Safeguarding children and young people
Children and young people are different from adults and have very different needs. The Health and Social Care Act 2003 states that the Healthcare Commission must pay particular attention to “the need to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children.”
In April 2005, we established a safeguarding children board which meets quarterly. The group considers the needs of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Concerns regarding the welfare of children and young people that are reported to the Commission are recorded in a database and monthly updates are sent to our head of children's strategy/lead for safeguarding children and young people, and are also discussed at the meetings of the safeguarding children board.
In addition to our safeguarding children board, we have four regional leads that work towards safeguarding children at a local level by providing support, advice and assistance in issues regarding the safeguarding of children and young people.
If you would like to raise a concern about the welfare of children and young people, please contact our helpline on 0845 601 3012.
Read through the sections below to find out about our other work relating to safeguarding children and young people.
Safeguarding children and young people - A shared responsibility
Our first report on safeguarding children and young people summarises the Commission's responsibilities for protecting children and young people and promoting their welfare. It looks at the role of key organisations, safeguarding work we have done in the last three years and what we have learnt from this work. It also places children’s safety in the perspective of significant changes that are now occurring across government agencies and inspectorates.
Safeguarding Children and young people - A shared responsibility (pdf 1134kb) (opens new window)
Joint Chief Inspectors’ Report
Joint Chief Inspectors’ reports on safeguarding are carried out following the recommendations from Lord Laming’s 2003 inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. These reports provide a national picture of safeguarding arrangements for children and young people in England.
The Healthcare Commission is contributing to the third joint Chief Inspectors’ Report on Safeguarding Children, to be published in 2008. It is being led by the (soon to be) integrated children’s inspectorate, which will be known as the Office for Standards in Education and Social Care and will look at the work of local safeguarding children boards.
The third joint inspectors report on safeguarding children shows that although public bodies have made improvements in ensuring that children are safe and healthy, some of the most vulnerable children, especially those with the most complex needs, don't always get the help and support that they need.
The second joint Chief Inspectors’ report focused on safeguarding arrangements for children with long term needs (published in July 2005).
Read the second joint Chief Inspectors’ Report: Safeguarding children (pdf 424kb) (opens new window)
The first joint Chief Inspectors’ report provided a national overview of safeguarding arrangements nationally (published in October 2002).
Self-assessment tool for child protection arrangements
To provide clinicians with guidance on child protection, our predecessor, the Commission for Health Improvement, developed a self-assessment tool for clinicians. We updated and re-launched the tool in October 2004.
Access the online self assessment tool for child protection arrangements
Download the self assessment tool for child protection arrangements (pdf 150kb) (opens new window)
Most reports on this site are PDF files, to view any PDF file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.