Safeguarding Practice and Guidance

The Essex Safeguarding Children Board have a range of policies, practice tools and strategies to help everyone working or volunteering with children in Essex to keep them safe.

SET Child Protection Procedures

SET CHILD PROTECTION PROCEDURES (2025)

SET Procedures Amendments and Updates - 2025

Local Guidance, Policy and Protocols

Alongside the overarching SET procedures there are some local ESCB practice guidance and protocols that complement them.

Management of Suspicious Unexplained Injuries & Bruising in Children - (2025)

SET Hoarding guidance - (Dec 2021)

Police Protection Protocol (SET) - (UNDER REVIEW)

Practice Guidance and Care Pathway for Children and Young People who are admitted to Psychiatric In-patient Units in Essex - (UNDER REVIEW)

Pre-birth Assessment multi-agency protocol (April 2024)

Presentation of concealed, denied, and late booking of pregnancies (Jan 2024)

Public Law Outline - guide for practitioners (September 2025)

Practice Tools

SUDI Practice Tool (PDF, 2024) - A thematic review of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in Southend, Essex, and Thurrock led to the development of this tool. This tool is available for practitioners across all agencies to use.

Engaging with father figures - practice tool (PDF, 2024) - In Essex, a practice tool has been developed to help practitioners have conversations with fathers and families with the aim of positively including them in work with their children. Studies show that when fathers/father figures are engaged early on, children have better educational, emotional, and social outcomes.

Safety Planning Practice Tool (PDF, 2025) - During reviews including Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) and Multi-Agency Case Audits (MACAs) there were inconsistencies in the meaning of a safety plan in different organisations. The plans ranged from verbal advice through to very comprehensive plans which may not have been aligned to each other. This guidance has been produced to help create a better shared understanding.

Physical Chastisement Practice Tool (PDF, 2025) - This practice tool includes a list of questions/prompts aimed to support curious conversations with parents/care givers to consider the child’s lived experience. It aids the identification of both protective factors and potential risks, and to consider how possible risks might be mitigated. The practice tool should support planning for children and families within organisations and networks.