What is Safeguarding?

Being safe and secure is fundamental to the well-being of all children and young people. And in achieving their full potential they need to feel loved and valued, and be supported by a network of reliable and affectionate relationships without the fear of abuse or neglect.

The government guidance on Working Together to Safeguard Children defines safeguarding as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment.
• Preventing impairment of children's health or development.
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
• Enabling those children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.

All adults who come into contact with children and young people in their work have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare. The Children Act 2004 places a duty on organisations to safeguard and promote the well-being of children and young people. This includes the need to ensure that all adults who work with or on behalf of children and young people in these organisations are competent, confident and safe to do so.

The recent report by Lord Laming, The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report, highlighted that while good progress has been made, there is still a considerable way to go in establishing clear and effective processes for safeguarding across the country. (Read the Government's response to the Laming Review)

Organisational Requirements

The vast majority of adults who work with children, young people and families act professionally and aim to provide a safe and supportive environment which secures the well-being and very best outcomes for them. However, it should be recognised that there are adults who will deliberately seek out, create or exploit opportunities to abuse children and other vulnerable people. It is therefore essential that all possible steps are taken to safeguard children and young people and ensure that the adults working with them are safe to do so.

Safeguarding is therefore about ensuring that a relationship of trust is not compromised, preventing things from going wrong at an organisational level and having the right protocols and procedures in place to deal with the consequences of difficulties if and when they arise. This will include ensuring that:

• There are robust up-to-date procedures (including a whistle-blowing policy and recruitment checks) for avoiding and responding to actual or suspected abuse or neglect.
• Staff are trained in recognising and responding appropriately to suspected abuse.
• There are procedures to prevent staff from gaining personal benefit when working with vulnerable people.
• The policies and procedures are fully understood by all staff (paid and voluntary workers).
• Staff are made aware of and understand their professional boundaries.
• Service users are aware of the procedures for reporting abuse or neglect.
• Prompt action is taken in response to individual complaints or concerns from staff or service users.