The Challenge
Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership (DSPP) has the responsibility to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of what is done by partners, individually and collectively, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults in Dudley and to advise them on how to improve. The legacy approaches were cumbersome, and no longer fit for purpose, and partners had lost confidence in the process. The administration process was time-consuming and taking key staff away from more meaningful work.
The Solution
Through an exhaustive collaboration with DSPP regarding their Section 11 and the regional requirements, Phew offered the Partnership an auditing system which provided time-saving features including extensive question flexibility and the ability to return to and update the audit until submission.
The Results
The DSPP’s admin team was impressed with the improved efficiency facilitated by the simplicity of administration and detailed reporting, saving time, resources and reducing ongoing costs. Well received by all stakeholders, the Phew Audit System will help facilitate best practise and a shared knowledge pool that will lead to more collaborative working partnerships.
This has enabled:
• Monitoring the effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements from a single agency and a multi-agency perspective.
• Promote high standards of safeguarding work and foster a culture of continuous learning, improvement, and opportunity for challenge process across the partnership.
• Coordinate multi-agency audit and quality assurance audit activity.
• Support feedback into the DSPP Performance Framework, including reporting good progress and exceptions to DSAB / DSCPG via a performance dashboard.
“It was evident from the moment we engaged with Phew that as a sector specialist, they understood the day to day challenges we face as a Partnership. With their approach of working with the sector to design systems, we quickly saw the potential of the Audit System for both our stakeholders and internal team.
“Our close working relationship with them has now extended into our Section 175 and other audits that we’d previously always struggled to collect.
“Although their tool allows us to do everything we need to, the team are always there to support and advise us, and the key to that is sharing both regional and national best practise.”
Sam Anderson, Safeguarding Partnership Business Manager
