AN independent chair with more than 40 years’ experience of children’s services has been appointed to Wokingham Borough Council’s Safeguarding Children Board.
Fran Gosling-Thomas, who has previously worked as a social worker and an Ofsted inspector before ascending the ranks to become director of Children’s Services, was appointed to the board in October.
The board, a legal requirement of every local authority in the country, is responsible for ensuring Wokingham Borough agencies work together to protect children and young people.
Fran said: “Being an Independent Chair I can speak without fear or favour. I care passionately about children and young people and I want them to have a decent childhood. This guides everything that I do.
“We have done a lot of work in recent months to self-assess where we are at, and to redefine our priorities. My ambition is for the Board to move very quickly from its current grading ‘requires improvement’ to a good Ofsted rating followed swiftly by outstanding.
“The Board has identified the following as priorities: child sexual exploitation; domestic abuse, listening and acting on children and parents views; these are underpinned by two more priorities – workforce development and ensuring the impact and effectiveness of the Board.
“We would also commission a serious case review should a child die or be involved in a serious incident. We also look at any national serious case reviews to see what we can learn from them and how we can make our own practices better.
“Please remember, safeguarding is everyone’s business.”
For more information on the Wokingham Safeguarding Children Board visit http://wokinghamlscb.org.uk.
