Safeguarding Priorities 2006 - 2008

Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board is committed to meeting the Every Child Matters Outcomes for all children and young people within the Stay Safe agenda.

Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board has chosen two key priorities for 2006-2008. These have been identified from serious case reviews and reinforced by the Stay Safe outcomes raised by children and young people.

Impact of Domestic Violence On Children & Young People

BSCB will be focusing on raising public and professional awareness regarding the impact of domestic violence on children and young people to ensure they are appropriately identified, protected and supported.

With good reason, the government has placed domestic violence high upon its policy agenda. This priority has been formalised through the formation of the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence and the publishing of the first National Delivery Plan on domestic violence.

The plan focuses on key outcomes of reducing domestic violence: -

• Increasing reporting;
• Bringing more offenders to justice, reducing homicides and building the capacity of the domestic violence sector to support and protect victim/survivors and their children.

The national plan further embraces the introduction of new legislation as well as making the statutory sector more accountable in their actions to address domestic violence .It runs alongside the Tackling Violent Crime Programme aimed at helping areas of high violent crime tackle the more serious violence, predominantly alcohol fuelled violent crime and domestic violence.

Domestic Violence is one of the major crime and disorder challenges that Birmingham faces. But it is also much more than a crime, damaging the people, economy and social fabric of our city.

Addressing domestic violence is an urgent priority for Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board and the Community Safety Partnership and through the PAN Birmingham Domestic Violence Strategy 2006-2009, we intend to harness the commitment of all our agencies to state, for the first time, how Birmingham will address domestic violence and build a safer, stronger and healthier city for all.

The strategy provides both a framework within which agencies may locate their own activities as well as clear targets to be gained largely through multi-agency co-operation. Moreover, a domestic violence strategy cannot be developed in isolation from the multitude of arenas that are damaged by its prevalence. The strategy therefore seeks to connect and dovetail with all relevant national and local strategies.

This Pan-Birmingham Domestic Violence Strategy establishes as its vision a commitment to reduce domestic violence and to make Birmingham safe for those experiencing domestic violence, and their children, through co-ordinated and comprehensive multi-agency action.

Local Delivery Plan

In order to meet priority outcome 1 of the BSCB Business Plan 2006-2008 (reducing the number of children and young people) who suffer from maltreatment, neglect, violence and sexual abuse) each Area forum will undertake work with the Domestic Violence Co-ordinator and Domestic Violence Forum to raise professional awareness of the impact of domestic violence on children.

Each Area Forum to host training events about raising public and professional awareness regarding the impact of domestic violence on children and young people to ensure they are identified, protected and supported.

Multi-Agency Focus On Anti-Bullying

Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board will work and support the anti-bullying strategy developed within Birmingham to ensure that the number of children and young people affected by bullying and discrimination in schools and the community is reduced.

National & Local Context

According to the DFES, bullying is defined as deliberate hurtful behaviour repeated often over a period. Source (Bystanders & Bullying, Anti-Bullying Alliance Paper, Sept 2006)

The Children Act 2004 has further emphasised that schools and organisations providing services for children have a responsibility to provide the necessary resources needed to ensue that young people can enjoy and achieve, be healthy, achieve economic well-being and stay safe. Hence, there is a greater interest than ever in ensuring that bullying is effectively addressed.

At a local level BSCB has appointed an Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator who will develop partnership with the three Area Forums and organise and co-ordinate Anti-Bullying Training Events across the three geographical areas of Birmingham.

Birmingham has also distributed anti-bullying guidance to all schools and also published information on the website called: -

www.birmingham.gov.uk/stopbullying.

Local Delivery Plan

In order to meet priority outcome three of BSCB Business Plan, (reducing the level of discrimination and bullying in schools and the community) the Area Forums have developed training events/conferences, awareness raising, developed equality anti-bullying information and shared good practice.

Each Area forum has undertaken work with the Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator to ensure that schools undertake dissemination of information to students, parents and the wider community regarding their anti-bullying policies.