Covers two local council areas (Norwich City & Broadland).

Co chairs: Alicia, from the voluntary sector and Lucy (Norwich City Council).

Some organisations who regularly attend:

• adult social care
• Norwich City Council
• community health (East of England Community Health and Care - formerly NCH&C)
• Norfolk library service
• police
• probation
• care providers
• Central Border Force
• NIHCS
• voluntary sector including RVS, YMCA, Future Projects
• Active Norfolk
• Department for Work and Pensions

2025

As an example - in the March meeting our discussion focussed on supporting those 'quieter voices'. We had a presentation on learning disability annual health checks:

• includes support through transition as starting age is 14 yrs old
• opportunity to ask about all aspects of their lives and plan meaningful support tailored to that individual
• enables professional curiosity
• currently the service is going into care settings as well to empower adults to know their rights, and what the health checks should cover
• working on additional support for those from ethnic minorities including gypsy, Roma and traveller communities
• GP will alert the team if people are not turning up, and they can offer more individualised support to attend and get care if they need it.

Also talked about:

• Reflective practice sessions with teams – to be more mindful of the quieter people
• Giving people time to talk; recognising barriers for people – acting as advocates to amplify their voices
• Prompting use of professional curiosity in staff – ask ‘why’ e.g. if someone comes in asking for something to see if anything more complicated / worrying behind it. Example of barrier to access GP – no data to go online; or terror of visiting health professional. Follow up reasons given to not attending / not engaging.
• We have to be a little quieter ourselves and listen / reflect – time to ask the extra why question – support our colleagues with this too.
• Saffron are training service / technical staff on what to look out for as they go into properties (also happening at Norwich City Council and Broadland Housing)

2024

Discussions around learning and best practice - talked about the value of LSAPs for learning; also using shadowing opportunities to develop practice.

Importance of active engagement in meetings and case reviews - interactive discussions, disagreements, and the sharing of diverse experiences contribute significantly to understanding and improving safeguarding practices.

Use of case audits to identify trends and learning opportunities - participants shared their experiences and the positive outcomes of auditing cases, e.g. improved safeguarding measures and enhanced understanding of complex cases.

Using diverse training methods. Reflective sessions and supervision were highlighted as crucial for personal and professional development in safeguarding. Members shared how these sessions allow for in-depth analysis of cases and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.