AN INNOVATIVE Swansea Council project which helps safeguard vulnerable children has won a top award and a growing international reputation for its work.
Swansea Child and Family Services are implementing a ‘Signs of Safety’ approach to their work with vulnerable children and their families so that children are safely cared for by their parents and families and can remain in their communities.
It’s already proving a big success among families in Swansea and now it’s won a top award from the Care Council for Wales as well as major UK and international recognition.
Child and Family Services staff picked up the Leadership to achieve Confident, Competent and Professional Workers award at the CCW Accolades on the same day as the council’s Children’s Services department was a finalist in the prestigious MJ Awards.
Cllr Christine Richards, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Services for Children and Young People, said: “The council’s top priority is safeguarding children – it’s at the heart of everything we do.
“Signs of Safety is an approach to safeguarding children involving intensive work with families to identify strengths and build resilience. It involves a core team of social workers, teachers, health services and other partners who work closely with vulnerable children and their families to develop a safety network, enabling and empowering parents to care for their children safely and in a supportive environment.
The leadership award is an acknowledgement of the way senior managers in Child and Family services have invested in staff, to skill them up to meet the demands of the very complex work they do, and used the SOS principles to improve their work and support to staff to achieve the best possible outcomes for children.
“The MJ Awards are recognised throughout local government as a gold standard and to be a finalist is a significant achievement. Safeguarding children is one of the toughest, most demanding jobs around; our staff are, quite rightly, under scrutiny all the time.
“These awards prove that their hard work is being noticed and being recognised for its excellence by their peers.”
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