Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board Business Group Terms of Reference

Transcription

1 Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board Business Group Terms of Reference

2 1. Purpose Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) Business Group will act as the executive business group on behalf of Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board. It will contribute to the Board s statutory objective for co-ordinating local work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Newcastle and ensuring the effectiveness of these arrangements. 2. Functions Inform the strategic direction of Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and the Children s Trust Board Identify key priorities for safeguarding and the Stay Safe outcome; contribute to the Newcastle Plan for Children and Young People, including commissioning processes Oversee the work of NSCB committees and sub working groups Agree agenda items for NSCB meetings Challenge and support organisations, services and partnerships in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people Develop, implement and monitor NSCB Business Plan; ensure the production of the bi-annual Stay Safe report to the Children s Trust Board and NSCB annual report Support funding applications linked to the Stay Safe and safeguarding activity Secure the involvement of all relevant partners and ensure there is clear communication processes Act as a conduit for information sharing on national and local issues, including the evidence base for effective interventions Analyse management information and contribute to inspection processes Ensure the involvement and participation of children, young people, parents and carers in the work of the Board Oversee licensing activity Jan

3 3. Group membership NSCB Committee chairpersons Head of Children s Social Care & Safeguarding (Chairperson) DCI Northumbria Police Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Schools (primary, secondary & special) NHS North of Tyne (vice chair) NSCB Co-ordinator CSSU Manager Performance Monitoring Officer Designated Doctor for Safeguarding School Improvement Service Voluntary & community sector Others co-opted and invited to attend as and when necessary 5. Quorum A quorate meeting will be represented by three different organisations. 6. Chairperson The Group will appoint a chairperson and vice chairperson on an annual basis. The chairperson must be an active Board member. The chairperson of the Business Group will liaise closely with NSCB Independent Chairperson on the work of the Group. 7. Budget The group will submit proposals on funding and expenditure to NSCB to support business plan objectives. 8. Role of group members Refer to NSCB Code of Conduct: G:\NSCB\Newcastle Safeguarding Children Jan

4 9. Decision Making The Business Group will make decisions on issues relating to the progress of NSCB Business Plan and operational activity. NSCB will remain the decision making body on all issues relating to: Priorities & Business Plan Finance & resources Complaints Serious Case Review reports and action plans NSCB risk register Conflict resolution Wherever possible all other decisions taken by the Group will be made unanimously. Where there is a divide or dissent on a decision it will be escalated up to the Board to resolve. Decisions made will not be subsequently re-visited unless a review or amendment is required and agreed. 10. Structure Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board NSCB Business Group NSCB Committees Sub working groups & partnerships Jan

5 11. Accountabilities NSCB Committees and sub-working groups will report on progress to the NSCB Business Group on a quarterly basis. NSCB Business Group reports on overall progress to NSCB on a quarterly basis, and reports progress on safeguarding activity and the Stay Safe outcome to the Children s Trust Board on a bi-annual basis. 12. Equality & diversity Equality is at the heart of everything Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board does. We will carry out equality impact needs assessments help us make better decisions and to ensure we do not adopt harmful policies or procedures. 13. Dependencies Information may need to be shared with or considered from any of the partnerships below: NSCB Independent Chairperson NSCB Policy & Procedure Committee NSCB Standards & Effectiveness Committee NSCB Serious Case Review Committee North of Tyne Child Death Overview Panel NSCB Training Committee Stay Safe sub working groups 1 Children s Workforce Board Children s Trust Board Licensing Authority MAPPA Strategy Group Safeguarding Adults Board Safe Newcastle Partnership 1 These can change year on year and are linked to the Newcastle Plan for Children and Young People and NSCB Business Plan Jan

6 14. Management and Administration NSCB will provide administrative support to the group. The Independent Chairperson for NSCB will receive copies of all meeting minutes. 15. Frequency of meetings 3 monthly in advance of the Board meetings Jan

7 Appendix 1 Report template Report to Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board Business Group NSCB Committee or sub working Group: Reporting period: Report author: 1 Meeting dates 2 Summary 3 Progress on objectives and actions since last report 4 Progress and actions planned for next period 5 Any other issues for consideration including, attendance, risks or funding Contact details: Jan