Cabinet members have approved the latest annual reports of our Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children’s Partnership.

Both reports show how we’ve worked together with the public and our partners to keep our communities safe over the past year. They also cover our key ambitions and plans for the year to come, helping us to continue protecting people and promoting their wellbeing.

Highlights for the Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) include:

• Setting up our new ‘Preparing for Adulthood’ team within Adult Social Care. They will work with young people who need a little extra help to give them the best possible start to adulthood.
• Working with Healthwatch Barnsley to create a customer engagement post. They will work with groups across the borough to increase people’s safeguarding knowledge. The feedback they gather will also be used to inform the Board’s future plans.
• Introducing a ‘was not brought’ policy to make sure adults at risk don’t miss vital health checks. This new policy is one example of how we use Safeguarding Adults Reviews to improve the way we work.

Highlights for the Barnsley Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (BSCP) include:

• The Joint Targeted Area Inspection identified several areas where we’re working well. They found that the partnership shows our commitment to improving the lives of children and their families.
• We’re setting clear expectations for the caseloads of our social workers. This helps us to spend more time building relationships with families and working with our young people.
• Children in care and care leavers took part in Bright Spots’ online survey. This was a chance for us to hear about their experiences of living in care. The results of the survey will help to shape and improve the support we offer in the future.

Both reports also highlighted the success of last year’s Safeguarding Awareness Week. Staff and volunteers enjoyed a wide range of training events while we helped people learn how they can look out for themselves and their communities.

We hosted in-person information events to help people learn more about safeguarding, including stalls at Barnsley Market throughout the week. We’d like to thank their team for providing a welcoming space for our communities to speak with our friendly colleagues.

We also held tailored digital support sessions for adults, children and young people. This provided a great opportunity for parents and carers to learn how they can help their children stay safe online.

It was great to see so many people getting involved with Safeguarding Awareness Week, and we can't wait to share what we have planned for this year.

Councillor Jo Newing, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place Health and Adult Social Care, said: “We all want to feel safe in our relationships, at home, at work and in our communities, so I’m really proud of the energy that everyone brings to safeguarding.

“Our Safeguarding Adults Board has achieved some great things over the past year, and we will continue to strive to be even better, helping you to live well and do what Barnsley does best – look out for each other.

“I would like to thank the Board, our safeguarding colleagues and our partners. Your passion and commitment is helping to make Barnsley a safer place to live, learn and work.”

Councillor Trevor Cave, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, said: “In Barnsley, we’re committed to making our borough a safe place for children and young people to grow, helping them reach their full potential.

“I’m extremely proud of our Safeguarding Children’s Partnership for their strong and visible commitment to our young people. By working together, you’re improving the way we work and giving a voice to children across Barnsley.”

The Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children’s Partnership are multi-agency boards. Their scrutiny and challenge helps to make sure we’re working well together to keep our communities safe.

You can read both annual reports in our Cabinet papers.

To learn more about keeping children, young people and adults safe, please visit our safeguarding webpage. Here, you will find information on how you can report your concerns and how we can help you.