6.3 Training and Development for Inter Agency Work |
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Training for Inter-Agency Work
- Training for inter-agency work means training which will equip people to work effectively with those from other agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This training takes place in two ways:
- Single-agency training which is training carried out by a particular agency for its own staff; and
- Inter-agency training which is for employees of different agencies who either work together formally or come together for training or development
Training Delivered on an Inter-Agency Basis
- Training delivered on an inter-agency basis is a highly effective way of promoting a common and shared understanding of the respective roles and responsibilities of different professionals and contributes to effective working relationships by developing. Each agency is responsible for keeping a record of training undertaken by members of staff.
The Purpose of Training for Inter-Agency Work
- The purpose of training for inter-agency working means is to help achieve better outcomes for children and young people by helping to develop and foster:
- A shared understanding of the tasks, processes, principles, and roles and responsibilities outlined in national guidance and local arrangements for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare
- More effective and integrated services at both the strategic and individual case level
- Improved communication between professionals including a common understanding of key terms, definitions, and thresholds for action; and
- Effective working relationships, including an ability to work in multidisciplinary groups or teams and, sound decision making based on information sharing, thorough assessment, critical analysis, and professional judgement.
Responsible Employers
- Employers are responsible for ensuring their employees are confident and competent in carrying out their responsibilities and for ensuring employees are aware of how to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns. They should also identify adequate resources and support for inter-agency training. This would include providing staff who have the relevant expertise to contribute to the planning, resourcing, delivering and evaluation of training; and releasing staff to attend the appropriate inter-agency training courses.
The Council and its Partners
- The Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) should work within the workforce strategy to manage the identification of training needs, use the information to inform the planning and commissioning of training and check and evaluate single- and inter-agency training.
Training Ethos
- All training in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children should create an ethos which:
- Values working collaboratively
- Respects diversity
- Promotes equality
- Is child centred and
- Promotes the participation of children and families in the processes.
Training and Development for Inter-Agency Work
- Training and development for inter-agency work at the appropriate level should be targeted at professionals in voluntary, statutory and independent sectors who:
- Are in regular contact with children and young people
- Work regularly with children and young people, and with adults who are parents or carers, and who may be asked to contribute to assessments of children in need; and
- Have particular responsibility for safeguarding children
- Training and development are also relevant to operational managers and those with strategic responsibility for services.
Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) Responsibility
- It is the responsibility of the CSAP, working through its Training Sub-Group and with the training coordinator, to ensure that all CSAP training to support inter- and multi-agency work:
- Is delivered by trainers who are sufficiently knowledgeable about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and have facilitation skills
- Is informed by current research evidence, lessons from serious case and child death reviews, and local and national developments
- Reflects an understanding of the rights of the child and be informed by an active respect for diversity and the experience of service users, and a commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity; and
- Is regularly reviewed to ensure that it meets the agreed learning outcomes
Training on Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children
- Training on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children can only be fully effective if it is embedded within a wider framework of commitment to inter- and multi-agency working, underpinned by shared goals, planning processes, and values. It is most likely to be effective if it is delivered within a framework that includes:
- A clear mandate from senior managers (for example, through the CSAP), with endorsement and commitment from member agencies
- Adequate resources and capacity to deliver or commission training
- Opportunities to consolidate learning made available within agencies
- The identification and periodic review of local training needs using standards for practice, followed by decisions about priorities
- A training strategy that makes clear the difference between single agency and inter-agency training responsibilities and which partnerships or bodies are responsible for commissioning and delivery of training
- Structures and processes for organising and coordinating delivery
- Systems for the delivery of inter-agency training and quality assurance processes.
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