Gwynedd Council is leading the way in child protection services and recently took centre stage in an international event aimed at eradicating child neglect and ill-treatment.
The Children and Families Service within Gwynedd Social Services has won plaudits from across the board for their groundbreaking Risk Assessment Model. Most recently the service has been recognised by Baspcan – the national association which drives education and training amongst professionals who work to safeguard vulnerable young people.
Dafydd Paul, from Gwynedd Social Service’s management unit, recently gave a presentation about the new model at Baspcan’s international conference in Belfast. In 2011 the team scooped a prestigious Social Care Accolade (Wales) for children and family intervention for the same body of work, and will now go on to give another presentation at the NSPCC’s national conference which is to be held at Manchester in May.
The new working methods developed by Gwynedd Council have now been adopted by other local authorities across the UK, including Liverpool City Council and Manchester City Council.
Marian Parry Hughes, Head of Children’s Services at Gwynedd Social Services, said: “Child protection and the prevention of abuse and neglect have really been in the public eye in recent years following some much publicised and harrowing cases from across the UK. We are all working hard to ensure that every young person has the childhood that they deserve, and can grow up to be healthy, happy and well-adjusted individuals.
“It has become clear that frontline staff, such as social workers, are key in addressing child protection issues. Staff should be armed with the correct training and support to make the right decisions.
“We believe that our new way of working gives staff the right framework, and the confidence, to make clear and consistent decisions when they are assessing if a child is at risk of significant harm. I’m delighted that seven other local authorities from across the UK are now using the same framework and methods, this is a real boost to us.”
Supporting the ability of staff to exercise professional judgement and make better decisions is central to the Munro Report into improving child protection systems.
