Date of meeting: 21 May 2025

Agencies represented:

Children’s Social Care;

Education;

Youth Justice Service;

VAWG and Modern Slavery Lead

Croydon Housing;

South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB);

Croydon Health Services;

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM);

Metropolitan Police;

National Probation Service;

Independent Scrutineer

CSCP Business Team

Chair: Julie Daley, Interim Head of MASH, Emergency Duty Team and Family Solutions Service

Quality Assurance Group strengthens performance oversight and partnership accountability

Overview

The Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) Quality Assurance Group met in May to review safeguarding performance, monitor quality assurance activity and consider how the partnership can strengthen accountability, learning and continuous improvement across agencies.

The meeting focused on the importance of high-quality partnership data, effective scrutiny and ensuring that safeguarding activity can demonstrate a positive impact on children and young people. Members discussed performance monitoring, audit findings, partner engagement and learning from quality assurance activity.

Partners also considered opportunities to improve information sharing, strengthen multi-agency challenge and make greater use of data and evidence to identify safeguarding risks, trends and areas requiring improvement.

Positive work highlighted

Members welcomed significant progress in the development of the CSCP safeguarding performance dataset. Partners agreed that the dataset now provides a much stronger evidence base than in previous years and supports a deeper understanding of safeguarding activity, outcomes and emerging risks across Croydon.

The Quality Assurance Group noted positive progress within the partnership audit programme, including work focused on children affected by domestic abuse. Members highlighted the value of these audits in identifying strengths, learning opportunities and areas for further development.

The meeting also recognised the contribution of recent community engagement activity and the partnership's commitment to working more closely with voluntary and community sector organisations. This was seen as an important part of understanding local needs and improving safeguarding practice.

Partners welcomed the publication of a new Leadership, Trust and Accountability briefing, designed to strengthen learning across agencies and promote effective safeguarding culture and practice.

Challenges discussed

A key issue discussed was inconsistent attendance and engagement at some partnership meetings, particularly those focused on performance and data analysis. Members agreed that effective safeguarding scrutiny relies on strong multi-agency participation and meaningful challenge from all partners.

The meeting highlighted the importance of ensuring partner agencies provide timely updates and contribute to quality assurance activity, audits and performance reviews. Without full participation, it can be difficult to develop a complete understanding of safeguarding risks and performance.

Members also considered the challenges of balancing competing priorities, capacity pressures and increasing demands across organisations while maintaining strong partnership engagement.

The Group discussed the need to move beyond the collection of safeguarding data alone and ensure information is used effectively to understand outcomes for children and drive service improvement.

Key discussion items

• Development and oversight of the CSCP performance dataset.

• Improving attendance, engagement and challenge within performance review meetings.

• Progress and findings from multi-agency quality assurance activity and audits.

• Learning relating to children affected by domestic abuse.

• The role of partner updates in identifying emerging safeguarding issues and risks.

• Publication and dissemination of the Leadership, Trust and Accountability briefing.

• The contribution of community organisations and partnership engagement activity.

• The use of new technology to support recording, analysis and safeguarding practice.

  
  

Actions agreed

• Strengthen attendance and participation at safeguarding performance and data meetings.

• Formalise arrangements for performance dataset meetings, including governance and reporting structures.

• Complete and present findings from ongoing domestic abuse audit work.

• Ensure agencies review and provide feedback on the quarterly safeguarding report.

• Promote and disseminate the Leadership, Trust and Accountability briefing within partner organisations.

• Support wider awareness of safeguarding resources and community services available to children and families.

• Maintain oversight of new technology and ensure appropriate quality assurance arrangements remain in place.

• Continue strengthening the use of data to identify safeguarding risks, trends and improvement priorities.

  
  

Closing statement

The Quality Assurance Group reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening safeguarding through effective scrutiny, learning and partnership challenge. Members agreed that robust data, meaningful partner engagement and a strong quality assurance framework are essential to understanding the experiences of children and young people and driving continuous improvement across Croydon’s safeguarding system.