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News & Views

UPDATE: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 - 04/03/2024

In December 2023 the DfE published an update to the statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (WTTSC) and a document summarising the changes that had been made, which can be found here.

In February 2024, there have been further updates, which you can find here.

A summary of the changes are:

  • amended the wording used to describe lead safeguarding partners (page 26, paragraph 48).
  • corrected the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel email address (page 42).
  • updated the glossary definition of 'safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children' to match that on pages 7 to 8 (page 161).
  • linked to the latest version of 'Good practice guidance on working with parents with a learning disability' (page 167).
  • the definition of the statutory definition of safeguarding has changed (pages 7 and 8, and page 167),

The update to the statutory definition of safeguarding is as follows:

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children - defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

  • providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
  • protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
  • preventing impairment of children's mental and physical health or development
  • ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
  • promoting the upbringing of children with their birth parents, or otherwise their family network through a kinship care arrangement, whenever possible and where this is in the best interests of the children
  • taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes in line with the outcomes set out in the Children's Social Care National Framework.

To download the latest version of WTTSC, click here.

Other useful links:

Children's Social Care National Framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-national-framework