Middlesbrough’s Safeguarding Together Journey

Over the last week, Middlesbrough Children’s Services has started their Safeguarding Together journey with ATA Consultancy, and we could not be more excited for them. We’re excited because we see Middlesbrough as leaders who are putting children, families, and their local community at the very heart of what they do, and are using the Safeguarding Together framework as the beginning of a culture shift that will bring about profound and long-lasting change.

A Great Start

One of the key activities in starting Safeguarding Together is for Middlesbrough leaders and their teams to review where they are now, what they want for the future, and start setting some initial milestones to build confidence and a clear roadmap that they will use to ensure collaborative change is implemented and sustained, and not just something that is left behind. Middlesbrough gathered all of their leaders and teams last week to do this, and they identified: A clear shared vision of what success looks like, Early wins they will work towards, and take confidence from a clear road map that will ensure collaborative changes are implemented and sustained.

Why This Is Important

Safeguarding Together is an agile, collaborative, and network-centered framework for change, a way of working that puts safeguarding at the heart of everything that organizations do, from every decision, every conversation, and every relationship. For Middlesbrough, this will mean they have services that will protect children’s well-being through collaboration and shared ownership, with strong networks of support and families at the heart. To make this a reality, Middlesbrough has also ensured that it will have exemplary leadership, governance arrangements, and an aligned culture in place to support this change.

This will mean they have clear structures and processes around who is responsible for doing the work, understand what resilient success looks like, and how they will know if they are getting there, and of course,  a feedback mechanism so that they can hear from children and families what they think is working and what they would like to see improved.

By setting this up at the start, Middlesbrough is ensuring that Safeguarding Together is fully embedded and sustained and will not just be something that looks good but will have real longevity and build the resilience needed so that children are always at the center of the system and that their well-being is always being protected.

Investing In People

One of the other encouraging steps is the fact that Middlesbrough is investing in people, both in the leaders and the people across the service, by investing in an internal team who will be working with ATA and learning about the Safeguarding Together framework, and the practices for change that will help to make sure it is implemented and sustained. This team will ensure that the framework is embedded and will be part of the culture, not something that feels separate from the people and professionals working in the service.

Feedback

Middlesbrough also set up feedback channels for staff across the service, so that everyone can have their voice heard and ensure that Safeguarding Together is as effective as it can be, reflecting the everyday context and reality of practice in Middlesbrough.

Leaders Leading

All of this can be daunting, and Middlesbrough would not have been able to take the first steps without the commitment from the executive leadership team to lead this work. They are being led by Pam Allen, who is supported by several leaders, including Chad Thompson, Carlos Dos Santos, Steven Barnes, and the entire executive team. It’s leaders like them who have the courage and commitment to lead this work and ensure its success.

So, for Middlesbrough, the journey has started, and with their first steps, they demonstrate their determination, vision, and commitment to keeping children safe and well. The ATA team is proud to be working with Middlesbrough and to be by their side, learning with them, and seeing them bring the Safeguarding Together approach to life. For us, this also sets the example for other services to follow.

Congratulations, Middlesbrough, this is just the start.