Our plans for the year ahead 

Our four key ambitions  guide our work as a Board. Our objectives are based on our learning throughout the year and what people have told us is important.  

We welcome feedback on our plans at any point in the year, you can do this via the Tell your views survey

Ambition 1: Develop citizen-led approaches to safeguarding

We are committed to working with Leeds communities to ensure people have access to clear and simple information about abuse and neglect and they are confident to report it. 

We plan to:

  1. Develop new ways to hear people’s views about our work
  2. Develop new ways to hear about people’s experiences of being safeguarded in Leeds
  3. Continue to grow our Friends of the Board Network to engage with communities
  4. Hold an event to hear from local organisations about safeguarding work in Leeds
  5. Regularly consult people about safeguarding work in Leeds and our plans
  6. Look at how our Citizen Ambassadors can help organisations hear from people in Leeds about how to support them to be safe from abuse

Ambition 2: Promote awareness about safeguarding within communities and organisations

We are committed to working with Leeds communities to ensure people have access to clear and simple information about abuse and neglect and they are confident to report it. 

We plan to:

  1. Launch a new website providing clear safeguarding information – we will use feedback from people in Leeds to help us create the content
  2. Co-produce a plan with local organisations and Boards to increase safeguarding awareness in ethnically diverse communities
  3. Work with regional Boards to create safeguarding awareness resources for faith communities
  4. Work with local organisations to create safeguarding awareness resources for people with learning disabilities
  5. Continue providing free awareness sessions for community groups
  6. Promote our posters, leaflets and films so people and organisations can use them to help raise public awareness 

Ambition 3: Develop citywide approaches to safeguarding

We want people in Leeds to be confident that practitioners will work together and with them to get the best outcomes for them. 

Working with our strategic partners, we plan to:

  1. Review our guidance about when a safeguarding adults referral should be made
  2. Look at how we can increase people’s understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and Best Interest decision making
  3. Develop our approach to trauma informed safeguarding practices
  4. Promote the Leeds Self-neglect Strategy
  5. Hold an event to hear from practitioners about self-neglect
  6. Continue to provide the Exceptional Risk Forum to support organisations working with people who are at risk of abuse or neglect, despite prior support being provided or offered
  7. Continue engaging with Social Housing providers in Leeds 
  8. Develop our approach to multi-agency training for organisations in Leeds
  9. Co-produce an improved approach to how agencies work together to safeguard adults in Leeds 

Ambition 4: Learn from experience to improve how we work

We are committed to continual learning and the development of safeguarding adults work, using people’s experiences and feedback to help us achieve positive outcomes for people in Leeds. 

We plan to:

  1. Carry out Safeguarding Adults Reviews to learn from peoples experiences and we will share the learning
  2. Look at how our partners’ data about safeguarding cases can be improved so that we better understand the situation in Leeds, such as trends and where abuse is happening
  3. Look into how we can be assured that safeguarding arrangements are working well in Leeds
  4. Our Partners will carry out Annual Audits and report back to assure the Board of their safeguarding arrangements, particularly regarding Health & Care Settings
  5. Seek assurance from all our partner organisations that they have put our learning, resources, policies and procedures into practice

Please note, the outline above is a summary of our plan.