Safeguarding children: audit of staff knowledge

Area of Science:

• Child Protection
• Healthcare Auditing
• Legal Knowledge in Healthcare

Background:

• The 'Working together to safeguard children' guidance (2006) mandated improved safeguarding practices.
• Assessing staff knowledge is crucial for effective child protection implementation.
• Previous assessments highlighted varying levels of safeguarding awareness among healthcare professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the working knowledge of children's services staff regarding key legal aspects of safeguarding.
• To identify specific knowledge gaps in child protection procedures.
• To inform targeted training needs for healthcare professionals involved in child safeguarding.

Main Methods:

• A structured questionnaire was used to interview staff in acute children's services and child and adolescent mental health services.
• The audit focused on assessing knowledge of legal issues pertinent to child care and protection.
• Data collection involved staff from two district general hospitals and a specialized mental health service.

Main Results:

• Staff demonstrated strong knowledge regarding the sharing of information, likely due to recent policy implementation and mandatory training.
• A significant knowledge gap was identified concerning parental responsibility, with only 41% of staff providing adequate responses.
• Deficiencies in understanding legal orders, specifically emergency protection orders and police protection powers, were also noted.

Conclusions:

• While information-sharing protocols are well-understood, targeted training is needed to address gaps in parental responsibility knowledge.
• Further education on legal orders, including emergency protection orders and police powers, is essential for safeguarding staff.
• Continuous auditing and training are vital to ensure comprehensive safeguarding competence among children's services professionals.