The two purposes of the WFSCB are to:

Oversee the multi agency child safeguarding arrangements across Waltham Forest.

Carry out statutory function in Waltham Forest, ensuring the effectiveness of local agencies that provide services for children.

Responsibilities of representatives

The representatives of the WFSCB hold statutory partners to account for the work they undertake to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in Waltham Forest.

Headteacher representatives on the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Children Board (WFSCB), and its subgroups, provide professional challenge and ensure voices of children are heard.

List of current representative for WFSCB and subgroups

To be updated.

Further Information

WFSCB also hosts a regular network of multi-agency professionals who are Leads on Safeguarding Adolescents within their respective agencies / services. Through this group, the boards embeds in to practice the vision and approach that is detailed in the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Adolescents Practice Guide. The network also acts as a peer support group to share experiences, good practice and unpick challenges when working with children and young people who are being exploited or at risk of exploitation.

Current priority areas for WFSCB are: 

• Adolescents Safeguarding & Resilience (part of broader Violence & Exploitation) ​
• Safeguarding in Settings 
• Child protection

Subgroups have been set up for each of these priority areas: Safeguarding in Settings; Adolescents Safeguarding Resilience Strategic Group and Adolescents Safeguarding & Resilience Network.

Safeguarding in settings, works to build on, and maintain, the quality and effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements in the education, community, voluntary and faith sectors to help improve safeguarding outcomes for all children

Adolescents Safeguarding Resilience and Strategic Group, works to ensure that all adolescents who experience risk receive a trauma informed, contextualised safeguarding approach, which meets their needs and reduces harm. This approach is one that understands and responds to the multi-faceted areas of risk, rather than separate processes for child sexual exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour, those who go missing, gang involvement, etc. This means all needs are addressed together rather than instead of individually.

Adolescents Safeguarding & Resilience Network, works to establish mechanisms to provide additional advice and support to frontline practitioners and delivering awareness raising training and/or activity within their own agency. Members to establish a quality assurance process to measure the impact of embedding the safeguarding adolescents practice into front line practice.