TRAINING POLICY 2007 

Date agreed: 10.4.07
Date to be reviewed: March 08
Author: Carol Wells

1. This policy should be read in conjunction with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 Chapter 3 and 4.

2. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the LSCBs responsibilities for training are met and links to the development of a competent children’s workforce, able to carry out its responsibilities under section 11 of the Children Act 2004.

3. The definition of the children’s workforce includes statutory agencies whose business takes them into regular contact with children and families, other public services and private, voluntary and independent organisations.   

4. The LSCB have agreed, with the Children and Young People Strategic Partnership, that the LSCB will deliver a focused programme on child protection and child maltreatment. This will include the publication of an annual programme of core courses and additional events to meet local need e.g. lessons from serous case reviews.

5. The LSCB training programme has adopted a pathway of three levels that match the three practitioners groups as specified in Chapter 4 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 (see appendix A). It is the responsibility of managers to ensure that staff are accessing courses relevant to their role and responsibilities for safeguarding children.

6. Opportunities for operational managers and those with strategic and managerial responsibility, including members of the LSCB will also be made available as relevant to the needs identified by the LSCB.

7. Training will be delivered to a consistent standard as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006, 4.23

8. Members of the LSCB Training Pool will deliver the majority of the LSCB core programme of courses. Trainers are expected to deliver to the LSCB ‘Standards for Trainers’.

9. Training delivery will be quality chacked through a process of course observation undertaken by members of the strategic training and development group.

10. All independent fee paid trainers commissioned by the LSCB will be given a detailed brief and contract.

11. Statutory member agencies will ensure that staff, both paid and unpaid, are aware of how to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns, including signs of possible maltreatment.  This knowledge must be in place before authority is given for staff to attend inter-agency training.

12. Volunteers or paid members of voluntary, independent and private sector organisations are eligible to attend the introductory level training without prior knowledge.

13. Member agencies will provide adequate resources to support inter-agency training by;

• supporting the Strategic Training and Development Group by providing staff as detailed in the groups terms of reference

• allocating time to enable inter-agency training to be planned, delivered and evaluated

• releasing staff to attend inter-agency events appropriate to their role

• ensuring staff receive the necessary single agency training to meet attendance criteria for inter-agency events.

14. Statutory members of the LSCB are responsible for ensuring that staff – both paid and unpaid – are competent and confident in carrying out their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare.  This responsibility also applies to the wider LSCB membership as outlined in paragraph 3.62 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006.

15. A training needs analysis and set of competencies is to be agreed with key partners and incorporated into the 2008 annual needs analysis for each agency. This will inform the identification of need and gaps.

16. In relation to the LSCBs responsibility for evaluating the quality of training the Strategic Training and Development Group will have the lead in designing and undertaking auditing and evaluation of LSCB training. This will inform the quarterly training analysis reports to the Executive group.

17. In relation to the LSCBs wider responsibilities for ensuring that relevant training is provided by individual organisations and checking that training is reaching relevant staff, work on developing a process of validation, auditing and evaluation for single agency and other inter-agency training will be developed. This will be included in the Joint Training and Development Strategy for Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children (LSCB and Children and Young People Strategic partnership).

Appendix A

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 Chapter 4 para 4.19-4.20

Training and development for inter and multi -agency work should be targeted at the following practitioner groups from voluntary, statutory and independent agencies:

• those in regular contact with children and young people and with adults who are parent/s or carers. These will be people who are in a position to identify concerns about maltreatment, including those which may arise from use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), and who, as a minimum, need introductory training on how to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes housing and hospital staff, youth workers, child minders, private foster carers, those working with children in residential and day care settings and those working in sport and leisure settings in both a paid and unpaid capacity. Given the large numbers and work patterns of those involved, creative methods should be used to provide them with the essential training. For example, open learning materials may be helpful, or the inclusion of designated people from sport, community or faith groups within the training, who are able to support others using open learning materials or to facilitate training within their own organisation.
  Note: Cambridgeshire LSCB includes foster carers under this practitioner group.

• those who work regularly with children and young people, and with adults who are carers, and who may be asked to contribute to assessments of children in need. This includes GPs, hospital and community health staff, family centre workers, teachers, education welfare officers, social workers, mental health and learning disability staff, probation officers. This group should have a higher minimum level of expertise: a fuller understanding of how to work together to identify and assess concerns, to plan, undertake and review interventions;

• those with a particular responsibility for safeguarding children, such as designated or named health and education professionals, police, social workers, and other professionals undertaking section 47 enquiries or working with complex cases, including fabricated and induced illness. Those in this group need to have a thorough understanding of working together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including in complex and / or serious cases.

Training and development is also relevant to the managers of these practitioners, and it should be relevant to their management role:

• Operational managers at all levels, within organisations employing staff to work with children and families, or with responsibility for commissioning or delivering services, benefit from specific training on inter and multi-agency practice to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Practice supervisors, professional advisers/designated child protection specialists and service managers need not only a foundation level of training, but may also need training on joint planning and commissioning, managing joint services and teams; chairing multi-disciplinary meetings; negotiating joint protocols and mediating where there is conflict and difference. Specific training on the conduct of serious case reviews will be relevant to some.

• those who have a strategic and managerial responsibility for commissioning and delivering services for children and families. This includes those in each of the agencies listed in section 11 of the Children Act 2004, any other members of LSCBs, school governors and trustees. In order to be effective LSCBs and other local bodies such as Children and Young People Strategic Partnerships should consider their own collective development needs as a group. There are significant benefits to be derived from periodically undertaking facilitated development work in order to improve effectiveness. Provision should also be made for the induction and development as necessary of members so that they have the necessary understanding, up to date knowledge and skills to fulfil their roles.