The report found the main priority areas for improving safeguarding include:
- Leadership and management
- Recruiting, maintaining and retaining a highly competent workforce
- Quality assurance and performance management
- Referral and assessment processes and procedures
- Partnership working
The report also provides details of specific conditions influencing the improvement of safeguarding practices. These include:
- The commitment of local authority leaders
- The facilitating approach of strategic and operational managers
- Existing structures underpinning partnership working
- Workforce attitudes and characteristics
- Specific local authority contexts and circumstances
Three barriers were also identified:
- Process and systemic challenges
- Challenges to Partnership working
- External constraints
This report is a valuable resource, as it uses case studies of a variety of local authorities to isolate particular issues around safeguarding. Below, we have listed research in practice resources that can support your organisation in working to address some of the outlined priorities, conditions and barriers.
Research Review: Safeguarding in the 21st Century – where to now.
Our popular research review articulates a model of safeguarding for the 21st century, including detailed recommendations at strategic, operational and practitioner level. It was cited in the Child Abuse Review (Vol 20, Issue 4) as a review that ‘remedied’ a lack of an overall model of practice in safeguarding; ‘challenged managerial and proceduralist tendencies’ and formulated a model of practice. You can access the signpost of the review here, and the review itself here.
Research Review: Professionalism, Partnership and Joined-up Thinking: A research review of front-line working with children and families
This review brings together and analyses research and evidence relevant to working together in partnership across professional and organisational boundaries. It also speaks to the issues of partnership working which were identified in the report as significant as a priority, condition and a potential barrier. You can access the signpost of the review here, and the review itself here.
Handbook: Leading Evidence-Informed Practice
Experience has taught us that services that have made significant progress in raising the profile and awareness of research evidence often have strong leaders who succeed in pushing forward this agenda (frequently in the face of huge barriers). This handbook speaks to a need for leadership made evident in the report. You can access the handbook on our website here.
