Independent Scrutineer for Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership

The Role

Circa 30 days per annum for an initial 2-year term | Hybrid-working | £600 per day

As Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership’s Independent Scrutineer, you will make a real difference to the lives of children and young people in Luton. You will be tasked with assessing safeguarding practice to improve outcomes for children and young people. Acting as a critical friend, you will have a genuinely key role: providing assurance on the effectiveness of the multi-agency safeguarding arrangements in Luton, offering constructive challenge, allowing the statutory partners to hold each other and the wider partnership to account, and enabling the partnership to deliver their ambitious safeguarding agenda.

As part of the role, the Independent Scrutineer will chair the Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership’s Case Review Group, Performance and Voice of the Child groups. Collaborating with the Independent Scrutineer for the Central Bedfordshire and Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership’s to share the chairing of the Pan Bedfordshire Scrutiny and Improvement group.

The Partnership

The Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership is a statutory multi-agency partnership led by Luton Council, Bedfordshire Police and Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, who are responsible for overseeing and co-ordinating local safeguarding arrangements for children and young people in Luton and ensuring they are a safe, thriving and heard within a community where safeguarding is a shared responsibility. In addition to the statutory partners, Luton schools and education partners continue to be a prominent voice in the safeguarding partnership and moving towards them being our fourth safeguarding partner.

Your Responsibilities

• Provide assurance to the entire system in judging the effectiveness of our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements through a range of scrutiny methods.
• Ensure that statutory duties are addressed, and quality assurance mechanisms are in place.
• Ensure that our child safeguarding practice reviews, national reviews, and thematic reports are analysed, with key learning areas identified and effectively implemented across the safeguarding system.
• Ensure where appropriate the voice of children, young people and families is part of scrutiny and that this is at the heart of arrangements through direct feedback, informing policy and practice.
• Provide Luton Safeguarding Children Partnership with independent, rigorous, and effective support and challenge at both a strategic and operational level.

Candidates

This exciting role calls for a safeguarding professional with demonstrable experience of ensuring that the voice of the child is at the heart of all aspects of safeguarding; with the ability to communicate effectively in a range of settings (from the front-line to chairing complex strategic partnership meetings); and you’ll need to know how to apply legislation and statutory guidance in relation to safeguarding children.

Next steps

If you think you have the skills, knowledge, and experience that we are looking for, we would like to hear from you. For an informal discussion, please contact either of the following:

• Dheeraj Chibber, Director of Luton Council Children’s Services on 01582 748025 / 748400 or via email chibber@luton.gov.uk.
• Zara Brown, Detective Chief Superintendent (790), Head of Crime Command and Public Protection Unit, Bedfordshire Police on 01234 846856/07931473086 or via email brown@beds.police.uk.
• Simon Hardcastle - Waugh, Deputy Chief Nurse, Director of Nursing Safeguarding and Vulnerabilities Chair BLMK ICB EDI Staff Network on 07741513744 or via email hardcastle@nhs.net.

How To Apply

Send us your CV along with a covering letter explaining how you meet the criteria and why you feel you would be the best fit for the role.

• Please ensure your full employment history is outlined in your CV; and that where there are essential criteria, competencies and/or qualifications you make clear how you meet these. We may wish to verify this information during the recruitment process.
• Please provide the details of two referees. Note that we will only approach referees for candidates proceeding to final selection and only with your permission. Please clearly indicate whether we can approach each referee before the selection date.
• Please share with us in your supporting statement, the values, and behaviours that you bring to your leadership, and how you will transfer your skills and experience into this role.
• Please complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form when you upload your details.
• Please return your application by the closing date – no applications will be accepted once the long listing process has begun.

Please do not apply directly on this website, please send your application to LSCBTeam@Luton.gov.uk.

Applications will close at 5pm on 21/02/2025.

We are also recruiting for the LSAB Independent Chair role. If you are also interested in applying for this post, please view the job here and submit your application.