A LONG-AWAITED safeguarding system aimed at protecting seriously vulnerable children finally looks set to launch after being delayed by more than a year.

Slough Children’s Services Trust, Thames Valley Police, Cambridge Education, the Probation Service, Slough Borough Council, Turning Point – a non-profit service providing support to those with mental health issues, learning disabilities or substance misuse – and health agencies, are finally working together to form a crucial Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), to help protect youngsters at risk of abuse.

It is hoped working in partnership will mean improved communication, resulting in the right support being offered more quickly.

The MASH was due to launch in April last year.

However, despite a spokeswoman from Slough Borough Council stating that she believed the MASH was “up and running” in July, police chiefs admitted it actually faced a 12-month-delay in October.

The Slough Children’s Services Trust took over the role of heading up the Slough MASH in its capacity of being responsible for the care and wellbeing of Slough’s vulnerable children and young people when it launched at the beginning of October.

A spokeswoman from the trust confirmed a prototype of the service is set to go ahead in July with the official launch in September.

Eric de Mello, head of operations at the trust, said: “The MASH is just one example of our continued commitment to working closely with partner agencies to protect children and young people at risk of harm.

“The MASH will enable us to improve risk analysis and provide services to help ensure children and young people in Slough are safe, secure and successful.”

Thames Valley Police, who work to tackle and prosecute cases of domestic violence, – a major factor in child abuse cases – are often the first eyes and ears on scene.

CI Linda York from the Protecting Vulnerable People unit at Thames Valley Police said: “The MASH will enable our staff to work more closely with professional agencies to identify how to best manage any safeguarding concerns and will help keep the most vulnerable people in our communities safe from harm.”

Since the trust launched, increased resources – including Early Help – have cut the processing time of assessments and improved the quality of information provided to partner agencies.