Adolescent Safeguarding & Youth Justice
The Adolescent Safeguarding work stream is led by the Greenwich Director of Children’s Services, Florence Kroll.
This priority is supported by a steering group (LASOB) comprising representatives from all of London’s sub-regions and a pan-London working group made up of all authorities who have chosen this as their priority theme.
London Adolescent Safeguarding Oversight Board
The London Adolescent Safeguarding Oversight Board has been created to provide dedicated co-ordination and oversight of pan-London work to safeguard young people. The board will report to the London Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (LSCP) Executive.
For further details please click here.
See how we fit into the London Safeguarding Children Partnership
Click here to read an overview of LASOB's work.
The work group has identified a number of emerging priorities which will be further informed by the analysis of the self-evaluations that each of the participating authorities have submitted. A report on London’s adolescent safeguarding challenges and effective / innovative practice will form the platform for the programme of activity over the next two-years.
The self-evaluation guidance and template is available for download in the Tools, Templates and Useful Links box opposite.
Read our Adolescent Safeguarding 2021-2022 or click the below image.
Key Projects
LIIA Launch the Adolescent Safeguarding Handbook
We are delighted to launch the Adolescent Safeguarding in London practice handbook.
An outstanding piece of work on behalf of the London Adolescent Safeguarding Oversight Board and the London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA). With thanks to the children and young people, practitioners and practice leaders who contributed and to those who helped steer the project, together with our DCS Adolescent Safeguarding Policy Lead Florence Kroll.
Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) Peer Review
A team of safeguarding experts from health, police and LAs led the review. 22 LSCPs undertook a self-assessment and six were involved in a deep-dive peer challenge process. Through the review process the consistency and effectiveness of different arrangements across London was tested.
Read the summary of findings and proposals here.
Your Choice Programme
Your Choice seeks to fill a practice gap by moving beyond understanding why a child may behave in a certain way to providing tools and techniques which practitioners can employ to help the child to keep themselves safe.
Your Choice will provide CBT additionality but work within the rich tapestry of existing theraputic delivery.
If successful, this ambitious programme will influence national and international practice and the programme therefore requires a robust evaluation mechanism to measure impact and outcomes of the approach.
Youth Justice Strategic Leaders
Following the Youth Justice Strategic Leaders Network's incorporation into LIIA, we are now facilitating continued communication between the network and with wider youth justice partners. As part of this, LIIA is producing regular newsletters; you can see the latest ones below:
Youth Justice Newsletter - January 2023
Youth Justice Newsletter - December 2022
Youth Justice Newsletter - October 2022
Adolescent Safeguarding Emerging and Innovative Practice
Please click on the links below to see some examples, drawn from authorities' self evaluations, of where authorities have developed their practice to respond to their adolescent safeguarding challenges. It is hoped that this snapshot of developments across London can provide a platform which can be added to in the course of the LIIA programme (including by authorities who have not self-evaluated on adolescent safeguarding) in order to provide a repository for those involved in service development.
- Understanding and Using Data to Support Improved Outcomes
- Developing a Coherent Adolescent Safeguarding Practice
- Risk management and decision-making panels
- Engaging and Supporting Schools
- Blending Adolescent Responses with Whole Family Approaches
- Inter-Borough Information Exchange
- Service Models
- Gangs, Criminal Exploitation and Serious Youth Violence
- Innovative Interventions
Learning reviews
Crest Advisory Serious Violence in Context Sept 2019
CSCB Vulnerable Adolescent Thematic Review - Feb 2019
VRU Work Programme - for sharing
Further resources are available in the password-protected Adolescent Safeguarding Members' area, restricted to current members of the LIIA Adolescent Safeguarding network
Useful documents and links
- Adolescent Safeguarding self-evaluation guidance
- Adolescent Safeguarding Self-evaluation template
- Emerging themes from ALDCS Adolescent Safeguarding Group
- Repository of practice on serious youth violence - London Councils
- London Safeguarding Children Network
- VRU Work Programme - for sharing
- Adolescent Safeguarding in London
- YEF Consultation Invitation
- Adolescent Safeguarding Practice Framework
- London Adolescent Safeguarding Oversight Board
- Child Exploitation Protocol Briefing
- 2021 Pan London Protocol
- Summer period violence 2021
- Strategies and initiatives used by London local authorities and partner organisations to prevent and serious violence.
Contact Details
ben.byrne@londoncouncils.gov.uk