The Board provides the strategic oversight on behalf of the Executive Group with a specific focus on adults or children’s issues. Issues that can’t be resolved within the Learning & Improvement Group are escalated to the Board. Senior officers attend from the broader safeguarding network including, but not limited to ambulance trust, Department for Work & Pensions, housing/care homes, probation, and education leaders. The Board meet quarterly, typically on the third Wednesday of the month.

Minutes for Board are published and can be views on our minutes page.

The Learning & Improvement Group supports the Partnership in fulfilling its statutory duty to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of Board partners, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk; advising them on ways to improve. This is achieved by monitoring a range of performance data, statutory and practice audits and quality assurance activity. The group meet monthly.

The Safeguarding Adults Review Panel (SARP), is responsible for commissioning the undertaking of Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs), on behalf of the Partnership as and when required under No Secrets (2000) and the Care Act 2014.

The group commission and oversee the completion of the SAR process, working with involved professionals from start to finish, communicating with service users and families and commissioning the author of the final SAR report before developing action plans as a result of recommendations made in terms of practice by the independent author.

In addition to this role, the group may undertake reviews or analytical work of practice that does not meet the requirement for a SAR, with a view to gathering further learning that can be shared and disseminated amongst members of the Safeguarding Partnership.

As of 2015-2016, the Safeguarding Adults Review Panel has been delegated responsibility for the gathering of shared learning from practice nationwide, including developing action plans as a result of SARs that have been undertaken elsewhere in the country, and sharing learning, both positive and negative, with board members as a result of these incidents and the resultant reports.

The SARP meet monthly, typically the first Tuesday of the month, with a view to feeding back any learning to the full Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership Adults Board via a standing agenda item on national practice and learning opportunities.

The Children’s Case Review Panel, is responsible for commissioning the undertaking of Local Children’s Safeguarding Practice Reviews (LCSPR)), on behalf of the Partnership as and when required under No Secrets (2000) and the Working together to Safeguard Children (2018).

The group commission and oversee the completion of the LCSPR process, working with involved professionals from start to finish, communicating with service users and families and commissioning the author of the final report before developing action plans as a result of recommendations made in terms of practice by the independent author.

The group will also identify and manage Partnership Reviews of cases which do not meet the statutory criteria for a LCSPR but can provide valuable information about how organisations are working together and identify improvements. This learning will always be disseminated amongst members of the Partnership.

Case Review Panel is also responsible for gathering of shared learning from practice nationwide, including developing action plans as a result of LCSPRs that have been undertaken elsewhere in the country, and sharing learning, both positive and negative, with board members as a result of these incidents and the resultant reports.

Case Review Panel meet monthly, typically the first Tuesday of the month with a view to feeding back any learning to the full Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership Children’s Board via a standing agenda item on national practice and learning opportunities.

Any child death, regardless of circumstance is reviewed at the Child Death Overview Panel, excluding those babies who are stillborn and planned terminations of pregnancy carried out within the law. Information is collected on each child, allowing the panel to determine whether the death was deemed preventable, had modifiable factors that may have contributed to the death and makes recommendations to the Partnership, or other relevant bodies, promptly so that action can be taken to prevent future such deaths where possible. The group meets five time per year with a further two meetings to look specifically at neo-natal deaths. Where relevant, cases are referred to the Case Review Panel for further learning to be identified.

The Area Network meetings are facilitated by the Local Authority Safeguarding Leads and used to share information, deal with issues of safeguarding practice, learn from cases and capture good practice in the locality.

The CaRE group element of the meeting aims to support local implementation and compliance with multi-agency policies and procedures for identifying, assessing, and responding to child exploitation and to also facilitate effective local multi-agency coordinated response to safeguarding victims of child exploitation.

The Exploitation & Online Safety subgroup has an all-age approach incorporating adults as well as children which promotes co-ordinated thinking and delivery of services to safeguard children, young people, adults, and their families/carers. In doing so the group recognises the broad and diverse range of safeguarding responsibilities and arrangements within the Suffolk Partnership. This method presents a positive opportunity to adopt a ‘Think Family’ approach to the planning and co-ordination of response to exploitation and online safety. The group meets quarterly contributes to the Criminal Exploitation Plans held by the Community Safety Partnership.

The Health Executive subgroup is divided into a strategic Health Executive for Directors and a Health Safeguarding Operational group for Provider Named Professionals which now includes MASH Specialist Nurses.

The remit of the Health Executive subgroup is to ensure that all Directors are aware of issues raised by the Partnership, to ensure that safeguarding risks and issues in their organisations are passed on through this group to the Partnership.