Barking and Dagenham Safeguarding Children Board 

Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) are the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do. 

The scope of the LSCB role falls into three categories:

1. They engage in activities that safeguard all children and aim to identify and prevent maltreatment, or impairment of health or development, and to ensure that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care
2. They lead and coordinate proactive work that aims to target particular groups; and
3. They lead and coordinate arrangements for responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

LSCBs should have a clear and distinct identity within local Children’s Trust governance arrangements. It is the responsibility of the LA to appoint the LSCB Chair. Membership of the LSCB is made up of senior managers from different services and agencies in a local area, including the independent and voluntary sector. In addition, the Board receives input from experts, for example, the designated nurse or doctor.

To assist the LSCB there are six committees and a main Board group. The six committees are:

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) sets out how individuals and organisations should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.  It replaces the previous version of Working Together, which was published in 2006.

Chapter 3 of Working Together sets out the role, functions, governance and operation of LSCBs.