Agenda item

The Board received the Annual Reports for 2014/15 from the Coventry Safeguarding Adults and Children Boards. The Safeguarding Adults Report had been presented to the Council’s Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board on 18^th November, 2015 and the Safeguarding Children Report was to be submitted to the Education and Children’s Services Scrutiny Board (2) at their meeting on 16^th December, 2015. 

Coventry Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report

Isabel Merrifield, Chair of the Quality Assurance and Performance Sub-Group gave a presentation on the Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report. The Safeguarding Board was required to publish an annual report and business plan. The report provided an introduction to safeguarding; detailed the responsibilities of the Board; highlighted the key achievements of the individual sub-groups and reviewed progress against priorities. The report concluded with the Board’s business plan. A performance dashboard was set out at an appendix. 

The presentation set out the Board’s accomplishments; successes and challenges along with the priorities for the future. Accomplishments included the implementation of the Care Act, working more closely with other Boards, completing three multi-agency reviews and developing the performance dashboard. Priorities for the future included using performance information to drive improvement; Care Act compliance; Transforming Care; making safeguarding personal; and working across Boards. The presentation concluded with the role of the Health and Well-being Board in safeguarding.

The Board discussed the issue of mental health and how this was being addressed. In response to how the Board could support and monitor the work of the Adult Safeguarding Board, the issues of raising awareness and the low levels of reporting were highlighted. Concerns were raised about the lasting impact of children witnessing domestic violence and abuse.

Coventry Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report

Janet Mokades, Chair of Safeguarding Children Board gave a presentation on the Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report. The report outlined the achievements and challenges of the Board and assessed progress on outcomes for children and young people. It evaluated the impact of Coventry’s services on outcomes for children and showed how the work of the Board had contributed to improving outcomes. It also detailed the Board’s progress in implementing its former and current priorities.

The presentation headlined the message that there had been significant improvement in the safeguarding of children in the city and some important outcomes for children were getting better.

The Board discussed concerns about self-harming and mental health issues with children and young people and Janet Mokades indicated that children’s’ mental health and wellbeing was the issue which caused her most concern. They were informed about the considerable volume of work for the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and for schools. This item was being picked up in the Marmot work. In response to how the Board could support and monitor the work of the Children Safeguarding Board, the issue of engaging GPs in the core work of safeguarding was also put forward.

RESOLVED that the Annual Reports from the Adults and Children Safeguarding Boards for 2014/15 be noted.