Apologies were received from Keith Makin, the independent chair of the Merton Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB), who due to other commitments was unable to attend the Panel meeting.  Paul Bailey, the board’s business manager, was in attendance in place of the independent chair.

Yvette Stanley, Director of Children, Schools and Families (CSF), provided an introduction to the item.  The production of the annual report is a statutory process and covers 2016/17 to allow for a period of reflection.  The priorities of the board are:

·         Think Family given parenting is the biggest issue for safeguarding;

·         Supporting vulnerable adolescents as there is a growing number of looked after children who are older and coming into care later with issues such as trauma, loss, lack of attachment, child sexual exploitation, involvement in crime etc;

·         The quality of early help with a refresh of the child and young people wellbeing model now happening;

·         Confirming partnerships focused on prevention with the aim of curtailing growing need; and

·         Work on early help entry points.

Paul Bailey added:

·         Sections two and three of the annual report demonstrate the board’s accountability; they detail what has to be done and what has been achieved;

·         The board now has responsibility for implementing the Children and Social Work Act 2017;

·         Partnerships with schools, health services and the police are strong;

·         The emphasis is on holding onto what Ofsted identified as working best despite the trend towards sub-regional working; and

·         The board is working to raise awareness of and professional competence on neglect.

In response to member questions, it was clarified:

·         The board is committed to continual improvement.  The benefit of Ofsted’s recent inspection is that the board knows itself well and has been identified as a beacon of safeguarding practice and can help other authorities.  There is no sense of complacency despite Ofsted’s outstanding judgement;

·         Changes happening with the services working in partnership with the board were highlighted.  Both the police and health service are being reconfigured locally (seeking to get efficiencies from a larger footprint) but a continued focus on Merton needs to be ensured;

·         Any young person with a custodial sentence automatically becomes a looked after child.  The numbers of those entering custody for the first time has recently decreased but this remains a focus of the Youth Crime and Prevention Board and the Youth Justice Service which are both looking at prevention;

·         Work continues with colleagues in housing to improve the accommodation offer to care leavers.  However, it should also be noted that some young people prefer to stay with friends and extended family.  It is always hoped that they will make contact with the Council again and benefit from our assistance;

·         Knife crime is a focus for both the Youth Crime and Prevention Board and the Safer and Stronger Partnership.  They have mapped knife crime incidents and found that despite there being no deaths or incidents in the borough, 20% of all incidents in the capital have a connection to Merton.  The link to county lines (older  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5