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Researcher: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel

Employer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Location
London (GB)
Closing date
28 Sep 2020

Role: Researcher: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel

Part-Time: TBC.

Remuneration: Will be negotiated on an individual basis via the bidding process for national reviews

Location: UK wide

About the Panel

No children should suffer harm, abuse or neglect, and reducing this is the  primary focus of the independent national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

Set up by the UK Government in 2018, the Panel has the power to commission national reviews of serious child safeguarding cases which it believes are complex or have issues of national importance.

When a child dies, or is seriously harmed, the Panel reviews the practice of all agencies involved in the life of the child and family, in order to reflect on the protection and support offered. Improvements the Panel’s national reviews identify help the Government and those who work with children to better safeguard and promote their welfare.

About the role

The independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel is looking for researchers, academics and organisations to form a national pool of reviewers.

When the Panel decides to commission a review, such as previous thematic reviews on criminal exploitation of adolescents or sudden unexpected infant death, those in the pool will be invited to bid to carry out the review.

The Panel is responsible for supervising reviews they commission, ensuring they are of satisfactory quality, that timely progress is made and that improvements that should be made by safeguarding partners or others can be easily identified.

Through systematic review, the Panel aims to build a picture of child protection practice more generally, highlighting repeat practice themes, and focussing on what needs to change to help save the lives of children across England.

Applicants should be aware that inclusion in the pool of national reviewers is not a guarantee of work.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Undertaking fieldwork and analysis for national reviews of serious child safeguarding incidents which are complex or of national importance. 
  • Undertaking literature reviews on key national review topics. These support and feed into the Panel’s national reviews.
  • Thematic analysis of Serious Incident Notifications and Rapid Reviews received by the Panel to test whether specific issues warrant a national review.
  • Analysis of Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews.
  • Producing high quality reports, which can be shared in an accessible way.

Person Specification:

This opportunity is open to organisations and individuals who have experience in research, analysis and review across the child safeguarding landscape. In order to be selected for inclusion in the pool of national reviewers, applicants should provide evidence of an ability to:

  • Gather evidence and analyse the root causes of child safeguarding incidents to identify improvements which can be directly made by practitioners, organisations, and local and national Government. 
  • Involve safeguarding partners and practitioners in contributing their perspectives.
  • Recognise the complex circumstances in which practitioners work together to safeguard children.
  • Understand practice from the viewpoint of the individuals and organisations involved at the time, rather than using hindsight.  
  • Distil findings and analysis from a number of studies and cases in order to inform the report’s recommendations.
  • Arrive at evidence-based recommendations which focus on professional learning and increasing expertise.
  • Involve families, including surviving children, sensitively and transparently, so that they understand how they will be involved and have appropriate expectations. This is important for ensuring that the child is at the centre of the process.
  • Work to an agreed schedule. In most cases this will be within a maximum of 6 months, with set dates for sharing drafts of the review with the Panel.  
  • Handle information securely, being transparent about the way data is collected and analysed.  
  • Produce high-quality reports, with excellent copy-writing skills so they are clear, coherent and easy for a range of people to understand.

The Panel will also consider the organisation’s or individuals’ knowledge, understanding and practice of child safeguarding issues relevant to the ability to undertake and write a national review. This may involve professional knowledge and practice specific to the case or cases under review. For most cases reviewers will be required to get to grips quickly with:

  • The complex circumstances in which professionals work together to safeguard children, including the impact of management, supervision, resources, skills and training.
  • The relevant national and local legislative and policy frameworks within which services operate.
  • The local and national safeguarding system, including an understanding of the critical levers for change, the priorities at play, and how these interact across networks. 
  • The principles of the systems methodology recommended by the Munro review. The methodology employed by the reviewer should provide a way of looking at and analysing front line practice as well as organisational structures and learning. The methodology should be able to reach recommendations that will improve outcomes for children.

Applicants should be aware that the Panel may require additional skills and experience from those listed above, depending on the nature of the review.

How to Apply:

The recruitment process will be run as a procurement exercise via the Education and Children’s Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System.

Step 1: To be eligible to apply, you will need to register on Redimo and apply to become a member of the Education and Children’s Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System (ECSC DPS). Your registration will need to be complete by 28th September 2020. https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login/?cid=DFE

Step 2: Once you have registered, you must respond to the Request For Quotation, which will launch via the system on 5th October 2020.

Step 3: If you are successful in joining the pool, opportunities will be released via the system throughout the year with details of specific reviews and research that needs to be undertaken. You will be eligible to apply for specific opportunities, negotiating renumeration and time commitment.

Guidance on completing these steps is available below:

Redimo2_Supplier_Guidance_-_DFE_Registration_.pdf (Guidance on registration on for Redimo)

Redimo 2 Supplier Guidance ECSC membership (Guidance on registration for the ECSC DPS within Redimo)

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