Purpose
This revised draft incorporates the comments provided in the marked-up version, including clarifying wording, splitting questions where needed, strengthening the emphasis on evidence, competence, outcomes, emerging issues, and plans/priorities for improvement.
Instructions
- For each question, provide a brief summary and supporting evidence from the past year.
- Focus on what has worked well, the impact on practice and outcomes, and any improvements made.
- Please also identify any known gaps and your plans to address them in the coming year.
- Where a “no” response or red/amber rating is given, please set out the actions being taken to address the gap/area for improvement.
- Include specific examples, evidence, performance information, audit findings, user feedback, or other assurance material where possible.
- For peer review discussions, cross-reference responses on leadership competence, workforce competence, learning and safer recruitment where relevant.
Organisation Completing the Template: Oxford City Council
Person Completing the Template: Laura Jones
Senior Manager/Board Member Sign Off: Richard Adams
Leadership and Accountability
1. How does your organisation show its commitment to safeguarding?
Oxford City Council has a well-established Safeguarding Champion network of 21 staff, all existing officers of various departments trained to level 3 children and level 3 adults, who volunteer to support and advise colleagues with safeguarding concerns.
We hold an annual staff safeguarding survey with a high response rate, resulting in actions and communications: ‘you said, we did.’
Every job description in the organisation, including those of Senior managers and board level leads includes the statement: “Our commitment to Safeguarding: Oxford City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and requires all staff and volunteers to demonstrate this commitment in every aspect of their work.”
Regular safeguarding communications - quarterly newsletter with analytics report, sharing of local and national updates and learning from reviews via internal news channels, presentations to Leadership.
We have mandatory safeguarding training for all staff. Level 2 OSAB (Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adult Board) and OSCP (Oxfordshire Safegaurding Children Partnership) training for customer facing staff, and three Designated Safeguarding Leads with individual responsibilities.
The Corporate Leadership Team receives a monthly report detailing trends of safeguarding concern reporting and matters arising, alongside a quarterly meeting with Deputy CEO, who is the accountable officer for safeguarding.
The Safeguarding Coordinator is the Vice Chair of the OSAB LDT (Learning, Development, and Training) subgroup and volunteers as a trainer for the OSCP.
Our members review the safeguarding policy and procedures annually and agree at Cabinet every three years. Our Scrutiny Committee reviews an annual safeguarding report.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Recruitment of five additional safeguarding champions and one trainer.
- Delivery of a highlight report at the OSAB LDT subgroup.
- Audit of the Youth Ambition Service in January 2026
- Quarterly meetings and monthly reports to the Corporate Leadership Team
- Attendance at full board and subgroup meetings
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
2. How do you ensure that your internal strategies and plans, and your partnership strategies and plans, align with local safeguarding policies and priorities?
The Oxford City Council Safeguarding Policy and Procedure has been created to align with the OSAB and OSCP’s policies, setting out the MASA arrangements, associated legal framework, safeguarding response including Early Help, escalation policies, and information sharing. The annual Safeguarding Action plan includes areas for improvement internally and any actions resulting from this annual self-assessment and attendance at the OSAB and OSCP Full Board meetings and the associated subgroup meetings, clearly aligning with the Boards and Partnership’s priorities.
New policies and strategies require the oversight of Cabinet who are responsible for the agreement of the safeguarding policy.
Over recent years, the culture to consider safeguarding in the development and redevelopment of policies and strategies has improved.
Attendance at subgroup meetings and OSCP trainer development days ensure up to date knowledge and awareness of local priorities.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The Safeguarding Policy and Procedure was reviewed and updated in May 2025, with the next review due in May 2026.
- The Community Safety Partnership’s action was reviewed in July 2025.
- Updates to local and national legislation and guidance, and learning is shared in organisational-wide communication, most recently the
- Working Together 2026 update and learning from the OSCP partnership review was shared in the April 2026 safeguarding newsletter.
- Oxford City Council achieved a Gold DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) accreditation in May 2026.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
3. How do you ensure leaders have the competencies required to undertake their safeguarding responsibilities?
All staff, including senior leaders and Cabinet members, must attend the mandatory internal safeguarding training. Those who are responsible for customer facing services, Safeguarding Champions and Designated Safeguarding Leads must also attend level 2 and level 3 safeguarding training.
The CEO was previously the accountable officer for safeguarding; this has now been delegated to the Deputy CEO.
The annual safeguarding report to the Scrutiny Committee.
Effective, ongoing communication and working relationships between the DSL and Safeguarding Coordinator, and leadership teams, ensures appropriate check and challenge, and swift identification and resolution if/when gaps in competencies are identified.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The Community Safety Service Manager attends the OSAB Full Board meetings and the OSCP Child Exploitation Subgroup and reports key updates and learning to the Corporate Leadership Team. The Safeguarding Coordinator attends OSCP and OSAB subgroups.
- Newsletters are sent to all staff on a quarterly basis throughout the year.
- Updates from subgroups are provided quarterly Safeguarding Champion meetings.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
4. How are senior leaders within your organisation held accountable for safeguarding responsibilities and performance?
Newly elected Councillors must attend safeguarding training delivered within a month of the elections.
Oxford City Council has an accountable officer for safeguarding, the Deputy Chief Executive who oversees the City and Citizens Services Directorate in which the Community Safety service and safeguarding sit.
Three senior managers are appointed as DSLs – the Community Safety Service Manager who line manages the Safeguarding Coordinator, the Head of People, and the Director of Housing Services.
A monthly report is shared with the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT), giving an overview of the month’s safeguarding activities. Including identification of trends, service areas’ training records, updates on case reviews and audits, and commissioned services’ reported concerns.
An annual report is presented to the Scrutiny Committee, with the Safeguarding Policy updated and presented to Cabinet every three years.
PIQA (Performance, Information, and Quality Assurance) and PAQA (Performance, Audit, and Quality Assurance) audits are completed, and actions are included in the annual safeguarding action plan.
The Community Safety Service Manager is the Board/Partnership Member.
All staff, including all senior leaders, members of the Corporate Leadership team, and Councillors, must attend the internal safeguarding training.
All annual reports and policy updates require the accountable officer and Cabinet member’s sign off.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The CLT report is prepared and shared monthly.
- The annual safeguarding report was presented to the Scrutiny Committee in October 2025.
- The safeguarding policy was reviewed in May 2025; the next review is due in May 2026 with a review at Cabinet due in November 2026.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
5. How do you monitor safeguarding activity and outcomes, and address any issues identified?
Daily monitoring of MyConcern – trend analysis to understand the impact of training and development of team- specific, bespoke, targeted training.
The monthly CLT report gives opportunities for the leaders of the organisation to monitor activity and outcomes - referrals, categories and departments are reported on.
21 safeguarding champions quarterly meeting to discuss activity in each of their service areas, sharing emerging issues, successes, and areas for support.
The annual action plan is updated as new actions are identified, including those of the board and partnership.
Auditing of service areas ensures effective monitoring of safeguarding activity and outcomes.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The trainer feedback form was completed 144 times in the last year.
- The Youth Ambition services was reviewed in January 2026.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Strategy and Working Together
6. How would you describe the culture within your organisation in relation to safeguarding?
Recorded safeguarding concerns doubled in 2025, from 368 to 736, demonstrating a huge increase in awareness, also evident over the previous five years.
The quality of concerns recorded has also increased, with little reliance on a Designated Officer to offer advice and recommendations on referrals, and actions being taken prior to recording.
Safeguarding has become business as usual rather than previously feeling like an additional task or ‘add-on.’
Occasionally staff who are less customer facing query why they are required to attend safeguarding training. Responses to such queries include scenarios whereby someone in a similar position to them has come across a safeguarding concern. This demonstrates the importance of attending safeguarding training and how their role fits into the wider organisation’s safeguarding response.
Supporting evidence from the past year
Recorded safeguarding concerns doubled in 2025, from 368 to 736, demonstrating a huge increase in awareness, also evident over the previous five years.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
7. How would you describe the culture within your organisation in relation to working together in partnership to safeguard children and adults?
This has improved greatly in the last year following the introduction of regular meetings with the County Council’s adult safeguarding team. The MARM (Multi Agency Risk Management) process has also ensured effective communication between various services to improve partnership working.
City Council colleagues have been invited to the OSAB LDT subgroup to share a ‘day in the life’; this also aims to
aid working relationships with other agencies.
There is a mutual understanding that we cannot do this alone, and nor can any other services; we must all work together to safeguard children and adults effectively and efficiently.
ASB Case Conferences consider the safeguarding and support needs of service users and engages with relevant partners from health, adult, and children's social care services.
The Modern Slavery and Exploitation Coordinator pathway ensures care and support needs are considered when investigating cases of adult exploitation.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Increase in recorded safeguarding concerns by 13%
- Introduction of quarterly meetings with the County Council’s Head of Safeguarding.
- Slavery and Exploitation Multi Agency Team meetings are held weekly.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
8. What mechanisms does your organisation use to respond to challenge and improve practice as a result of constructive feedback from partners?
A dynamic annual action plan responds to challenge, identifying appropriate actions to improve, lead, desired outcome and date to be completed by.
Contributions to Board and Partnership subgroup meetings allow opportunity to receive constructive challenge, alongside feedback from presentations at partnership meetings
The self-assessment peer review provides a forum for challenge and feedback, and actions are added to the annual action plan.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- A presentation was delivered by oxford City Council on behalf of all of the district councils at the March LDT subgroup.
- Ongoing communication with the adult safeguarding team resulted in the improvement of quality of referrals to the team.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
9. How does your organisation identify, escalate and keep the Safeguarding Board/Partnership abreast of emerging local issues, risks or patterns?
Monitoring MyConcern for identification of trends.
PIQA and PAQA presentations and data sharing.
High response rate to annual staff surveys. Response to annual self-assessment.
Attendance at OSAB and OSCP subgroups, forums, full board, and bi-annual summits.
Awareness and utilisation where necessary of the Escalation: Resolving Professional Concerns and Disagreements Policy (RESOLVE) (PDF).
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Referral audit tool completion has begun with a view to sharing this at the June 2026 PIQA.
- Highlight reports shared at the OSAB LDT subgroup in March 2026.
- The annual staff survey saw 299 responses in October 2025.
- The OSCP and OSAB frontline worker survey open in April and May 2026 has been released in line with an internally agreed comms plan.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Service Delivery and Practice
10. How is safeguarding central to service development and delivery?
The Safeguarding policy embeds safeguarding across all levels of the organisation. Contractors, commissioned services, and organisations who receive funding must meet safeguarding requirements as part of the procurement/funding process.
Our Anti-social Behaviour Policy 2026-2029 makes specific references to safeguarding and its primacy in determining our approach to addressing ASB. It refers directly to our Safeguarding Policy that underpins the partnership arrangements we have in place to support children and vulnerable adults. Oxfordshire’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-2028 directly informs Oxford City Council’s homeless prevention and rapid rehousing response. The Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership Plan references the Council's partnership work. Our lead role in the Community Safety Partnership requires us to review our partnership priority and implement multi-agency approaches to address those priorities. These currently include knife crime, serious violence including youth violence, modern slavery and violence against women and girls.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Cabinet agreed the ASB 26-29 policy in October 2025.
- The Community Safety Partnership annual rolling plan was published in June 2025.
- Support from Safeguarding Coordinator and DSL in the development of procurement contracts, in relation to safeguarding, for homeless services.
- Youth Ambition review into service delivery. Mandatory safeguarding training for all staff.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
11. How do you enable diverse service user involvement in designing and improving services?
Oxford City Council employs a Consultation Officer to arrange and manage consultations with residents and service users for the development of services.
Colleagues attend Have Your Say meetings in partnership with other Oxfordshire organisations to understand the voices of the community.
In commissioning homelessness services, safeguarding, safety, health, and wellbeing are important themes in the tender process. Potential providers must be able to show how they work effectively in these areas and deliver a personalised service to people. The views of residents are further sought through case closure letters and Customer feedback cards with a view to ascertain how the service was delivered and what could be improved. Our Equality and Diversity strategy is based on the idea of fairness whilst recognising that that everyone is different and that we may need to deliver services differently to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Support plans for individuals will consider their strengths and wishes, with solutions being co-designed. The Homeless prevention duty work that is offered under a legal duty to all regardless of the ethnicity, cultural identity / diversity, gender, sexuality, disability, or age of the service user.
Supporting evidence from the past year
The annual Residents’ Survey saw an increase in the response to the question:
“Believes the Council engages you in the policy making process or service design.” 53% of respondents are
satisfied. Previous years showed a satisfaction rate of 41% and 45%.
ASB Policy development involved consultation with the public and tenant focus groups, looking at how we support complainants in understanding their care and support needs. The scrutiny committee worked with officers on the development of the policy, giving challenges to all relevant issues including safeguarding.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
12. How do you identify and address gaps in safeguarding services and standards?
Annual auditing of different teams and service areas within organisation identifies gaps and areas for improvement and a subsequent action plan.
Reports and presentations to OSAB and OSCP subgroups welcome challenge and seek to identify gaps.
The annual staff safeguarding survey informs the annual action plan, asking for views on our organisational response to safeguarding and staff experiences of safeguarding.
Monitoring of MyConcern reporting enables targeted training delivery for teams who require the most support and advice upon recording.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The staff survey received 299 responses in October 2025
- Presentation delivery at March’s OSAB LDT
- Youth Ambition Audit in January 2026
- Trainer feedback form seeks to identify gaps in training provision by asking five questions. If delegates are unsure, they are contacted directly to ensure effective learning.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
13. How do you ensure staff use the right safeguarding tools, pathways and procedures?
Internal training for all staff, staff survey to understand which tools have been used and comms to share information about the use of tools. Targeted training for specific teams, for example attendance at a Youth Ambition team meeting and discussion of the child exploitation tool.
Recommendations of use of tools upon triage of a new safeguarding concern by a designated officer. Links to tools are available on the intranet safeguarding guide.
Supporting evidence from the past year
Quarterly safeguarding newsletters released in April 26, January 26, October 25, and July 25.
The annual staff safeguarding survey asked staff:
- Which of the following tools have you used during any safeguarding work you have been involved in?
- Do you/your team require additional training on any of the available safeguarding tools?
249 responses were received. Relevant comms and training were subsequently arranged.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
14. How do you support staff through: a)supervision; and b) after serious incidents?
Safeguarding is discussed at 121s and team meetings. Close working relationships with the People Team and Deputy Chief Executive, who is the accountable officer for safeguarding, ensures any concerns around supervision are raised and shared.
Staff are signposted to the Mental Health First Aid team and Employee Assistance Programme upon recording a safeguarding concern, and the triage officers check on colleagues’ welfare and escalates to a line manager in the event of a serious incident.
Staff meet with colleagues to debrief following safeguarding concerns and serious incidents.
All incidents are recorded on a central system and reviewed by managers and the health and safety team.
Supporting evidence from the past year
In April, two staff were supported with frequent Teams meetings and messages throughout the day to agree on a plan to work with the person we were concerned about, and to support the staff to contact the police.
The Council has introduced a Frontline Worker programme to support staff who are dealing with challenging situations including safeguarding concerns. The increase in the number of safeguarding concerns recorded was one factor that prompted action.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Commissioning and Quality Assurance
15. How do you set and monitor safeguarding standards in commissioned or externally provided services?
Commissioned services and procurement contracts include a section on safeguarding standards which have been agreed by the contracting team and DSL.
Grant funded services must comply with strict safeguarding measures before grants are offered. Support is offered by the Safeguarding Coordinator to put safeguarding measures in place if they are not already, in order to work together to ensure good safeguarding practice and access to grant funds.
Annual commissioned service audits are requested by each commissioned service, and the responses shared with contract managers for discussion at quarterly contract monitoring meetings.
Serco, who are commissioned to provide leisure services, provides a monthly monitoring report which is shared as part of a wider monthly report to the Corporate Leadership Team.
ODS’ DSL attends quarterly Safeguarding Champion meetings, and ODS staff record safeguarding concerns on
MyConcern.
ODS and Oxford City Council staff work closely together to respond to safeguarding concerns, monitor service delivery, and deliver training.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The Rough Sleeping Team sought advice on wording to be added to a procurement contract regarding safeguarding.
- Commissioned services returned self-assessments in August of 2025.
- ODS recorded 32 MyConcerns in the last year.
- The Safeguarding Coordinator and ODS DSL delivered training to ODS team leaders around neglect and no access to properties in October 2025, following the OSCP partnership Learning Review.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
16. How do you track safeguarding concerns/referra ls and identify and respond to patterns or common themes?
MyConcern cases are reported monthly to the Corporate Leadership Team. Trends are identified, and training and communications are delivered and adapted accordingly.
The quarterly safeguarding champion meeting agenda includes identifying and responding to themes in service areas.
Referrals are shared at PIQA with a report due at the June 2026 PIQA meeting.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Monthly reports are shared with CLT.
- Trends are shared in quarterly safeguarding newsletters; the most recent was shared with over 900 staff in April 2026.
- Following concerns around staff welfare in relation to increased suicide-related concerns, managing deaths and financial concerns, the People Team have developed an employee support package; this is currently being rolled out.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
17. How do you escalate and resolve service gaps or risks?
The annual staff survey aids in identifying service gaps and risks by asking questions to determine improvement areas.
Relationships with line managers and service managers ensure effective and efficient escalation where necessary.
Partnership working and established relationships with partner agencies to ensure timely and effective escalations.
Bi-monthly meetings with Adult Social Care recently introduced.
Escalation: Resolving Professional Concerns and Disagreements Policy (RESOLVE) - is available on the safeguarding intranet page.
Training and coaching of staff to ensure early intervention and identification of risks to prevent the need for escalation.
Internal safeguarding learning reviews and audits are conducted to identify areas for learning and improvement.
Supporting evidence from the past year
Contact with the adult safeguarding team and subsequent escalations to the service manager resulted in swift action and the development of ongoing case review meetings to mitigate the risk of future escalations.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Recruitment, Training and Learning
18. How do you ensure safer recruitment is consistently applied across your organisation, and that recruiting managers are appropriately trained and maintain up-to- date knowledge?
- Safer recruitment is applied consistently through central oversight by the People Team, clear validation points within recruitment processes, and accountability for recruiting managers. Over the past year, controls have been tightened at both pre-advert and interview stages, supported by clearer guidance, improved communications, and active challenge where requirements are not met.
Central validation and challenge:
- People Services reviews and challenges all requested screening checks (including DBS) against job duties and legal eligibility before recruitment progresses. This has reduced inappropriate checks and improved consistency across similar roles.
Improved recruitment controls:
- Recruitment communications to managers were updated to explicitly require full interview documentation and safer recruitment declarations before offers or contracts are issued. This has reduced delays and strengthened compliance at the interview stage.
Review of historic post data:
- A review of legacy posts is underway.
- Updated manager guidance and comms
- Published guidance has been reviewed and updated in line with feedback. Implemented calling as well as emailing to emphasise the importance of completing DBS checks in a timely fashion – this has seen great results.
Impact on practice and outcomes:
- Reduced unnecessary or incorrect DBS requests
- Earlier identification of safer recruitment risks
- Clearer accountability for recruiting managers
- Improved documentation compliance prior to appointment
Known gaps:
- Manager understanding of DBS eligibility responsibilities remains variable.
- There is no mandatory safer recruitment training for all recruiting managers, although this has now been included in the Inclusive Recruitment training module.
- Current reliance on individual support from People Services is resource-intensive.
Plans to address gaps:
- Introduce clearer governance, defining manager and People Services responsibilities and final decision-making authority.
- Continue to review and update intranet guidance setting out safer recruitment requirements and eligibility decision-making.
- Communicate expectations via the Hiring Managers Network.
Overall assurance:
- Safer recruitment is currently supported by strong central controls and effective challenges, which mitigate risk where manager knowledge varies. The planned improvements focus on embedding consistent understanding, improving system accuracy, and moving from reactive support to a sustainable, preventative approach.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
19. How do you ensure staff have the competencies required to deliver their safeguarding responsibilities?
All staff are required to attend the internal safeguarding training which is delivered by the Safeguarding Coordinator who attends the OSCP and OSAB subgroups, and another volunteer trainer who is also a Safeguarding Champion.
Customer facing staff are required to attend the level 2 OSCP and level 2 OSAB training. Safeguarding Champions and DSLs are required to attend the level 3 OSCP and level 3 OSAB training.
Safeguarding Champions come from a variety of experienced backgrounds including drug and alcohol workers, a social worker, and homelessness officers.
Internal safeguarding reviews and audits identify good practices and areas of learning which are detailed in an action plan, with appropriate learning put in place.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Four Safeguarding Champion meetings were held in the last year, one every quarter. This provides the opportunity to share learning, best practice, and learn from other experienced members of the Council.
- 24 internal staff training events were held in 2025
- The Youth Ambition audit concluded in January 2026 with an action plan agreed with the management team.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
20. How do you make sure staff know who their Designated Safeguarding Lead, Partnership representatives and key safeguarding contacts are?
The whole staff safeguarding training includes details of DSLs and Safeguarding Champions. Staff are directed to the safeguarding intranet pages in every training session and every newsletter. The Safeguarding Guide available on the intranet safeguarding page includes details of DSLs and Champions.
A question in the annual staff safeguarding survey in October 2025 asked:“Do you know, or are you confident finding out, who your Safeguarding Champions or Designated Safeguarding Leads are?”
57% of respondents said they know their DSL or Safeguarding Champion is. 30% stated that they did not know but are confident in finding out.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The annual staff safeguarding questionnaire was open for two weeks in October 2025.
- 24 internal staff training events were held in 2025
- Four safeguarding newsletters have been released in the last year, one in every quarter.
- The safeguarding guide is updated annually, or as and when updates are available.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
21. How have you used learning from reviews, serious incidents, and Safeguarding Board/Partnersh ip learning to improve practice and keep your workforce informed?
The internal training includes key messages and learning from reviews. The training is updated annually or as and when local and national updates are published.
Intranet news articles are released as and when news and updates are shared by the Board/Partnership.
- The Partnership Learning Review for Casper directly resulted in training for Oxford City Council and ODS staff, with the support of ODS’s DSL.
- The annual safeguarding questionnaire asked:
- Has Oxford City Council provided learning from case reviews, such as: Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Safeguarding Adult Reviews, Homeless Mortality Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews, Partnership Learning Reviews. There were 199 responses to this question, responses included:
- Yes, in the internal training and newsletter
- Yes, these are usually given in the live training
- via a Staff Safeguarding Newsletter, and training completed in the past three years
- Yes, Oxford City Council has provided learning from a range of case reviews
- yes best practice and learning has been provided through these
- Yes and we learn from the My Concern cases. Recently I have been involved in how we look to safeguard residents in No Access cases to make sure people are safeguarded. I have suggested prompts on QL to help with no access cases and I also work with ODS on safeguarding concerns.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The Safeguarding Coordinator delivered training to ODS Team Leaders around no access to properties and identifying neglect, as part of the OSCP Partnership Learning Review.
- The annual staff safeguarding questionnaire was open for two weeks in October 2025 and received 299 responses.
- 24 internal staff training events were held in 2025.
- Four safeguarding newsletters have been released in the last year, one in every quarter.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
22. How do you support staff to raise safeguarding concerns and use whistleblowing procedures?
The internal training includes training on the internal safeguarding recording system, MyConcern.
All Safeguarding Champions are trained on the use, and subsequent triage, of MyConcern, to ensure effective support of colleagues when raising a MyConcern.
Staff are encouraged to report concerns regardless of the amount of information they hold, with the advice to seek support from a Safeguarding Champion or their line manager.
Supportive response to MyConcerns raised make raising a concern as easy as possible, i.e. sending links to make referrals and signposting to colleagues to employee welfare programmes such as the Mental Health First Aid Team and the Employee Assistance Programme.
The team of 21 safeguarding champions represent many service areas of the Council, though staff are encouraged to seek support from any Champion.
The safeguarding policy includes guidance on, and links to, the whistleblowing policy. Tell Jane was recently introduced, a portal for staff to gain advice on how to deal with whistleblowing concerns they wish to raise.
Supporting evidence from the past year
Tell Jane was introduced in April 2026, training was available to all staff via a Let’s Talk session in May 2026, delivered by the Tell Jane service providers.
The safeguarding policy was reviewed in May 2025 and is due to be reviewed in May 2026.
706 MyConcerns have been raised and responded to with recommendations and guidance, in the last year. This is a 13% increase on the same period in the year preceding.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Listening and Personalisation
23. How does your organisation ensure it is listening to and acting on the wishes and feelings of children and adults in relation to safeguarding and promoting wellbeing?
The annual staff survey asked: “Hearing the voice of the child in safeguarding means actively listening to and understanding a child's experiences, views, and needs to ensure they are central to any decisions about their safety and well-being. How do you capture the voice of a child?”
There were 187 responses to this question. Responses include:
- Understand the individual situation and take the appropriate action.
- Listen, be non-judgemental and never make promises.
- direct and indirect, ask them about their experience relating to the safeguarding issue. but also observe the individual and their surroundings for signs they may not be able, willing or have the understanding to say directly.
- It involves actively listening, observing, and interpreting both verbal and non-verbal communication.
- It includes trying to understand their lived experiences and including them meaningfully in decision-making. Listen carefully to what they are saying and how they are saying it, along with looking out for signs in body language. Be respectful, patient and understanding.
The Council recently achieved gold DAHA accreditation. The accreditation demonstrates our commitment to identifying victims of domestic abuse and subsequently listening to and acting on their wishes and feelings.
The Homeless Prevention Team and Landlord Services Team complete Strengths and Needs Tool where appropriate.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The DAHA Gold status was awarded in May 2026.
- Staff survey was open for two weeks in October 2025.
- The Strengths and Needs Tool is promoted in the Safeguarding Procedure and internal training which is mandatory for all staff.
- Officers have attended OSAB training on trauma informed language.
- Youth Ambition did a short survey on young people’s feelings of safety and fed back to the Community
- Safety Service during a period of heightened risk from knife crime in our neighbourhoods.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
24. How do you ensure safeguarding practice is sensitive, respectful, and consistent?
In commissioning homelessness services, safeguarding, safety, health, and wellbeing are important themes in the tender process. Potential providers must be able to show how they work effectively in these areas and deliver a personalised service to people. The views of residents are further sought through case closure letters and Customer feedback cards with a view to ascertain how the service was delivered and what could be improved.
Our Equality and Diversity strategy is based on the idea of fairness whilst recognising that that everyone is different and that we may need to deliver services differently to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Support plans for individuals will consider their strengths and wishes, with solutions being co- designed. The Homeless prevention duty work that is offered under a legal duty to all regardless of the ethnicity, cultural identity / diversity, gender, sexuality, disability, or age of the service user.
In the development of policies and strategies, an Equality Impact Assessment is routinely completed.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Trauma informed language courses provided by OSAB have been attended by numerous customer-facing colleagues.
- Gold Status DAHA accreditation achieved in May 2026.
- The examples detailed in the use of advocacy show sensitive, respectful, and consistent approaches to safeguarding.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
25. How do you use advocacy for people who need support in decision- making?
Support plans for individuals to consider their strengths and wishes, with solutions being co-designed.
The Housing Needs team works collaboratively with other agencies such as Elmore and Connections Support to ensure care plans are put in place to facilitate decision making. Embedded mental health workers advocate on behalf of our customers.
Tenancy Sustainment Officers and Homeless Prevention officers arrange and attend multi agency Tenants at Risk (single persons), FAROH (Families at Risk of Homelessness) and MARAC meetings for families. Agencies include Social Care, AMHT, The Police, Elmore, Connections, Advice centres etc. Homeless prevention duty cases involve collaborative working with internal Council services and teams to make processes for tenants as streamlined as possible and aid the customer journey.
Money Management referrals are made where vulnerable tenants need support in decision making around finances alone.
- Whereby a person may have a mistrust of authority, a friend or relative will be approached to act as an advocate.
The MyConcern triage process includes signposting to appropriate services, including advocacy services.
The Modern Slavery and Exploitation Coordinator advocates victims of modern slavery and exploitation to ensure they are heard and supported to make informed decisions, particularly as many have had their control and choices taken away through exploitation.
Supporting evidence from the past year
- Tenants at Risk meetings have been attended by HPOs throughout the last year.
- The Refugee Resettlement Team continues to fund the School Advocacy Project which enables parents to
- understand and be involved with their children’s education.
- An HPO arranged for an Independent Advocate to be approached through Adult Social Care to assist the tenant to make the correct choices.
The Modern Slavery and Exploitation Coordinator supported a potential victim who was fearful seeking support through the National Referral Mechanism and reporting to the police. The processes were explained in simple terms, with reassurance that the decision was his and that he could change his mind at any point. By creating space for questions and advocating for a trauma-informed approach with partner agencies, he was able to make an informed decision rather than feeling forced.
Another victim who needed medication to manage her trauma symptoms was not accessing her GP because she only felt safe seeing one GP, as she did not want to repeatedly disclose her experiences however, when she did try to make appointments, she was told which GP she could see. The Modern Slavery and Exploitation Coordinator liaised with health partners and the GP practice to ensure she was only booked with that doctor and that appointments were handled sensitively. This reduced the risk of re-traumatisation and ensured her
wishes were heard and respected.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
26. How do you empower people to challenge services and use complaints processes?
The mandatory all staff internal training specifically includes the key messages from CSPR and SARs ‘challenge professional opinion.’ Support is always available from Safeguarding Coordinator to challenge decisions.
Relationships with decision-making Oxfordshire agencies aid the process of challenging by seeking to learn why a decision was made.
We have a clear customer complaint procedure. This is readily available on our Make a comment, compliment of complaint pages. Customers are signposted to the complaints process where they are not satisfied with a service provided.
Most of our complaints come via the online form that feeds directly to both the Housing HUB and the OCC HUB. Complainants access our services via the Contact Centre (Telephony or Face-to-Face). All complaints are triaged on receipt to determine:
- Safeguarding/vulnerability exists
- Whether a quick resolution can be achieved
All cases are logged on to our QL system and to protect confidentiality; only the Complaints Teams have access to this level of information. When we acknowledge cases and vulnerabilities, we will determine what reasonable adjustments we can apply to support their journey.
If there are safeguarding concerns, referrals are made at the triage phase.
The OCC HUB also manages the Council's vexatious customer procedure. For every referral, a determination is made (at panel) to determine whether any vulnerabilities exist or whether a safeguarding referral is required. Appropriate action is taken which includes mitigating circumstances - this is in line with the current procedure. We are currently revising the internal procedure to formalise panel members and requirements for Health and Safety referrals. The new procedure will bring in cases that are beyond those of a vexatious nature and could be interpreted as potentially criminal.
Where safeguarding concerns are identified in a complaint, the concern is recorded on MyConcern in line with our safeguarding policy.
We are required to complete a self-assessment on complaints which is reported to the Housing and Homelessness Panel and to the Ombudsman annually. The Council’s 2025 self-assessment can be seen on our committee pages (PDF).
Supporting evidence from the past year
- The complaints team have recorded seven MyConcerns in the last year.
- The complaints self-assessment was completed in February 2025.
- Following closure of a referral to ASC, a Housing Officer was supported to make another referral, specifically laying out concerns in relation to Section 42 of the Care Act. The referral was subsequently opened.
- Internal training was updated to signpost colleagues to OSAB ‘Making a Good Safeguarding Referral training’ and advice around meeting the threshold for a referral enquiry.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
Reflection and Improvement
27. What were your main safeguarding challenges, priorities and plans last year, and what progress did you make in addressing them?
Following the Youth Ambition team's restructure, a review into safeguarding practices was conducted to understand and identify good safeguarding practices and areas for improvement and learning. Safeguarding Coordinator attendance at team meetings provided assurance and relationship to discuss safeguarding concerns.
Targeted Youth Ambition training and a review of the team’s safeguarding response, alongside a new management structure, has seen a 600% increase in MyConcern reports.
Staff welfare - suicide threats/thoughts/attempts MyConcern trend increase was raised with the People Team. This trend fed into a wider plan to respond to employee welfare concerns. The People Team has subsequently developed a staff support package including counselling and crisis response.
Although the number of MyConcern reports saw a significant increase, demonstrating a continued increase in awareness of safeguarding concerns and correct reporting methods, work was undertaken to increase the quality of response and subsequent reporting at the point of concern. Oftentimes, appropriate actions had been taken at point of recording however, infrequently, officers were unsure of actions to take. Coaching colleagues to understand what actions are best for the individual has, anecdotally, seen an improved response the next time a safeguarding concern has arisen. Quality of concerns has been reported to the Corporate Leadership Team as part of ongoing monthly updates.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
28. What are your current safeguarding priorities, plans, and intended actions for the coming year?
- PIQA referrals audit, due in June 2026.
- Monitor and review youth ambition audit action plan.
- Audit of a Council service (TBC).
- Staff safeguarding survey in October 2026 and development of an appropriate action plan following review of responses.
- Partnership subgroup actions as required.
- Safeguarding policy review and associated annual report to Cabinet and scrutiny committee in November 2026.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
29. What three changes could the Board/Partnership make to improve multi-agency safeguarding practice?
- Increase capacity within the MARM service.
- Deliver bookable webinars to discuss learning from CSPRs, SARs, HMRs, and DHRs, much like the Casper Partnership Learning Review webinar/forum.
RAG (red, amber or green) rating: Green
