Auditing
Section 11 Audits
Section 11 (s11) of Children Act 2004 puts a legal duty on a range of organisations to ensure that their functions – and any that they contract out to others, are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The HSCP has developed a safeguarding audit tool to help organisations undertake their own quality assurance process in regard to safeguarding and child protection. The audit programme runs across two years and its outcomes help to inform the strategic direction of the partnership.
Annual Education Safeguarding Audit
Sections 157 and 175 of the Education Act 2002 places a statutory duty on independent and maintained schools to make arrangements to ensure that in discharging their functions, they have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and that any services they contract out to others are provided having regard to that need.
In fulfilling its statutory objectives under Section 14 of the Children Act 2004, the HSCP is required to ensure that schools are meeting these duties effectively.
The HSCP has developed a safeguarding audit tool which has been mapped against Keeping Children Safe in Education (2018), Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018. The audit programme runs across two years.
Multi-Agency Case Audits
The HSCP undertakes a schedule of multi-agency case audits as part of its Safeguarding Effectiveness Framework. More information about how these audits are used is outlined in the Safeguarding Effectiveness Framework and HSCP Plan.
Audits enable the partnership to monitor the effectiveness of safeguarding practices, recognise areas of good practice that can be shared and built upon and identify areas in which there may be policy, training and developmental needs.
Each round of audits focuses on front-line, multi-agency practice. The theme of each audit changes dependent on national/local issue or priority areas for the partnership.
Multi-Agency Child Sexual Abuse Audit – 2021
HSCP Child Sexual Abuse Multi-Agency Learning Briefing – 2021