Caerphilly County Borough Council has published its 2024/25 Corporate Safeguarding Annual Report, reaffirming its strong commitment to the protection and wellbeing of children and adults across the county borough.
Caerphilly County Borough Council has published its 2024/25 Corporate Safeguarding Annual Report, reaffirming its strong commitment to the protection and wellbeing of children and adults across the county borough.
Safeguarding remained a top corporate priority throughout the year. Consistent management structures across both Children’s and Adult Services—along with enhanced decision-making in the Information, Advice and Assistance (IAA) team—have helped strengthen the Council’s safeguarding response at all levels.
A major milestone this year was the successful roll-out of the new Learning Management System, Thinqi, which now enables the Council to monitor and report on safeguarding training compliance more effectively.
All staff and elected councillors must now complete two online training courses: one on basic safeguarding awareness and another on how to recognise and respond to domestic abuse.
Safeguarding training is now fully aligned with the National Safeguarding Training Framework (NSTF)
All internal audit recommendations from 2023/24 have been addressed. Self-assessments conducted by Designated Safeguarding Persons (DSPs) have guided targeted improvements, including enhanced tracking of training and a focus on site security.
Caerphilly CBC continues to play a regional leadership role, hosting the Gwent Police West Safeguarding Hub, participating in key multi-agency forums, and supporting initiatives such as Operation Encompass and the National Referral Mechanism.
Following an inspection in June 2024, Estyn praised the Council’s safeguarding culture in education, describing support as “outstanding” and highlighting its effectiveness in delivering training and tailored advice.
To build on this progress, the Council will move forward with a series of actions, including training to Social Services staff, full completion of mandatory safeguarding eLearning modules, development of a safeguarding awareness poster for display in customer-facing areas, and alignment with GDPR and social media policies within safeguarding procedures.
While notable progress has been made, the Council recognises that tracking and reporting of training compliance remains a key area of risk. The full implementation of Thinqi is expected to support significant improvements in this area during 2025/26.
“Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and this year’s report shows our Council is making substantial progress to strengthen safeguarding at every level,” said Cllr Eliane Forehead, Cabinet Member for Social Care said,
“The new systems and training frameworks now in place put us in a strong position to maintain high standards and respond swiftly to any concerns.”
2024/25 Corporate Safeguarding Annual Report (PDF) Annual Corporate Safeguarding Report 202425.pdf
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