Introduction

The government has said the police, the local council and health services need to work together to keep children safe in all areas. The way in which these organisations and agencies work together is known as multi-agency safeguarding arrangements (MASAs).

To do this in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly we set up Our Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (OSCP) who oversee the arrangements and agree the ways that everyone who is involved will work together to promote, safeguard and protect the welfare of children and young people.

It is important to OSCP that everything we do is child focussed, promotes children and young people’s rights and pays attention to the real concerns in their daily lives. 

This year, we plan to work with children and young people (aged 10 – 24) to develop and put in place ways for you to share your views. This will make sure that your voices are heard by OSCP and that your perspective and experience is considered through all the work that we do.

To start off, we want to make sure that you:

o   Know about the Safeguarding Partnership (OSCP)

o   Have opportunities to share your thoughts and experiences about safeguarding matters

o   Are given the opportunity to comment on our future plans and services

Longer term, we hope to give you the chance to talk with decision makers and actively shape and influence services.  This will be through planned events and activities as well as a Safeguarding Youth Advisory Panel.

If you are passionate about shaping safeguarding children services in Cornwall, think about becoming a Safeguarding Youth Advisor to have your voice heard and make sure young people are meaningfully involved in the decisions that impact them.

The following pages contain some wider information to help you know where to go for support, advice and guidance in order to feel safe and address abuse if it happens.