Safeguarding Children and Young People in Norfolk

We all have a duty to safeguard children and young people.

The Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team is a member of Norfolk Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB), which has a statutory duty to:

• co-ordinate how agencies work together to safeguard and promote the well-being of children
• to ensure the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

In ensuring all children and young people in Norfolk feel safe and cared for, we continually look at how best to address the needs of our substance misusing population who are parents, who have responsibility for a child, who may come into contact with a child on a regular basis or a child who is misusing substances.

Protocol 10

In partnership with agencies across Norfolk, including the NSCB, local substance misuse providers, Children’s Services, Prison Services, Health and Job Centre Plus, we have reviewed and updated Protocol 10 – Working together to provide services for children, young people and parents where substance misuse is a concern. To view a copy of Protocol 10 as a PDF, please visit the NSCB web page.

Safeguarding Flowchart

We have produced a Safeguarding Flowchart in line with Protocol 10 which aims to support professionals in assessing the needs of families where substance misuse is a concern.

You can view this Flowchart and its supporting information here.

Improving Practice

In looking how to improve our practice we have:

• Used the National Treatment Agency’s Self Audit Tool to assess Norfolk’s performance in defined areas including: Strategic Management, Policy and Protocols, Workforce Development, Quality and Commissioned Services
• Taken note of the lessons learnt from case studies and serious case reviews
• Held workshops with partners to seek their views and ideas on how to improve local support and services
• Developed a safeguarding action plan to oversee specific activities and allocate tasks

Suggestions?

Identifying areas for improvement is a constant element of our work, therefore, if you have any suggestions about additional areas that should be considered or implemented then please do not hesitate to contact us using the N-DAP contact form and with the subject as 'Protocol 10'.