Senior Managers and Executives

• Executive and non-executive directors of organisations delivering NHS health care (see below)
• Senior managers in organisations delivering NHS health care
• Executive and non-executive directors of third sector organisations providing care to children and young people e.g. mental health, hospices, residential care, abortion services, family planning
• Executive and non-executive directors of independent (private) health care providers which may treat children and young people
• Senior managers in third sector organisations providing care to children and young people
• Senior managers in independent (private) health care providers which may treat children and young people

England: executive and non-executive directors of NHS ICBs and NHS Trusts including community health care, mental health and ambulance services, senior managers in NHS Trusts who are responsible for services which may provide care to children and young people

Scotland: executive and non-executive directors of NHS Health Boards and senior managers in NHS Boards who are responsible for services which may provide care to children and young people

Wales: executive and non-executive directors of NHS Wales Health Boards and Trusts and senior managers in NHS Wales Health Boards and Trusts who are responsible for services which may provide care to children and young people

Northern Ireland: executive and non-executive directors of Health & Social Care Boards and senior managers in Health and Social Care Trusts who are responsible for services which may provide care to children and young people including community health care and mental health

Maintains oversight, challenges when necessary, and provides assurance that the role and responsibilities of the organisation, in relation to safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care, are met.

Accountable to the Government, the Chief Executive is required to ensure that robust governance and accountability reporting frameworks are in place to ensure all health care staff are competent and able to discharge their child protection responsibilities. This should align with NHS accountability and assurance frameworks relating to safeguarding across the four nations. These are regulatory frameworks within which health and social care professionals practice and the established professional accountabilities that are currently in place within the NHS and local authorities.

Provides strategic leadership and promotes a culture of learning, professional curiosity, and collaborative working with other agencies.

Key responsibilities

• promote a positive culture of safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care across the organisation, e.g. safer recruitment practices, restricted access to children and young people, children and young people that are unaccompanied, whistle blowing, training and support of staff, to ensure that there are effective governance procedures, and that these procedures/outcomes are reported to the Board
• ensure that there are robust governance processes in place to provide assurance about patient safety and quality of care in safeguarding children and young people and reduce health inequalities for children and young people in care
• ensure safeguarding children and young people, children and young people in care, and adult safeguarding policies and procedures work effectively together, including when working across agencies
• support seamless transition from childhood and adolescent services to adult services
• ensure effective sharing of information on safeguarding/child protection and children and young people in care within the organisation’s services, committee, and groups and with the Board
• appoint an executive lead for safeguarding/child protection and applicable to health care staff for children and young people in care and ensure that they are supported in the role by the Board

Core competencies

Health care staff at this level should:

• build, maintain, and sustain an effective relationship with the individual subject matter experts for safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care at Levels 4 and 5
• develop and implement decision making processes between multi-agency working and nominated senior leaders for safeguarding boards
• facilitate the sharing of effective and appropriate information related to safeguarding/child protection and children and young people in care to achieve safeguarding objectives

Supports the Chief Executive to ensure the ICB, Trusts (England), Health Board (Scotland), Health Board/Trust (Wales), Health & Social Care Board (Northern Ireland) functions effectively, and is employed by the health care provider to focus on internal matters.

Key responsibilities

• ensure that the role and responsibilities of the Board, in relation to safeguarding children and young people, children and young people in care, and vulnerable adults are met, in order to ensure that the organisation adheres to relevant national guidance and standards for safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care
• promote a positive culture of safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care; this includes ensuring there are procedures for safer staff recruitment, chaperoning, and that staff and patients are aware that the organisation takes child protection and children and young people in care’s issues seriously and will respond to concern about the welfare of children
• ensure appropriate support is available to protect staff, trainees, and students in relation to the emotional toll of this field of work which may include complaints, and ensure provider has appropriate mechanisms and procedures in place to protect staff from physical violence and aggression
• ensure that safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care practice throughout the organisation is in line with the relevant guidance, this includes having policies and procedures in place that are regularly audited and that their effectiveness is reported to the Board, either directly, or if indirectly, through a sub-committee chaired by a non-executive committee member
• ensure there are clear clinical and care governance processes and systems in place
• ensure there are appropriate Level 4 and 5 professionals available to advise and provide support
• ensure that services at all levels are resourced to support/respond effectively to the needs of safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care
• ensure that an effective safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care training strategy is resourced and delivered
• ensure that an effective safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care supervision strategy is resourced and delivered, including multiagency working where needed
• ensure that appropriate, safe, multi-agency, and partnership working practices and information sharing practices operate within the organisation and with relevant partner organisations, where appropriate the NHS Board is represented by health professionals in Level 5 senior strategic lead/designated child protection roles

This role may have various titles; however, the focus is on operational leadership and delivery.

Key responsibilities

• work with the Board to ensure that safeguarding and children and young people in care are positioned as core business in strategic and operating plans and structures
• oversee, implement, and monitor the ongoing assurance of safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care arrangements and reporting on these in line with the organisational structure to help the Board meet its responsibilities
• ensure the adoption, implementation, and auditing of relevant policy, strategy, and guidance in relation to safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care
• within commissioning organisations, ensure the appointment and support of Levels 4 and 5 safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care professionals
• within commissioning organisations, ensure that provider organisations are scrutinised, held accountable and quality assured for their safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care arrangements
• within both commissioning and provider organisations, ensure support of lead professionals (Levels 4 and 5) for staff across primary and secondary care and independent practitioners to implement safeguarding children and young people, and children and young people in care arrangements
• ensure that there is a programme of training and mentoring to support those with responsibility for safeguarding children and young people, children and young people in care, and care leavers
• work in partnership with other groups including commissioners/providers of health care (as appropriate), local authorities, police and appropriate or relevant organisations, including the third sector, to provide high quality best practice in safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care
• ensure that serious incidents relating to safeguarding are reported immediately and managed effectively in a timely way
• ensure that the role and responsibilities of the organisation Board includes an understanding of their corporate parenting responsibility

Not employed by the provider, therefore, provides an external focus, through influencing and challenging, to ensure decisions of the Board are robust and patient centred.

Key responsibility

• provide informed scrutiny on behalf of the Board, including maintaining oversight, challenging, and providing assurance of the organisation’s performance with regard to its obligations for safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care

Key responsibilities

• undertake the same responsibilities as other Board members
• develop appropriate knowledge and undertake training to discharge key duties to support doctors and nurses in relation to safeguarding/child protection in the context of the designated body
• oversee the appraisal and revalidation process for doctors.