About us

Cumbria Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) is made up of statutory safeguarding partners as defined by the Children and Social Work Act (2017) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (GOV.UK)

These partners are the Local Authority, Integrated Care Board and the Police. 

The statutory safeguarding partners in Cumbria are:

  • Cumberland Council
  • Westmorland and Furness Council
  • Cumbria Police
  • Integrated Care Boards - North East and North Cumbria and Lancashire and South Cumbria 

Our purpose

The purpose of CSCP is to support and enable local organisations and agencies to work together in a system where:

  • children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted
  • partner organisations and agencies collaborate, share and co-own the vision for how to achieve improved outcomes for vulnerable children
  • organisations and agencies challenge appropriately and hold one another to account effectively
  • there is early identification and analysis of new safeguarding issues and emerging threats;
  • learning is promoted and embedded in a way that local services for children and families can become more reflective and implement changes to practice
  • information is shared effectively to facilitate more accurate and timely decision making for children and families

In order to work together effectively, the safeguarding partners with other local organisations and agencies will develop processes that:

  • facilitate and drive action beyond usual institutional and agency constraints and boundaries;
  • ensure the effective protection of children is founded on practitioners developing lasting and trusting relationships with children and their families.

How we operate

CSCP operates through a subgroup model made up of partners who develop policy, procedures and practice guidance for professionals and volunteers who work with children, young people and families in Cumbria. Work is undertaken through task and finish groups and shared far and wide across all organisations. 

CSCP has an independent Scrutineer who is responsible for holding partners to account and to provide scrutiny of the arrangements developed by the three statutory partners. 

Our partnership structure

CSCP Board

Chair: CSCP Independent Scrutineer

Purpose: To lead, promote and monitor the effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard and protect the welfare of children and young people in Cumbria.

CSCP Business Group

Chair: Cumberland Council

Purpose: This group brings together all the chairs of the subgroups of the CSCP. The group is tasked with the business of the CSCP and ensuring delivery of the CSCP priorities. 

Case Review

Chair: Probation Service 

Purpose: To receive notifications from agencies or professional or Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) of a serious incident. The group collects and collates information on each child and seeks relevant information from professionals and family members. Where a suspicion arises that neglect or abuse may have been a factor in the child’s death, referring a case back to the CSCP Chair for consideration of whether a child Safeguarding Practice Review (SAP) is required.

Professionals - If you would like to refer a case to the Case Review Group please complete a referral form, see Procedures (Referral for Case Review Group form).

Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP)

Chair: Cumberland Council 

Purpose: Reviewing all deaths up to the age of 18, excluding both those babies who are stillborn and planned terminations of pregnancy due to medical reasons, even if that child is born alive. Collecting and collating information on each child and seeking relevant information from professionals and family members.

Children's Radar

Chair: Westmorland and Furness Council

Purpose: The role of the group is to improve the standards of safeguarding and care of children in non local authority (independent) residential care provisions and living care provisions in Cumbria.

Missing, Exploited and Trafficked Children (MET)

Chair: Cumbria Constabulary

Purpose: The group will focus on the areas of child exploitation, ensuring the work of statutory partners is coordinated in helping, protecting and caring for children in our local area and that there are mechanisms in place to monitor those local arrangements.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)

Chair: Cumberland Council

Purpose: Support the CSCP in ensuring that education settings and providers, exercise their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Learning and Improvement

Chair: Westmorland and Furness Council 

Purpose: The group will plan, co-ordinate, commission and evaluate high quality multi-agency training to the children’s workforce; will ensure that the learning and development provided within agencies will equip professionals to safeguard children; and contribute to the development of staff and organisations on a multi-agency basis.

Safeguarding Hub Programme Board's (Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness)

Chair: Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council

Purpose: The responsibility of both these groups is to take the leading role in the continuing development and performance of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.

Early Help (particular interest to the CSCP)

Chair: Cumberland Council 

Purpose: The focus of the group is to ensure effective delivery of early help support for children and families in Cumbria.

Our published arrangements and annual report