Publishing equality data reports specifically for Children Services
Including monitoring of ethnicity in referrals made to Children Social Care and reported on in dataset
Equalities Impact Assessment in relation to safeguarding processes has been carried out by some, while the rest are proposing to have it done

21. Responsibility, supervision & communication
Few LSCBs have a designated person / officer within the LA with clearly defined role and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding BME children and Faith communities at senior management level while most claimed that it is an integral part of everybody’s job
Few LSCBs claimed that their professionals and volunteers are clear about who within the Local Authority are the designated people and of the circumstances in which they should be contacted
All LSCBs audited confirmed that professionals and volunteers have access to a supervision/support structure whilst working with BME children / young person or FAITH communities
Most LSCBs audited confirmed that there are mechanisms in place that enable the views of BME children / young people and FAITH communities to be taken into account in the planning and provision of services

22. Good practice promoting safeguarding
To further promote the safeguarding of BME and Faith communities:
All LSCBs audited have a current / recent project in place
Most LSCBs have publications such as guidance / leaflets, posters etc in place
Most LSCBs have an active engagement with BME children and Faith communities e.g. Through Youth LSCB
Most LSCBs use diverse methods to actively engage BME children and Faith communities eg. Use of visual aids within the disabled children’s service to actively engage BME children that are LAC. Diverse methods used are appropriate to the children’s needs / abilities

23. Good practice promoting safeguarding
continued:
Most LSCBs have carried out an area mapping of ethnicity / faith population as part of an assessment of local need e.g. language spoken
Most LSCBs have a parenting support group as well as other support groups in place eg. Children’s center offering language support classes for parents whose first language is not English; Islamic Women’s Resource Centre

24. Training for professionals
All LSCBs audited:
Are running training courses for the professionals on how to better safeguard BME children and Faith communities
Have an induction process in place for all professionals who will have contact with BME children and Faith communities which include familiarisation with the Child Protection Policies and Procedures as well as basic Child Protection training eg. LSCB’s multi-agency training combined with the ‘Safer Network DVD’ for raising awareness of safeguarding in black and ethnic minority communities
Have a register in place of all professionals who have completed the induction process. Register is maintained by the LA Organisational Development Team

25. Training for professionals
All LSCBs audited continued:
Have a register in place of all professionals who have completed the induction process. Register is maintained by the LA Organisational Development Team
Recognised that the professionals training needs are periodically reviewed to ensure knowledge of safeguarding BME children and Faith communities’ matters is maintained and up-to-date
Confirmed that additional training is available for all professionals working with BME children / young people appropriate to role e.g. Training on ‘Effective working with Black and Minority Ethnic Children and Families’

26. Project Strand 3 – Focus Groups

27. London Project – Focus groups
Focus groups: These are being held in all 32 LSCB areas across London with the
Professionals working with children,
Culture community and
Faith community
An electronic survey is also taking place
Results / responses from these focus groups will be shared at the next London Safeguarding Children Board Conference

28. Project Timeline and Information

29. London Safeguarding Children Culture & Faith Project
Project timeline & information:
Project outputs launch will be at the London Safeguarding Children Board Conference (30th November 2011 at Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre)
For current information about the Project see the London Board website:
The London Board welcomes all contributions which can inform development of the Project outputs. If you wish to contribute, please contact the Project Co-ordinator, Emma Aiyere at: