Talk more to kids to keep them safe

Sep 14 2007 By Paul Bradley, Birmingham Mail

WORKERS across Worcestershire must do more to help protect children, a government board announced today.

Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board demanded that adults at work must talk to children who they are involved with in their jobs in a bid to protect them from harm.

More than 100 delegates from police, health services, probation and education services joined together in a three hour meeting at Worcestershire Royal Hospital to hammer home the message.

Heather Giannasi, development officer at Worcestershire County Council, said: "We are still in the very early stages of our new Safeguarding Children launch but the message is clear.

"The welfare of children is every-body's responsibility.

"If you are at work and notice a child has an injury you should not just ignore it or only talk to parents.

"To find out what's wrong we need to talk more to young people. Often they have something they want to tell us but there is no one around to listen."

More than 15,000 people work in Worcestershire agencies that deal with children and now they are bringing in measures to make sure they work better together.

Richard Hubbard, director of children's services at Worcestershire County Council, said: "I am delighted to introduce the launch of these updated procedures.

"Every major child protection enquiry from Maria Colwell in 1974 to Victoria Climbie in 2003 has emphasised the need for agencies to work closely together and to communicate effectively with each other in order to better safeguard children.

"The new procedures reflect the latest legislation and government guidance as well as contemporaneous research in the field of child protection and will be an invaluable tool for all practitioners as we strive to achieve these high standards.

"I am immensely grateful for the work of my staff and our partner agencies who are jointly responsible for the development of this guidance."