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NISB Work Plan 2022-23

Introduction

The National Board’s duties and responsibilities

The National Board has three primary duties, which have shaped our work plan. These are:

  1. To provide support and advice to Safeguarding Boards with a view to ensuring that they are effective
  2. To report on the adequacy and effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard children and adults in Wales.
  3. To make recommendations to the Welsh Ministers as to how those arrangements could be improved (S.132 (2)).

In addition, eight specific responsibilities of the National Board are set out in Working Together to Safeguard People, the Part 7 Guidance on Safeguarding. That is, the National Board:

  1. works alongside Safeguarding Adults Boards and Safeguarding Children Boards to secure consistent improvements in safeguarding policy and practice throughout Wales (para 246)
  2. will engage with the chairs of the Safeguarding boards, and relevant inspectorates…at least twice a year (para 258)
  3. will stay abreast of evidence and policy approaches to safeguarding and protection in other parts of the UK and beyond in order to learn from those and to evaluate Wales’ relative performance (para 261)
  4. where a theme of concern is identified…the National Board could recommend to Welsh Ministers that the matter be escalated to Welsh Government for exploration or to the relevant inspectorate (para 263)
  5. will use mechanisms to regularly engage with a range of expert reference groups, practitioners and individuals (para 264)
  6. will publish its own annual reports including any work it is planning. It will also hold an annual engagement event or events (para 265)
  7. has a specific duty under section 133 (2) (d) of the Act to “consult with those who may be affected by arrangements to safeguard adults and children in Wales.” It will use that duty to enhance its understanding of and extend its experience of safeguarding and protection in Wales (para 266)
  8. will consider the learning from the ‘user engagement’ activities of the Safeguarding Boards (para 266).

The Work Plan

Strategic Duty 1. To provide support and advice to Safeguarding Boards with a view to ensuring that they are effective:

Specific responsibility 1: works alongside Safeguarding Adults Boards and Safeguarding Children Boards to secure
consistent improvements in safeguarding policy and practice throughout Wales (para 246)
Activities
  1. To secure consistent improvements in safeguarding policy and practice throughout Wales members attend and offer
    advice and support at Regional Safeguarding Board (RSB) meetings.
  2. Members will develop an overarching view of safeguarding and emerging themes and issues as follows:
    1. Engage and meet regularly with Business Managers
    2. Include a review and summary of the work of the RSBs in its Annual Report
    3. Attend RSB development days
    4. Work with Welsh Government (WG) and RSBs to develop, support and host seminars and webinars during Safeguarding Week.
Specific responsibility 2: will engage with the chairs of the Safeguarding boards, and relevant inspectorates…at least twice a year (para 258)
Activities
  1. Members will ensure NISB is sighted on issues and emerging safeguarding themes affecting the RSBs through:
    1. Bi-monthly meetings with RSB chairs and WG:
  2. Members will also ensure two-way dialogue with organisations in Wales involved in safeguarding by:
    1. Identifying organisations involved in the Welsh safeguarding landscape including:
      1. Older Peoples Commissioner (OPC)
      2. Childrens Commissioner for Wales (CCfW)
      3. Social Care Wales (SCW)
      4. Education Workforce Council (EWC)
      5. Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)
      6. Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)
Activities
  1. Members will ensure that the voice of service users shapes the work of the Board through:
    1. Workstream 3 of Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales¹ will inform this activity
    2. Single Unified Safeguarding Review² themes and family and community engagement.
  2. Through collating information from RSB annual reports.
  3. Learning from user engagement is disseminated widely.

¹ In February 2021, the NISB commissioned Liverpool John Moores University to carry out research to explore and understand safeguarding arrangements across Wales.
The aim of the research is to identify what good looks like and provide recommendations to Welsh Government Ministers. The ‘Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales’ project is made up of three workstreams: Workstream 1: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Multi-Agency Operational Safeguarding Arrangements (MAOSA) in Wales – Phase II, Workstream 2: The Development of a National Performance Framework for Statutory Safeguarding, Workstream 3: Messages from People.

² In 2018, an academic review by Professor Amanda Robinson from Cardiff University and a Welsh Government practitioners review by Liane James on Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHR), Adult Practice Reviews (APR), Mental Health Homicide Reviews (MHHR) and Child Practice Reviews (CPR) made recommendations concerning legislation, governance, policy, process, central repository, national library and learning and training.
They both highlighted the need for co-ordination, collaboration, communication and governance to be improved when conducting safeguarding reviews in Wales. The work exposed the complexity of devolved and non-devolved bodies undertaking reviews, in isolation and in some cases without Welsh Government knowledge or involvement, this created a chaotic review landscape in Wales.
Recommendations were therefore made and accepted by Ministers for the need to have a single review process with a sole body providing overarching governance linked into a central repository to facilitate pan Wales learning and training.

Strategic Duty 2. To report on the adequacy and effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard children
and adults in Wales

Specific responsibility 3: will stay abreast of evidence and policy approaches to safeguarding and protection(including) in other parts of the UK and beyond in order to learn from those and to evaluate Wales’ relative performance (para 261)
Activities
  1. NISB will share & advise on how lessons can be learned from individual reviews undertaken locally, nationally and from
    other parts of the UK
  2. Phase 2 of Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales will inform this activity, drawing in particular on the findings of
    Liverpool John Moore’s University’s evaluation of multi-agency front door safeguarding arrangements.
  3. Provide membership to the Ministerial Board responsible for ensuring the widespread learning identified through the
    Welsh Repository for Safeguarding Reviews.
  4. Engage with relevant workstreams to develop the SUSR process – including the Steering Group & its successor body,
    the Legal & Governance Group and the Central Repository Group.
  5. Participate in and support webinars and conferences across the 5 Nations.
  6. Commission Welsh thematic reviews when required.
Specific responsibility 4: where a theme of concern is identified…the National Board could recommend to Welsh Ministers
that the matter be escalated to Welsh Government for exploration or to the relevant inspectorate (para 263)
Activities
  1. Emerging issues are identified in order to inform and influence the development of safeguarding systems and
    processes.
  2. Phase 2 of Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales will inform this activity, drawing in particular on the anticipated
    All Wales Multi-Agency Safeguarding Performance Framework, which is being developed as a part of the programme.
  3. Themes of concerns will be shared with Regional Safeguarding Boards and reported to Welsh Ministers and Welsh
    Government officials to ensure an all Wales resolution.
  4. Participation in regular meetings with the Chairs of RSBs and Welsh Government.
  5. Have effective dialogue with regulators and inspectorates of public services to consider any safeguarding concerns,
    development or improvements for safeguarding to identify themes of concern:
    1. Care Inspectorate Wales
    2. Health Inspectorate Wales
    3. Wales Audit Office
    4. Estyn
    5. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation and Prisons
    6. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
  6. Liaison with the Welsh Commissioners for Older People and for Children on emerging safeguarding matters to have
    effective alliances.
  7. Monitor and report on the progress made to specific issues of concern that were previously reported. For 2022-23
    1. Statutory guidance for Children Electively home educated.
    2. Regulatory framework around independent schools and the Education Workforce Council.
Specific responsibility 5: will use mechanisms to regularly engage with a range of expert reference groups, practitioners
and individuals (para 264)
Activities
  1. An agreed assurance framework is in place to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements
    in Wales through:
    1. Violence Prevention Unit
    2. Child Death Review Panel
    3. Welsh Government Children &Young People External Advisory Group
    4. Groups invited to present at NISB meetings on specific topics
Specific responsibility 6: will publish its own annual reports including any work it is planning. It will also hold an annual engagement event or events (para 265)
Activities
  1. A process is in place to enable widespread communication with stakeholders.
    1. Regular update of NISB website to provide relevant, topical information and key safeguarding messages in
      accessible formats.
    2. Support and promote national public campaigns aimed at preventing, identifying and responding to harm from
      abuse, neglect and exploitation.
    3. Support National Safeguarding Week and provide an annual webinar.
    4. Explore opportunities for engagement with service users and the general public.
    5. Respond to relevant national consultations.
    6. Produce an annual report. By deadline.
Specific responsibility 7: has a specific duty under section 133 (2) (d) of the Act to “consult with those who may be affected
by arrangements to safeguard adults and children in Wales.” It will use that duty to enhance its understanding of and extend its experience of safeguarding and protection in Wales (para 266)
Activities
  1. Consider findings of engagement events held by commissioners and others.
  2. Consider the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse³.
  3. Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales: Workstream 3 – ‘Messages from People’.

Strategic Duty 3. To make recommendations to the Welsh Ministers as to how those arrangements could be improved (S.132
(2)).

Specific responsibility 4: where a theme of concern is identified…the National Board could recommend to Welsh Ministers that the matter be escalated to Welsh Government for exploration (para 263)
Activities
  1. Themes of concern are identified and escalated for appropriate measures to be put in place. These will be raised through:
    1. the monthly meetings with WG officials,
    2. result of evidence from research, reviews or engagement with expert reference groups including RSBs,
    3. Written communication regarding themes of concern raised with NISB,
    4. Formal dialogue with the Deputy Minister twice a year,
    5. Commission research into areas of concern or that require improvement e.g. Shaping the Future of Safeguarding in Wales.

³ The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was set up in 2015 to gather evidence on the extent to which State and non-State institutions in England and Wales have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The opening of the Wales office in October 2016 marked a significant development in the progress of the Inquiry. It has helped ensure this Inquiry will reach all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The three projects, Public Hearings, Research and Truth, will all crucially contribute to the recommendations to better protect children in future and will also play a vital role in providing accountability for the failings of the past. Together the information, experiences and evidence received will inform the overall conclusions and recommendations of the Chair and Panel.

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