Adult Education College Bexley SAFEGUARDING TRAINING

A Need for Ongoing Vigilance The need for safeguarding and safer recruitment was highlighted by the Soham case and the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by Ian Huntley. The findings in Sir Michael Bichard’s report (2004) identified flaws and shortcomings in recruitment when working with children or vulnerable adults. Without vigilance Ian Huntley, for example, was employed as a caretaker at Soham Community School.

Bichard Inquiry Report, 2004 p12 para 79 ‘For those agencies whose job it is to protect children and vulnerable people, the harsh reality is that if a sufficiently devious person is determined to seek out opportunities to work their evil, no one can guarantee that they can be stopped. Our task is to make it as difficult as possible for them to succeed....’

Definitions Child or young person: up to their 18 th birthday (UN convention of the Rights of the Child) Vulnerable adult - a person who has attained the age of 18 and: is receiving any form of health care is receiving a service or participating in an activity which is specifically targeted at people with age-related needs, disabilities or prescribed physical or mental health conditions or expectant or nursing mothers living in residential care Age-related needs includes needs associated with frailty, illness, disability or mental capacity For more details see Section 59 of SVG Act

What is child protection? What is safeguarding? What’s the difference?

Child protection looks at recognising abuse and neglect and acting on it whereas safeguarding looks at keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from a much wider range of potential harm, and delivers preventative action, not just reaction.

Safeguarding Definition “The term ‘safeguarding’ describes the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures that are necessary to be in place to protect children and young people from any potential harm or damage.” Keeping it Safe, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, 2002 Child protection and safer recruitment are important aspects of safeguarding This is also true for vulnerable adults

So what are we safeguarding learners from?

Safeguarding Learners From Sexual abuse or inappropriate relationships Grooming Physical and emotional abuse or neglect Domestic violence Inappropriate parenting Inappropriate supervision by staff/volunteers i.e. ‘bad practice’ Bullying, cyber-bullying Self-harm, risky behaviour Unsafe activities and environments

And... Accidents e.g. road, home Crime Fear of crime Exploitation including financial abuse, sexual exploitation, forced marriage Immigration issues Potentially unsafe environments e.g. parks, sports grounds Homelessness and unsuitable housing Victimisation due to race, sexuality, faith, gender, disability and so on

Who are the potential abusers?

Potential Abusers Strangers, e.g. predatory paedophiles Family members Friends and acquaintances Staff working in the sector including peripatetic staff e.g. assessors and agency staff Externally contracted staff e.g. security staff, transport staff

Continued..... Volunteers Governors/trustees/board members Other learners Themselves Anyone (potentially!)

This could never happen here, so why is this important?

What challenges might you face when taking this back to your team? Are some colleagues likely to be resistant? If so, how and why?

So why is this important? External and internal drivers Legislation Inspection Policies and procedures Contractual responsibilities Protecting the organisation and its workforce Doing what is best Commitment to providing the best and safest learning environment possible to ensure learners can succeed and staff can feel secure