Renfrewshire gets top marks for protecting children

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By November 2008, HMIe will have inspected the child protection services in 28 out of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas. So far, Renfrewshire has come out on top.

Renfrewshire's child protection services are provided under the umbrella of the Renfrewshire Child Protection Committee (RCPC) chaired by Tim Huntingford. The RCPC includes: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Renfrewshire Council, the Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership, Strathclyde Police, the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, and the voluntary sector.

Inspectors praised the way that the agencies which make up the RCPC worked together to protect children. The RCPC's objective evaluation of its own services and the honest recognition of where it did well, and where there was scope for improvement, were also recognised as key strengths. The organisation's efforts to raise public awareness of child protection issues were also singled out for comment.

Inspectors found that: "Services were easy to access and that support often continued after the immediate risks had been addressed."

"Staff across services took prompt and appropriate action when children were at risk of immediate harm or for whom concern had been expressed."

Senior staff, in all of the partnership bodies, were praised. The inspectors commented: "Joint leadership within and across services was excellent. This joint leadership led to a high level of trust and cooperation between services."

"A clear multi-agency approach ensured staff worked well together to give co-ordinated help. Concerns raised by the public were followed up promptly and appropriately by both police and social work services. This resulted in children being protected."

The inspectors felt that: "Members of the public were given good information and knew how to report concerns. A number of initiatives to raise public awareness had been developed by the RCPC. These included mass mailings to local people, media interviews with accompanying features and advertising on local buses. A particularly effective infomercial was held within local shopping centres."

The inspectors closed their report by saying they were, "very confident that children who required protection were known to services and prompt action was taken to ensure their safety."

Tim Huntingford, chair of the RCPC, said: "This is a very good report but we can never be complacent. There is always more that can be done. We will build on the strengths that have been highlighted and look closely at the areas for improvement. The report reflects a great deal of hard work by all of the partners that make up Renfrewshire's Child Protection Committee. It reflects their solid commitment and the recognition that it is everyone’s job to protect children."

David Martin, chief executive of Renfrewshire Council, said: "Local authorities are in a unique position to actively protect children and to spot when intervention is needed. Social workers are on the front line but teachers, nursery staff, housing officers, plumbers and electricians are all in a position to look and listen for the signs that a child needs help. The HMIe report acknowledges our efforts to involve all our employees in this vital work. It also acknowledges the powerful coalition that has been brought together under the auspices of the RCPC and the strength and effectiveness of its common purpose to protect children."

David Lees, director of the Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership, said: "This report reflects the excellent joint working underway locally to ensure local children are protected. It is a real credit to staff that the report is so positive. Our main challenge now is use the report to drive us to continue to deliver high quality services and improve where we can."

Chief Superintendent John Harkin, divisional commander of Renfrewshire & Inverclyde Division, said: "HMIe findings endorse the highly effective partnership work conducted in Renfrewshire to ensure our children are safe. The multi-agency arrangements and shared intelligence makes it less likely that any case could fall through a gap in our services. However, there is no room for complacency in this critical area of our business and I would urge any person who suspects a child may be at risk to contact the authorities."

These are the numbers to call if you are concerned about a child:

Child protection line 0800 022 3222
Paisley Social Work 0141 842 5151
Johnstone Social Work 01505 342300
Renfrew Social Work 0141 886 5784
Social Work - evenings and weekends 0800 811 505
Police 0141 532 5900

Press release: Thursday 23 October 2008