Multi-agency safeguarding arrangements: overcoming the challenges of Covid-19 measures

Abstract

Purpose Information sharing and joint working between agencies undertaking direct work with children have long been recognised as fundamental to robust and effective safeguarding and child protection arrangements. The public health response to Covid-19 disrupted those arrangements abruptly. This study aims to identify some of the innovative practices that have been implemented and how responses might inform planning for multi-agency working in the future. Design/methodology/approach This study presents reflections on preliminary fieldwork from a study of how agencies in London are responding to the challenges for multi-agency safeguarding arrangements created by the Covid-19 measures. It draws on the experience of expert practitioners in the research team as well as interviews with 17 senior professionals from local authorities, safeguarding partnerships and health. Findings The study participants endorsed known concerns around increased risks to children and raised new concerns about particular groups of children that under normal circumstances would not have been at risk. They identified some unexpected benefits derived from new arrangements, especially in relation to engagement with remote working. Originality/value Early insights are offered into promising initiatives to preserve strong multi-agency arrangements in crises and strengthen the resilience of the child protection system.

Social work and child protection for a post-pandemic world: the re-making of practice during COVID-19 and its renewal beyond it

“…While more 'direct stuff' was going on pre-Covid than this allows for (Ferguson et al, 2020a), the pandemic brought to the fore power relations and structural inequalities and opened up possibilities for a social model of child protection and an ethics of critical practice that tackles head on the effects of poverty, racism and other injustice (Featherstone et al, 2018;Keddell, 2020). This finding concerning the new possibilities for humane practice is supported by other research that considered the initial social impact of Covid-19 (Driscoll et al, 2020;Racher & Brodie, 2020). By allowing these improvisatory modes of responding to and anticipating families' needs to take precedence, the experience of the pandemic has shown the effectiveness of such techniques of care by incorporating them into the routines of social work practice.…”

“…Early research identified how 'virtual home visits' (Cook & Zschomler, 2020) were adopted by child protection social workers in England during the first few months of the pandemic. Other innovative forms of online working emerged, such as using digital communication tools or popular platforms like TikTok and Instagram to engage young people at risk of exploitation (Racher & Brodie, 2020), with professionals reporting that some children and families were readier to engage with multi-agency meetings or support services online (see also Driscoll et al, 2020). Agencies involved in multiagency safeguarding observed that the immediacy of online communication lent 'increased speed and urgency' to existing processes (Pearce & Miller, 2020, p. 289).…”

Editorial

“…Although the use of digital platforms for child protection meetings, return home interviews and to keep in touch with young people in and leaving care has not been without challenges, findings from the research in this volume suggest that in some circumstances, remote meetings have shifted the balance of power between young people and professionals and given the former a greater sense of control over their participation in meetings, thus facilitating their engagement (Driscoll et al, 2020;Racher and Brodie, 2020;Pearce and Miller, 2020). Similarly, it was noted that some families had felt able to speak more frankly during remote meetings (Driscoll et al, 2020). It was also suggested that the dynamics between families and professionals have altered, with less emphasis being placed on "surveillance" and more on the provision of practical support, including, for example delivery of food parcels and/or assistance with bills (Driscoll et al, 2020;Racher and Brodie, 2020).…”

“…Similarly, it was noted that some families had felt able to speak more frankly during remote meetings (Driscoll et al, 2020). It was also suggested that the dynamics between families and professionals have altered, with less emphasis being placed on "surveillance" and more on the provision of practical support, including, for example delivery of food parcels and/or assistance with bills (Driscoll et al, 2020;Racher and Brodie, 2020). As a social worker in Ferguson et al's (2020) study also reflected:…”

Collaboration in Times of Crisis: Leading UK Schools in the Early Stages of a Pandemic

“…Throughout periods of school closure, school leaders retained responsibility for educational equity, and teacher and pupil wellbeing, including safeguarding (Pearce & Miller, 2020). The pandemic increased existing vulnerabilities and generated new ones (Driscoll et al, 2020). To mitigate the impact of the pandemic on wellbeing and education, the normative and operational imperative for effective collaboration among public sector professionals escalated.…”