The Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) Executive Group met on 10 June 2026 to review partnership performance, address key safeguarding challenges, and drive forward improvement across agencies.

Senior leaders from children’s services, health, police and other partners came together to strengthen system leadership and oversight of safeguarding arrangements.

Strengthening Partnership Accountability and Capacity

The Executive Group continues to take an active role in addressing system-level challenges affecting safeguarding delivery.

• The funding gap for a Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) Coordinator role will be formally escalated to senior NHS leadership to ensure appropriate capacity and oversight. 

• Concerns about safeguarding capacity within mental health services (SLaM) will be formally raised through a partnership letter, highlighting risks associated with staffing gaps. 

  
  

In addition, leaders acknowledged increasing workforce and resource pressures across all agencies, with a shared commitment to escalate risks and work collectively to identify solutions. 

Improving Safeguarding Through Stronger Housing Collaboration

A significant focus of the meeting was the relationship between Housing and Children’s Social Care (CSC).

• A joint Housing/CSC protocol is in development to improve clarity of roles and responsibilities, particularly where families present as homeless with children. 

• Partners highlighted the need for the protocol to reflect the expectations of Working Together 2026 and ensure housing is fully embedded as a safeguarding partner. 

The Executive Group agreed to:

• review gaps in the current protocol against national requirements

• escalate issues at senior leadership level to secure system-wide improvement

There was a clear message that housing must play a stronger and more consistent role in safeguarding children and families.

Putting Children and Young People’s Voices at the Centre

Partners received an update from P4YE on the Youth Voice Programme, a two-year project designed to strengthen how children and young people influence services.

Key developments include:

• engagement with 20 secondary schools across Croydon

• monthly youth-led steering groups shaping local priorities

• development of a Youth Voice Toolkit, with a gold standard aspiration for organisations

• plans to re-establish the Youth Assembly and host a borough-wide Youth Symposium in 2027 

The programme aims to ensure children and young people:

• are actively involved in designing services

• receive feedback on how their views influence decisions

• develop skills and confidence to participate in civic life

  
  

The Executive Group welcomed the strong progress and agreed actions to:

• increase senior leader engagement with youth voice activity

• embed youth voice standards across the partnership

• continue to develop opportunities for inclusive participation

  
  

Addressing Challenges in Health Safeguarding

A formal partnership challenge relating to health safeguarding arrangements was on the agenda but was a limited discussion due to the absence of key contributors. 

The challenge relates to whether the safeguarding systems are working effectively within health services, particularly in early decision-making spaces.

To address this, the Executive Group agreed to:

• undertake a gap analysis of current health safeguarding arrangements

• use this to inform escalation discussions with senior system leaders

• strengthen expectations of multi-agency participation

  
  

Annual Report and Demonstrating Impact

The CSCP Annual Report 2025/26 was reviewed and approved in draft.

The report:

• provides a transparent and honest assessment of safeguarding in Croydon

• demonstrates the impact of partnership activity, not just progress

• reflects the voice of the child throughout

• aligns with the requirements of Working Together 2026 

  
  

The final report will be published in September 2026 following formal sign-off.

Developing the Families First Partnership Model

Partners noted continued progress in the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme.

• A joint Prevention and FFP programme steering group has been established to strengthen governance and shared ownership. 

• Partners, including police, are increasingly aligning their work to support this early help and prevention model. 

  
  

Further work is needed to:

• ensure full multi-agency engagement, including adult services

• embed integrated working across neighbourhood-based services

  
  

Key Impact

The Executive Group reviewed progress and agreed that:

• Youth voice activity is making a real difference, with strong engagement from children and young people shaping services

• Partnership working is improving, but key gaps remain in housing and health engagement

• System pressures are increasing, requiring continued escalation and collective leadership

The CSCP Executive Group remains committed to strong system leadership, open challenge, and collaborative working to ensure children and young people in Croydon are safe, supported, and listened to.