A six-month pilot phase of the island’s first ever multi agency safeguarding hub (MASH) is underway.

The purpose of MASH is to ensure the safety of children and young people in the island by bringing professionals from different child services together.

It hopes to improve outcomes by ensuring there is a comprehensive and joined-up response to reducing the risk of harm, with professionals coming together to make best possible use of their combined knowledge.

These professionals will come from agencies such as Manx Care’s children’s social care and adult social work teams, its early help team, broader health professionals from across Manx Care including its safeguarding team and officers from the police.

The new MASH arrangement will aim to strengthen the relationship between all the partner agencies, meaning a joint responsibility for all safeguarding matters and, thanks to the co-location of teams, will improve knowledge and insight into some of the safeguarding themes and issues arising across the island.

Establishment of MASH has been led by police superintendent Steve Maddocks, Julie Gibney, Manx Care’s assistant director of children’s and families services, and Terri Banks, Manx Care’s head of safeguarding, with support from their respective teams.

During the pilot phase, the MASH team will be based at Murray House in Douglas, home to Manx Care’s integrated social care services division, and will operate between 9am and 5.30pm from Monday to Thursday and between 9am and 5pm on a Friday.

Teresa Cope, Manx Care’s chief executive, said: ‘When professional, multi-disciplinary agencies work together to share information about children, young people and their families, it supports harm reduction and ensures there is better decision-making around a child’s welfare and safety.

‘This is a six-month pilot initially in order for us to work with our partners to make sure the model we are embedding fits the needs of children, young people and their families across the Isle of Man. This is an incredibly positive step forward and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so diligently over the last year to make this happen.’

Chief Constable Russ Foster, added: ‘Having worked within a MASH arrangement during my time in the UK, I have seen for myself the clear benefits to the co-location of professional agencies when it comes to safeguarding matters. As a police force we are committed to protecting vulnerable people and reducing harm in our communities across the island, with early intervention and partnership working key to this.’