Due to the current financial crisis affecting the Safeguarding In Education Team (SET) we have only been able to secure funding for one Data Officer position in the team since November 2021. Prior to this time we worked at full capacity with two Data Officer's which meant that Police Safeguarding Notifications had a turn around of 24hrs between the time of SET receipt and sharing them with settings.
Because of the struggle of obtaining finances to cover both roles, we have only had our one Data Officer Alex Townshend processing all Safeguarding Notifications citywide on her own. As well as this task, the Data Officer is also responsible for collating and sending out the termly Vulnerable Childrens List; processing the weekly MARAC requests; collating the returned information and later providing the minutes to the involved settings. The Data Officer also helps provide relevant reports to SET and supports the School Safeguarding Advisors.
Due to the volume of tasks highlighted above and the halved capacity of the Data Officer role we are aware of the significant delay caused for settings when receiving Safeguarding Notifications.
Please take the time to complete this survey to help provide evidence of the effects these delays are causing for the children across the city. We hope that this information will help to support our bid in asking for further financial support for the team to return to full capacity.
We thank you for your time in supporting us with this matter!
1. Which setting do you belong to?
2. Please provide your name and job title.
3. Have received a Safeguarding Notification in 2021 - 2022 with a delay of more than 1 week?
4. If you answered yes to the above question, could any of the following outcomes have been avoided if you had received the Safeguarding Notification in a more timely manner (within a week of the incident taking place)?
Tick all that apply.
You will have the opportunity to expand and provide an example in question 6.
5. Are the Safeguarding Notifications valued when received in a timely manner?
6. Do you have any examples of where it would have been more effective for you to receive a Safeguarding Notification within a timely manner but unfortunately were not able to put in early help due to the delay.
If possible describe and highlight the name and DOB of child(ren) and or the occurrence number of the Police Notification who have been impacted so we can raise to leaders.
Please note results and information is accessible to the Safeguarding in Education team for the purposes for promoting the safety and welfare of learners mentioned in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, Working Together 2018 and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022.
7. Do you have any other comments you would like to provide around the Safeguarding Notifications that may help support our bid in gaining extra funding?