Tower Hamlets Unveils New Strategy and Data Dashboard to Bolster Child Safeguarding
Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership (THSCP) has launched a new strategy and a data dashboard aimed at enhancing the protection of children across the borough. The strategy, detailed in the annual report for 2025-26 presented at a recent Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting, focuses on key priorities including adolescent safeguarding and a Think Family
approach.
Roly Hunter, Strategy Manager for THSCP, highlighted significant achievements, including the finalisation of a draft Adolescent Safeguarding Strategy and the development of a multi-agency data dashboard. This dashboard, designed to track interventions and assess impact, will feature locality dashboards
developed by the SEND Transformation Team. These will monitor impact and value for money, with data from health, social care, and SEN informing a transparent system in collaboration with schools and settings.
The partnership has also developed a Written Statement of Action to address findings from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) on child sexual abuse in the family environment. Progress against this action plan will be monitored through established governance, with the strategy and action plan expected to be completed by the end of December 2026 and implemented throughout 2027.
The Think Family
approach is being integrated into wider reform efforts, including neighbourhood reforms in health and Families First Partnership reforms in social care. The partnership has also created learning and development materials to support staff in implementing this approach.
Workforce capacity limitations remain a challenge, particularly in recruiting speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, a pressure shared by other local authorities. The SEND Reform Plan outlines recruitment efforts for a SEND Reform Transformation Team, including specialists in educational psychology, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy.
Beyond the Young Scrutineers, the partnership actively involves children and young people through the Our Time SEND Ambassadors programme
and the co-produced Family Information Hub website.
The Let's Talk SEND
programme also offers expanded opportunities for parents and young people to engage with professionals and share experiences.
National reform activities, including the SEND reform programme, neighbourhood reforms in health, and Families First Partnership reforms in social care, are impacting partner agencies. The THSCP is collaborating by developing an Adolescent Safeguarding Strategy and an action plan to embed it across agencies. Learning from national reviews, such as 'I Wanted Them All to Notice' and 'Race, Racism and Safeguarding Children', is also being integrated. The partnership acknowledges that the weight of national reform activity
can divert focus from core functions and is actively working to mitigate these effects.
Key areas of focus for the partnership in 2026-27 include child sexual abuse and exploitation, suicidal ideation and self-harm, online safety, and data-led practice. The new data dashboard aims to provide a clearer overview of safeguarding trends and enable more targeted interventions.
Sarah Parker, the Independent Scrutineer, noted strengthened professional challenge, increased openness in dialogue, and a growing emphasis on the impact of the partnership's work on children's lives. She stressed the importance of integrated partnership intelligence and direct engagement with young people.
The report also detailed the work of the Young Scrutineers, Jasmine and Sakinah, who have contributed to shaping services by engaging with young people on issues such as the recommissioning of the youth offer and discussions on safeguarding with the police.
Public reports pack 14th-Sep-2026 18.30 Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee
