The Collective Safeguarding Responsibility Model: 12Cs

Please note this session will not be recorded.

Domestic abuse is a complex and multi-layered issue and as such, requires a holistic, systemic multi-agency safeguarding response. The Child Safeguarding Review Panel (2022) highlighted that from their sample of reviews which they analysed they found “there was no evidence of a coordinated multi-agency response to domestic abuse”. Moreover, despite a consensus for multi-agency approach in responding to domestic abuse, Davies, Barlow and Fish (2023 p162) observe that regarding various strands of muti-agency work regarding domestic abuse, “what constitutes success/failure is often poorly defined” and that “hard rather than soft measure outcomes are often taken as more robust evidence, yet what they are evidence of is often unclear”. Domestic abuse often intersects with wider safeguarding and welfare concerns and as such, understanding the effectiveness of our multi-agency safeguarding is crucial to ensuring that our response is as robust as it can be. The 12Cs Collective responsibility Model provides a unique, evidence-based, holistic framework that can demonstrate how safeguarding arrangements are working strategically and operationally, across and within organisations. The framework focuses on the role of practitioners and agencies in responding to safeguarding concerns but crucially, the framework incorporates understanding the perspectives of those with lived experiences of receiving safeguarding support. The 12Cs can provide both a local and national understanding of what we have in place regarding multi-agency safeguarding, how this works, whether it is effective and what action is required to improve responses going forwards.

Emma Ball

Emma Ball specialises in qualitative research regarding safeguarding, multi-agency working and collective safeguarding responsibility. She has worked on several national projects in England and Wales focussing on multi-agency working arrangements, county lines and serious youth violence, in addition to localised projects evaluating responses to domestic abuse victims/survivors and perpetrators. Previous research has involved her leading on the development of thematic analysis frameworks. Emma has led on the creation of The Collective Responsibility Model: 12Cs. She has a 10-year history of practitioner experience of working with young people and families and is a qualified social worker. Her PhD titled ‘Lost in Translation’ examines the issues faced within multi-agency safeguarding arrangements from strategy and policy to practice on the ground, seeking to identify a best practice model of working for safeguarding partnerships in response to multi-agency safeguarding.

For more information, please contact Dr Vicky Baker ([email protected])

Host or Publisher Manchester Metropolitan University