Local boards to learn local lessons

Local Safeguarding Children Boards are to set up teams to learn
lessons about safeguarding children and apply them locally, when
the new structures outlined in the Children Bill come into
force.

Althea Efunshile, director of the safeguarding children group at
the Department for Education and Skills, said that the government
was currently developing its policy on the local screening teams,
although so far the plans were in the early stages.

As well as making sure there was an appropriate response to a child
dying in the local area, the teams would aim to improve the
dissemination of the lessons learned from the incident across local
services.

Guidance on the boards, which will replace area child protection
committees, is due out next year.