• safeguardingpartnerships@blackburn.gov.uk
  • 4th Floor, 10 Duke Street, Blackburn, BB2 1DH

Partnership Arrangements

Our Partnership Arrangements set out what we intend to achieve and how we intend to do it, and this is described in our published arrangements, and our strategy for 2025-2028.

Our governance structure shows how our strategic and operational subgroups work together to ensure arrangements are effective, partners are providing appropriate services, and that impact is measured to provide assurance and accountability.

Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements

Our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (or MASA) outline how Blackburn with Darwen Safeguarding Children Partnership (BwD SCP) will ensure that children are protected, with a fundamental commitment from all partners to continuously improve practice and learn how to best to do this.

Click here to view

Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a loving home that is safe and stable. It is paramount that their welfare is prioritised and that all agencies who support them work together to ensure they remain safe and stable. The BwD SCP’s Strategy sets out how all individuals, agencies and organisations will achieve this and the expectation that all partners must have a clear understanding on their own roles and responsibilities, and how they work together to safeguard children and young people.

This strategy can be found here:

Safeguarding Children Partnership Strategy 2025-2028

  • The Pan-Lancashire Alliance Board will host the regular meetings of the Lead Safeguarding Partners, involving the three Chief Executives from Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire, the Chief Executive of the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS ICB, and the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, who will meet twice a year to provide scrutiny and assurance of the three local partnership arrangements.

  • Blackburn with Darwen has convened an Accountability Panel, with the Leader of the Council, Chief Executive of the Local Authority, Senior Director of the NHS ICB, Divisional Commander of Lancashire Police (East Division) and DSPs. This is also attended by Director and Heads of Services level officers from the statutory partners across Children and Adults, the Chair/Independent Scrutineer of the Children and Adults Boards, and Business Unit Managers for both Boards, and gives the opportunity for senior leaders to review progress on priorities, review local practice and gain assurance of the safeguarding arrangements.

  • The Blackburn with Darwen Safeguarding Children Partnership Board (SCPB) acts as the strategic lead for the partnership and consists of the Designated Safeguarding Partners from the list mentioned above, who meet to ensure that the operational function of the partnership is being discharged, and that the partnership is addressing the strategies and priorities it has agreed. This board meets quarterly and receives updates from the partnership’s operational groups. It is attended by a range of relevant agency partners and also links with a number of other local partnership boards to ensure that the best outcomes for all children and young people across the borough are met.

  • The BwD SCP Safeguarding Effectiveness Group (SEG) is the group responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of safeguarding across the partnership, including the three main subgroups. It also meets quarterly, and collects and reviews data from the performance dashboard and spotlight reports on other areas of safeguarding to ensure the wider safeguarding factors are still monitored as part of a holistic scrutiny and review process. Its function is described in the BwD Safeguarding Effectiveness Framework.

  • The three sub-groups, Contextual Safeguarding, Neglect and Domestic Abuse, each monitor their own priority area and are responsible for managing their policy, quality assurance, training, and communications in relation to their priority.
  • Local Authority Children’s Services and Social Care
  • NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
  • Lancashire Constabulary
  • Schools, Colleges, Further and Higher Education, Childcare and Early Years
  • Housing
  • National Probation Service
  • Youth Offending Service and Youth Custody Provision
  • Primary Care (NHS L&SC ICB)
  • East Lancashire Health Trust (ELHT)
  • Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust (LSCFT)
  • Local Authority Adult Services
  • Local Authority Public Health
  • Local Authority Legal Services
  • Voluntary, Community, Faith Sector (VCFS) providers including services commissioned by partners that deliver around safeguarding like domestic abuse, emotional and mental health, substance misuse, contextual safeguarding etc.
  • Partnership arrangements like the Community Safety Partnership, Domestic Abuse & Multi-Agency Risk Reduction Co-ordination (MARRAC), Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), Contest & Channel and Health & Wellbeing Board.

Concerns About Children and Young People

If you are worried that a child or young person may have been harmed, please contact the MASH Team in BwD, or if it an emergency or they are in immediate risk of harm, call 999 and ask for the Police.

 

Concerns About Professionals Working with Children and Young People

If you have a concern about an adult who works with Children and/or Young People, then you can contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (or LADO). The LADO plays an important role in ensuring that safeguarding concerns made against professionals are managed appropriately by the employer/provider. For more information, Click Here.