A REPORT has praised how different agencies in Bradford are working together to protect young victims of domestic abuse.

Published by a collection of agencies including Ofsted, HMIC, the probation service and the Care Quality Commission, the new report looks at the “multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Bradford Council”.

Highlighting the scale of the issue, the report reveals that since a new system, where schools are notified within 24 hours of a child witnessing domestic abuse, was implemented this January, there have been over 1,100 notifications to Bradford’s schools.

Published yesterday, the report says partnerships in the district to deal with young victims are “well established and committed.” However, it also claims not all agencies have systems in place to recognise the risk of domestic abuse on children.

It says police work effectively with schools to offer support and advice on how to help pupils coming from an environment of abuse.

The adds: “Staff in many agencies, including the voluntary and community sector, children’s social care, police, national probation services, youth offending teams and many health services, have a strong focus on understanding domestic abuse from the perspective of the child.

“The range of services is impressive, including specialist workers to meet the needs of diverse communities and services for men who are victims of domestic abuse. One mother spoke powerfully of how the group work provided by one such organisation has helped her understand the impact of domestic abuse on her son and helps her to be aware of early signs of potential abuse in new relationships.”

Detailing areas that need improving, the report says: “High caseloads within the service impact on staff‘s ability to effectively manage cases when there are concerns about domestic abuse.”

Councillor Val Slater, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said: “We can never be complacent about safeguarding, but this thorough inspection recognises the good work we are doing.”

Damien Miller, West Yorkshire Police’s superintendent for safeguarding partnerships, said: “We are pleased that the inspection has seen the hard work, which is resulting in our timely and effective responses to tackle domestic abuse, as well as our prompt and effective information sharing.”

Nancy O’Neill, director of collaboration for the district’s clinical commissioning groups, said: “We are pleased that the report recognises the many examples where effective partnership work in Bradford has resulted in timely and good quality support to local children and their families, ultimately reducing the risk of harm. We look forward to developing the partnership, using the findings of the inspection to further improve our support to children and young people living with domestic violence.”

Michael Jameson, Bradford Council’s strategic director of children’s services, said: “This was a very thorough examination of part of our district’s safeguarding service which recognises the innovative work we are developing for children and parents. We know there is still much more to do, but this report shows that we are ‘getting the basics right’ and going in the right direction.”

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