What is WTSC and why is it important?

The Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance (WTSC) is issued by DfE and is known as “statutory guidance”.

The document puts flesh on the bones of relevant law by setting out how organisations and agencies should work together to help, protect and promote the welfare of all children and young people under the age of 18 in England. Its status as “statutory guidance” means, unless there is good reason for deviating from it, the guidance should be followed.

Anyone working with children and young people, whether they are managers or front-line practitioners should read and follow the guidance. It specifically applies to the three statutory safeguarding partners (who are the local authority, police and clinical commissioning groups) and also any other organisations or agencies who have responsibility for safeguarding children. This will include schools and those providing out of school activities. You should therefore read it alongside After-School clubs, community activities and tuition statutory guidance (2023)

The current version of WTSC was issued in December 2023 and it replaces WTSC 2018 (updated 2020).

Key updates

Chapter 1: A Shared Responsibility

This is a new chapter that highlights the importance of developing strong multi-agency and collaborative working practices. It introduces a set of expectations for all practitioners who are involved in safeguarding and child protection,

There are four principles for how we should work with parents and carers, from partnership and respect to empowerment and co-design.

Expectations regarding multi-agency working include collaboration, learning from one another and sharing resources, acknowledging and appreciating difference, being willing to challenge one another.

Chapter 2: Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements

This chapter relates to the three safeguarding partners (local authority, police and health) and sets out new roles and responsibilities for safeguarding in order to strengthen strategic leadership and accountability.

In summary, key changes include:

• Each partner shall have a “Lead Safeguarding partner” (LSP) which will be the head of that partner organisation (eg for local authorities this will be the Chief Executive)

• LSP’s are expected to work together as a team and hold their organisation to account

• LSP’s will appoint a “Delegated Safeguarding Partner” (DSP) who is responsible for operational delivery

• LSP’s should consider (in addition to education settings) including voluntary, charity, social enterprise organisations, childcare settings and out of school settings such as sports clubs in their arrangements

• The introduction of a partnership chair role

• Transparency regarding funding, resources

• Expectations regarding robust policies including safeguarding and information sharing

Chapter 3: providing help support and protection

Changes outline how agencies, organisations and individuals work together to provide help and support under three distinct headings:

• Early Help

  Assessments should be holistic and consider the needs of all family members and how these may impact on each other; support may include promoting family functioning and decision making; clarification regarding expectations for information sharing to support identification and understanding of the risk of harm and ensure timely support.

• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

• Assessments should consider capacity of resident and non-resident parents or carers, others living in the household to meet the needs of the child as well as the influence family network and community

• Clarification on the role of lead practitioner and who may take the role

• Guidance on assessments and support of disabled children and their carers

• Guidance on assessing needs and understand risks and influences in relation to harm outside the home

• Child protection

  • Includes the introduction of national multi-agency practice standards for those who come into contact with children who have or are experiencing significant harm within and outside the home.

  • Information about risks including extra-familial harm; online harms

Chapter 4: Organisational Responsibilities

Introduces changes that emphasise the importance and benefits of the sharing of information between prison and probation services with children’s social care and other agencies.

Chapter 5: Learning from Serious Child Safeguarding Incidents

• Emphasis on expectation that local authorities should keep in touch with care leavers over the age of 21

• Non-mandatory reporting of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24

• A local safeguarding practice review may be conducted where partners feel that there is learning from the death of a care leaver or looked after child, even where serious incident criteria is not met

Chapter 6: Child Death Reviews

These changes are factual updates where legislation or guidance may have changed

How do these changes apply to out of school settings?

Much of the focus in these revisions is about strengthening multi-agency practice from everyone working with and supporting children, young people and their families in order to better safeguard them. The emphasis is that this remains within the context of being child-centred with a whole-family approach that looks at the wider network and influences in the child or young person’s life. This helps us to identify risks and harm that can occur both inside and outside the home as well as what strengths can be drawn in and built upon to help with safeguarding. WTSC applies to out of school settings.

You should make sure that you regularly revisit WTSC so that you understand both your responsibilities and those of your partners, including statutory partners such as the local authority.

In terms of these changes, it is a good idea to check your policies and procedures to make sure they line up with what WTSC 2023 is saying. Also, review your current training and up to date training needs. Do your staff and volunteers (that includes trustees) understand your responsibilities? Below are some questions you may find helpful:

• How confident are your staff and volunteers regarding what to do if they have a safeguarding concern?

• Does your DSL know who the three statutory safeguarding partners are in your area/s?

• How recently have you checked your consent forms, information packs for children, young people and parents/carers? What do they say about when and why you may need to share information with others?

• Have you “stress-tested” your policies and procedures to see whether they deal with harms and risks of harm outlined in WTSC?

• How well do your risk assessments help you to identify, assess and manage risks to your children and young people attending your activities?

• Are you up to date with considering and addressing online harms and digitally assisted abuse?