Multi-agency Safeguarding 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This long-awaited second edition of our best-selling book has been fully updated by its expert editors, Dr Russell Wate QPM and Nigel Boulton, both former police officers and current specialist consultants in safeguarding. It has been considerably expanded to include new legislation and guidance (including full compliance with Working Together 2018), as well as to tackle contemporary issues that are of much concern to workers in today’s safeguarding arena, including: lived experience of children; gangs and county lines; unaccompanied minors; private fostering; modern slavery; edge of care and transitioning; young carers; GDPR; safeguarding in non-statutory settings; and harmful cultural practices. The book is a vital aid to all those working in the field of child and adult services. It provides a valuable overview of the major and very different areas of public protection practice. It aims to translate the processes, guidelines, and language to provide a workable understanding of the varied areas of practice that may impact their own working lives.

Nigel served as a police officer for 31 years. He spent most of his career as a Detective serving for 11 years as a Detective Superintendent leading and managing the investigation of Homicide and Serious and Organised Crime enquiries. He worked extensively in the UK and abroad. He spent the final three years of his service as the Head of Crime and Operations for a police command area spanning two local authorities. It was during this period that he designed and delivered the original concept of Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs, or MASH as it is widely known, the true design of which draws on his experiences dealing with risk assessment and decision making in relation to extremely sensitive intelligence. The model and concept is now used widely in the UK and in various locations across the world. Since finishing service, he has run his own consulting company and associates network specialising in the design and delivery of true Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs, which together with his social work partner he has continued to develop and evolve. He is also partner in a safeguarding company that provides safeguarding expertise across the social work, policing and health sectors including the provision of social work practice improvement through a unique ‘live learning’ model. The organisation also works alongside the internationally renowned inclusive theatre company Chicken Shed, to raise the voice of the child by way of performing and creative art. This has allowed the child’s voice and the lived experiences of children to be researched, which has in turn influenced national policy considerations for social work practice. During his policing service he worked at the national level in relation to investigative interviewing, and during this time he created the ‘Significant Witness’ interview strategy and led the development of the interview advisor role. As well as providing consulting services through his company and the partnership, he has supported the Local Government Association peer review process as a specialist peer in relation to safeguarding. Russell has been an Independent Chair of various Safeguarding Children and Adult Boards for the last nine years. He has strong operational and strategic understanding of public protection having worked in the field for over 25 years; the first five of these were working jointly in operational settings with social care and other partners. While working for central government he was a member of the team that produced the 2010 version of Working Together1. He was also a key member for the whole of Professor Munro’s review of child protection in 2011. He has recently been a member of the UEA and Warwick Universities team that produced, on behalf of Department for Education in 2019, Complexity and Challenge: A triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2014-2017. He was also a key member of Baroness Kennedy’s working group that produced updated guidance in 2016 relating to the investigation of infant deaths. He has carried out numerous SCRs and DHRs all around the country and is a member of the national pool of SCR authors. He is retired police officer who for the last six years of his service was the Detective Chief Superintendent for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. Prior to his promotion to Chief Superintendent he was responsible for the investigation into the recovery of the bodies of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, and was subsequently fully involved in the Bichard Inquiry. He has received 14 commendations from judges and senior officers for investigations he has led. He worked at a national level for government and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in relation to policy and standards issues concerning the safeguarding of children, in particular as the national police lead for the investigation of child deaths. In the 2008 Birthday Honours List he was given the honour by the Queen of the Queen’s Police Medal for his work nationally, both as a detec