Management Information Sheet
Department for Education Consultations on changes to "Working Together to Safeguard Children" and "Information Sharing Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners"
The Department for Education consultation is seeking views on revision to the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children which sets out what is expected of agencies, organisations and individuals to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area. Working Together was last substantively updated in 2018, with a limited factual update in 2020.
In February 2023, Government published Stable Homes, Built on Love, which responded to the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care (the Care Review), the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel's report 'Child Protection in England' (the National Panel Review) and the Competition and Markets Authority's study of children's social care. Updating Working Together is central to delivering on the first phase of this transformation journey, implementing strengthened multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection for children and their families, re-balancing the system towards help at an early point and ensuring strong, effective and consistent child protection practice.
The consultation runs from 21 June to 6 September 2023 and can be accessed via the following link alongside the draft statutory guidance:
Working Together to Safeguard Children: changes to statutory guidance - Department for Education - Citizen Space
The Department for Education is hosting an Education sector focussed webinar on 13 July 2023 from 14:30 - 16:00. This will be an opportunity to learn more about the new multi-agency expectations, the role of education settings within multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, and the changes to strengthen the role of education across of the system of help, support and protection. Places can be booked via Eventbrite.
Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners
The last substantive update of the Information Sharing Advice was in July 2018 to reflect the revised Data Protection Act 2018 and introduction of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) . In response to Stable Homes, Built on Love, this consultation on the revised document seeks to address practitioners' perceptions that there are legal impediments to sharing information.
The purpose of the Information Sharing Advice is to:
- instil confidence in practitioners about the legal framework that supports the sharing of information for safeguarding and promotion of welfare purposes.
- provide a straight-forward guide to practitioners on the core principles of timely and effective information sharing, that can be applied to day-to-day decision making.
- support organisations to develop processes, policies and training for their practitioners about information sharing.
The consultation runs from 21 June to 6 September 2023 and can be accessed via the following link alongside the draft non-statutory guidance: Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners - Department for Education - Citizen Space