The Vale triumphs at the Cardiff and Vale Safeguarding Board’s Safeguarding Recognition Awards 

The Vale of Glamorgan Council was recognised for its ‘Exceptional commitment to the safeguarding of children’ at the recent Cardiff and Vale Safeguarding Board Recognition Awards.

Held on Friday 18 November, this year’s awards comprised of five categories that celebrated an array of outstanding contributions to safeguarding and recognised those who have had a real impact on people’s lives.

After the Vale recorded the highest Free School Meal uptake in Wales during September and October 2022, our Eligible Free School Meals Team (EFSM) also proudly took the award for ‘Exceptional commitment to the safeguarding of children’ at the awards.

In the early stages of the pandemic, a very small group of officers voluntarily took it upon themselves to ensure that free school meals, whether in the form food deliveries, payments or supermarket vouchers, were delivered to pupils eligible for free school meals.

The team acted quickly and managed to secure the first 2,000 supermarket vouchers in just the first two weeks of the pandemic.

The team acted quickly and managed to secure the first 2,000 supermarket vouchers in just the first two weeks of the pandemic.

Two years on, the EFSM team have issued over 150,000 individual payments, with an average value of around £40 for school meal replacements to more than 4,000 of our pupils in receipt of free school meals.

The work of the Vale’s EFSM team has been instrumental in supporting vulnerable families during a time of significant hardship.

The awards, presented by the co-chairs of the Safeguarding Board, Lance Carver and Tracey Holdsworth, alongside Superintendent Tim Morgan from South Wales Police and Director of Cardiff Children’s Services, Deborah Driffield were a fitting finale to National Safeguarding Week.

Coordinated by Regional Safeguarding Boards throughout Wales, the week aims to raise awareness among the community and professionals and reinforce existing messages around safeguarding children and adults at risk. Alongside a national programme of events, the Cardiff and Vale Safeguarding Board arranged a programme of workshops and conferences for residents and professionals.