A joint investigation into child protection responses concerning children aged 11 and under in Bridgend County was published last week (pdf).
The investigation was jointly carried out by Estyn (school inspectorate), Care Inspectorate Wales, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales.
It’s part of a series of similar inspections across Wales and doesn’t appear to have been triggered by any specific case – namely the murder of Logan Mwangi.
The scope of the inspection – which took place in June 2023 – included Bridgend Council’s social services department, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board and South Wales Police.
What are the agencies getting right?
- Risks are usually identified well and with enough accompanying detail to make a proper decision; joint meetings are well-structured and well-attended by all relevant agencies.
- Schools are praised for the high regard they place on pupil safety and students at the schools which were visited were said to be “happy, well cared for, safe and listened to”.
- South Wales Police has consistent policies to flag possible abuse and identify vulnerable children quickly.
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg’s safeguarding board is praised, being described as a “valuable resource” which is “proactive in learning from reviews” through short briefings.
- Peer support within Bridgend Council’s social services department is described as “excellent” and there’s a good working relationship between the council and charity/third-sector agencies when it comes to child advocacy.
What needs to be improved?
- Ongoing issues with staffing in Bridgend Council’s social services department, particularly an over-reliance on agency staff and high staff turnover.
- There are delays to information sharing – said to be impacted by IT problems at South Wales Police & Cwm Taf Morgannwg – while some strategy meetings at Cwm Taf Morgannwg are held without relevant health professionals being present.
- There are issues with how suspected non-accidental injuries to children are dealt with out-of-hours.
- Child protection forms at the Princess of Wales Hospital are not always completed properly, which means social workers may not be notified when a child attends A&E.
- Some child abuse and neglect cases are handled by inexperienced police officers instead than specialists. Also, the police aren’t using the information they have to determine precisely how vulnerable a child is.
- A high number of staff at Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board haven’t got Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks recorded on their electronic staff records.
