Tracy Maratty

On 15 December 2023, the government published “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. Statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children”.

This statutory guidance sets out what organisations and agencies who have functions relating to children must and should do to help, protect and promote the welfare of all children and young people under the age of 18 in England. The 2023 edition replaces Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

A summary of changes is now available at Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (durham-scp.org.uk)

Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership (DSCP) have been working with Durham County Council to launch a new awareness raising campaign for Private Fostering.

• Private fostering is an arrangement that occurs when a child under the age of 16 (or 18 if disabled) is cared for by someone other than their parent or a close relative for 28 consecutive days or more. A close relative is a grandparent, sibling, uncle or aunt or a step-parent.

Please help support us in raising awareness about Private Fostering by downloading and sharing digitally, or download/print and share at venues in your own community:

• Private Fostering – A Guide for Children and Young People.pdf
• Private Fostering – A Guide for Parents and Carers.pdf
• Private Fostering – A Guide for Practitioners.pdf

The Improvement Delivery Group have now completed the first five stages of the learning cycle for Priority Two. The Business Unit have created a briefing for practitioners to explain what we have looked at and to give some helpful links to resources and guidance. It is an A3 document designed to be taken into team meetings, supervisions or to be used by practitioners to help them to understand what HOTH is, the early warning indicators and what you can do.

DSCP Priority Two – Harm Outside The Home (HOTH) Briefing.pdf