Isle of Man joint bid to identify children at risk of harm

The six-month pilot will see professional who have contact with children co-located

A six-month trial of a programme designed to protect children who are at risk of harm has been rolled out.

The pilot sees organisations including staff from Manx Care's children's social services, the safeguarding team and police brought together centrally.

It follows the establishment of daily exploitation meetings to share insights about those who are vulnerable.

The creation of a Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub aims to further identify those susceptible to harm.

That includes spotting those who were being drawn into criminal activity by drugs gangs, becoming the victim of sexual exploitation, or other forms of harm.

'Reducing risk'

A spokeswoman for Manx Care said the programme would enable those involved to "make the best possible use of their combined knowledge to ensure that children and young people are safe".

The new team approach would "improve outcomes" for those young people by ensuring there was a "comprehensive and joined-up response to reducing the risk of harm", she added.

Manx Care CEO Teresa Cope said the sharing information about children, young people and their families between concerned agencies via the MASH supported harm reduction by ensuring "there is better decision-making around a child's welfare and safety".

Chief Constable Russ Foster said he had seen the "clear benefits" of collocating teams through his work in the UK.

He said: "As a police force we are committed to protecting vulnerable people and reducing harm in our communities across the Island, with early intervention and partnership working key to this."

He added he was "confident" the pilot would "make a significant difference to safeguarding arrangements for children and young people".

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