As a project we have felt it to be important to try and share information with other agencies about our work to safeguard children in Gwynedd. This has been done in various ways: through creating the website, creating bulletins and through arranging multi agency information sharing sessions. Holding such an event gives us the opportunity to explain further what the model is aiming to achieve and other professionals’ roles in making it successful.
We focused this event in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd due to the project being established here. We held 2 sessions across the day to try and maximise the number of professionals able to attend: the response was encouraging and the turnout was great! Many professionals from many disciplines were able to attend.
Information sheets were created to provide some further information regarding the ‘change’ and ‘measure’ elements which professionals could take away and share with other staff members who had been unable to attend.
Some professionals shared that they had seen a difference in case conferences and core groups that they had attended, and that the role of the Chairperson was pivotal with regard to the project; some felt that the visual aspects of the project were beneficial to the families that they support; some felt that it is a challenge to continue to keep the focus within core groups, and discussions were held around working through the ‘noise’ that is often prevalent in child protection cases in order to be able to focus on the key changes that need to be made to safeguard the child.
Following what we consider to be a successful event, the plan is to arrange another information sharing event in the Arfon area in the new year, in order to offer the same opportunity to the professionals working in that locality.
