One Minute Guide – NSCP Update May 2026
Newcastle Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP)
One Minute Guide – Partnership Executive Group
14 May 2026
Overview
The NSCP Executive met on 14th May 2026, chaired by Cath McEvoy‑Carr (Director of Children and Families Newcastle). Senior leaders from Children’s Social Care, Northumbria Police, NUTH, education (including Clennell Education Solutions), and other partners attended.
The discussion focused on priority partnership activity, including progress towards implementation of Families First, the effectiveness of communication and engagement across the system, ongoing scrutiny and assurance work, and learning from significant national developments such as the Southport Inquiry and Operation Beaconport.
Throughout the meeting there was a clear emphasis on ensuring that safeguarding work is understood across the wider workforce, that information is consistently shared beyond those attending partnership meetings, and that partners are clear about their responsibilities in both contributing to and acting on partnership priorities.
Introduction of ‘Families First’ in Newcastle
Adele Moore (Lead Assistant Director: Children’s Social Care & Early Help) provided a detailed update on progress with Families First. She confirmed that the new model will go live on 29 June 2026, marking the start of a transition to a different way of working across the system.
The discussion made clear that Families First is not a single service change but a whole‑system approach focused on providing help to families earlier, reducing escalation, and improving how agencies work together. It was emphasised that all partners, not just children’s social care, have a role in delivering this model and supporting families within their communities.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of consistent language across the system, including new terms for the first point of contact within Children and Families, now called “CFN Connect” and the new multi-agency child protection teams will collectively be known as “CFN Protect”. It was recognised that embedding these changes will take time and requires sustained effort across all agencies.
Scrutiny and Assurance
Helen Bannister, Independent Scrutineer, provided an overview of current scrutiny and assurance activity, including work underway to strengthen reporting, improve the quality of analysis, and ensure that learning is clearly captured. The discussion highlighted both progress and emerging challenges.
While there has been positive development in areas such as audit reporting and thematic work, there are indications of variability in partner participation within multi‑agency audit activity. This presents a potential risk, as the effectiveness of audit activity relies on a consistently strong multi‑agency contributions. There was also reflection on the balance between local and regional work, and whether current arrangements are as effective as partners would like in meeting the needs of the local partnership in a timely way. Alongside this, the role of Public Health in supporting deeper analysis through audit work was welcomed as a positive development.
The Executive emphasised that strong partner engagement in assurance activity remains a core expectation. It was agreed that areas where participation could be strengthened, including within sectors such as health and policing, would be explored further outside the meeting to support a sustained and credible approach to scrutiny.
Southport Inquiry
The Executive discussed learning from the Southport Public Inquiry, which has highlighted significant weaknesses in how agencies identified, understood and responded to risk. Risk was not consistently owned, information was not effectively brought together, and incidents were often managed in isolation rather than as part of a wider pattern. The discussion focused on the finding that no single failure led to harm, but rather a pattern of missed opportunities across agencies over time, reinforcing the importance of effective ‘working together’ by partners.
Operation Beaconport
Barrie Joisce (Newcastle Area Commander, Northumbria Police) updated the group on Operation Beaconport, a national review of previously closed child sexual exploitation cases. The purpose of the operation is to identify learning and ensure that victims are appropriately supported.
Communication and engagement
Communication and engagement were discussed throughout the meeting, with a consistent theme that current approaches continue to develop and increase reaching all parts of the workforce effectively. While there has been progress, including increased subscriptions to the safeguarding bulletin, the Executive agreed that relying on individuals to opt in creates a risk that important safeguarding messages do not reach frontline staff.
Partners highlighted that most organisations already have established internal communication routes, and these should be used more effectively to share safeguarding information directly with staff. There was also a clear expectation that partner agencies take responsibility for adapting and disseminating partnership messages within their own structures.
The discussion also emphasised the importance of making communication more meaningful and relevant to practice. Suggestions included using real examples and case studies to help practitioners understand why the work matters and how it connects to their day‑to‑day role.
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