Stockport Safeguarding Children Partnership have 3 priority areas for 2026 to 2028, which are:
Priority 1: Neglect
Priority 2: Child sexual abuse
Priority 3: Strengthening the foundations of practice
Priority 1: Neglect
Aim
To strengthen the early identification, assessment, and response to neglect so children receive timely, effective support and long-term harm is prevented.
The SSCP has set out the reasons for neglect being a focus of the partnership, in the revised neglect strategy.
Key objectives
- To raise awareness and understanding of neglect in Stockport
- To support the identification of neglect at the earliest opportunity
- To ensure a timely and effective response to neglect across the partnership
Expected outcomes
- There will be an increase in neglect tools being used when it is a presenting factor in assessments
- By the end of quarter 3 2026 to 2027, we will see an increased use of the Graded Care Profile 2 being used where children are subject to child protection plans for neglect
- Earlier intervention and prevention of neglect, will result in less children becoming cared for by the local authority. Currently 56% of children become cared for where neglect or abuse is the key concern
- There will be an increase in the number of social workers trained in using the Graded Care Profile 2
- By the end of quarter 1 2026 to 2027, a neglect practice guide will have been produced and launched, for safeguarding professionals to use in practice
Priority 2: Child sexual abuse
Aim
To strengthen the partnership response to all forms of child sexual abuse (CSA) through improved awareness, recognition, disruption, and trauma-informed support.
The SSCP has set out the reasons for child sexual abuse being a focus of the partnership in the revised child sexual abuse strategy.
Key objectives
- We want to improve the information provided to parents, carers and the wider public about child sexual abuse so that key adults have the advice and tools they need to identify risk and keep children safe
- We want everyone who comes into contact with children to be able to recognise when there is a risk of sexual harm within family environments. We want practitioners to be confident to put safeguarding measures in place in the absence of verbal disclosures, and to know how to respond to children and their families with curiosity, compassion, and skill
- We want to make sure that child sexual abuse is responded to consistently by all partners working together and sharing information
- We want to promote a whole family response to child sexual abuse, ensuring that there are clear and well understood pathways so that the right support is provided to the victims and those around them who have been affected by the abuse
Expected outcomes
- Earlier identification of CSA
- Fewer missed opportunities for early intervention or disruption, where indicators of CSA are present
- Increased workforce confidence and competence in assessing and responding to CSA
- Clear, well understood pathways of support so that all family members affected by CSA receive appropriate support
Read more information on child sexual abuse.
Priority 3: Strengthening the foundations of practice
Aim
Improve the consistency, quality and effectiveness of safeguarding practice across the partnership, so that children receive the right help, at the right time, based on a clear understanding of risk, need and lived experience, and supported by robust, outcome focused planning and intervention.
Key objectives
- Ensuring thresholds are understood and applies consistently across the partnership
- Improve the quality of assessments, analysis and strengthening practitioners’ ability to recognise, describe and analyse the child’s lived experience
- Strengthen the quality of planning and intervention, ensuring that all plans (Early Help, CIN, CPP, multi‑agency safety plans) include clear outcomes, actions, roles and timescales
Expected outcomes
- Increased use of early help assessments by partner agencies
- Strengthened quality and consistency of multi-agency decision making
- Quality of plans for children will increase, which will be evidenced by multi agency auditing activity
- Clear, well understood pathways of support for families, where the levels of needs guidance is well understood and utilised by agencies
Training
The SSCP provide Early Help Assessment training. Find out more about training for practitioners.
We offer an Introduction to Safeguarding course, which gives an overview of the foundations of practice, pathways and policies in Stockport including:
- multi-agency response to need
- how to raise professional challenge
- indicators and signs of abuse
- how to make safeguarding referrals
- learning from local and national reviews
We offer training on how to undertake multi-agency chronologies and systemic genograms which are part of our neglect toolkit and designed to help practitioners understand the lived experience of children, young people and families.
You can find information on how to book on this session via the training link above.
Week of action
During the week starting 22 June 2026, we delivered a variety of sessions across the partnership focusing on Priority 3: Strengthening the Foundations of Practice. These included sessions on:
- strategy discussions
- learning from local and national reviews
- the work of the SSCP
- update on response to need refresh
- police powers of protection
- probation and the role of risk
If you would like to receive any of the presentations from these sessions, please email lsb@stockport.gov.uk.