Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership
The role of the Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership is to make sure agencies are working together to safeguard children and young people and make them safe. The Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) is a statutory body established under the new arrangements of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. The HSCP is led by three Safeguarding Partners: Herefordshire Council, the NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board, and West Mercia Police.
The guide below is designed for young people, to explain how adults and professionals are expected to work together to protect and safeguard children – Young Person’s Guide to Working Together to Safeguard Children.
The three Safeguarding Partners meet quarterly to form the ‘Safeguarding Partners Board’ that has strategic oversight of child protection arrangements across the local authority area of Herefordshire. Their role is to lead, coordinate, develop, challenge and monitor the delivery of effective child protection and safeguarding practice by all agencies across Herefordshire. The Partnership’s Independent Scrutineer is Mr Kevin Crompton, who’s role is to provide assurance in judging the effectiveness of the multi-agency arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children within Herefordshire.
The broader Safeguarding Partnership consists of Relevant Agencies that cooperate to safeguard children and promote their welfare. These agencies are engaged in the activity of the Partnership’s subgroups, review and audit activity, Leadership Summits and Practitioner Forums.
The multi-agency safeguarding arrangements set out how the safeguarding partners will work together and engage with any relevant agencies to safeguard and protect the welfare of children in the area.
Our values and principles have been developed in collaboration with partners, through a variety of engagement activities.
Our values:
Our principles:
We will address the well-being needs of children and young people at the earliest opportunity and prevent the need for later child protection intervention whenever possible – providing the right help at the right time.
The three Safeguarding Partners along with Relevant Agencies, (our wider partners), form Herefordshire’s Safeguarding Partnership. Together we are committed to delivering the Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership vision through the Strategic Plan, according to an agreed set of values and principles.
To read the current Strategic Plan for the HSCP, select HSCP Strategic Plan 2021-24
Strategic Priority 1 – Leadership:
Embed a culture of collective responsibility, accountability, and professional challenge built on guiding principles of respect and openness to forge an effective safeguarding children’s partnership.
Strategic Priority 2 – Neglect:
Prevent and reduce neglect to improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Herefordshire.
Strategic Priority 3 – Right Help, Right Time
A coordinated multi-agency approach to provide children and families with the right help and support at the right time (RHRT)
Strategic Priority 4 – Child Exploitation
Prevent and reduce child exploitation to improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Herefordshire.
Latest HSCP Annual Report: HSCP Yearly Report 2023-24
Previous annual reports:
Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2022-23
HSCP Annual Review of Effectiveness 2021-22
Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership annual report 2020-21
The HSCP has published a Communication and Media Protocol for Statutory Safeguarding Partners and Relevant Agencies involved in the protection and safeguarding of children and young people. Read the HSCP Communications and Media Protocol here.
The HSCP has published a Learning and Development Strategy that outlines priority areas for learning, as well as roles as responsibilities of individuals and organisations – HSCP Learning and Development Strategy 2023-25
The HSCP Engagement Framework sets out the partnership’s commitment to engaging with children, young people, parents and carers, and how we will ensure that their voice is influential, informs decisions and how services are designed.
Read the HSCP Engagement Framework 2024-26.
Read about the role of the HSCP Subgroups.
