A brief guide to safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding is a legal requirement for regulated activities within educational settings, care homes, sports activities, and health and social care. Interest in developing safeguarding policies and procedures is also increasing in other sectors, including unregulated ones such as construction. Here, we answer some common questions regarding safeguarding, and discuss what any business wanting to develop their own frameworks should do next.

What is safeguarding?

There is no universal legal definition of safeguarding. Its meaning can differ depending on the sector, activity, and type of individuals involved.

Where children and young people are concerned, the NSPCC defines safeguarding as “the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.” These actions are best understood through the ‘Five R’s’:

1. Recognising the signs of harm, abuse, or neglect;
2. Responding and reacting to safeguarding concerns;
3. Reporting concerns of harm, abuse, and neglect;
4. Understanding obligations on recording information and its GDPR implications;
5. Referring to another organisation when appropriate to do so.

Safeguarding is a legal requirement in some sectors. It can also be beneficial to others, however, particularly those that encounter children and young people.

What is the law on safeguarding and to whom does it apply?

There are several key pieces of legislation covering safeguarding. These are:

• The Children Act 1989. This states that a child’s welfare must be the main consideration of its upbringing. It also details what local authorities and the courts must do to protect the welfare of children. Under this legislation, local authorities are charged with a duty to investigate if they suspect a child is suffering from, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.
• The Children Act 2004. This aims to improve and integrate children’s services by promoting early intervention, providing strong leadership, and creating multi-disciplinary teams to achieve positive outcomes for children and their families. It also establishes how councils can better plan, commission, and deliver children’s services, with clearer accountability and improved information sharing.
• The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (SVGA) 2006. This provides the minimum requirements for certain employers when reviewing the suitability of individuals – whether employees or volunteers – to work with children or vulnerable adults. Under this legislation, it is a criminal offence for an individual who is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults to engage in, or seek to offer to engage in, the activity from which they are barred.
• The Care Act 2014. This encourages a person-centred approach to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, placing the individual’s wellbeing and needs at the forefront of the process. According to this Act, the principles that underpin child safety are empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership, and accountability.
• The Children and Social Work Act 2017. The main purpose of this statutory requirement is to improve decision making and support for looked-after, and previously looked-after, children. It also aims to enable the establishment of a new regulatory regime for social workers and, by extension, improve child protection practices at both a local and national level.
• The GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. Schools, colleges and employers have a legal obligation to keep personal and sensitive data secure. Most information can be shared only with consent. Organisations are, however, permitted to process data without consent under this legislation, if doing so will protect an individual from harm.

Can I get a safeguarding qualification?

There is no single accredited scheme offering a safeguarding qualification. For certain professions, such as teaching, safeguarding will be built into the training programme. There is also a wide range of safeguarding courses available online from providers such as the NSPCC. Requirements for training and certification will vary depending on the sector.

What is regulated activity?

Regulated activity can relate to children, young people, and vulnerable adults. For children and young people, such activity can be regulated due to its nature or the workplace in which it takes place. Individuals can also be regulated, even if they do not carry out ‘regulated activity’.

Regulated places of work include: educational settings such as schools; nurseries; children’s detention centres, centres, or homes; childcare premises; after-school clubs; and sports clubs.

Regulated activities can include teaching, delivering healthcare, driving a school bus, and providing foster care.

Individuals who are on the Disclosure and Barring Service’s barred lists can neither work in regulated workplaces nor carry out regulated activities.

What is a DBS check and what is it for?

Checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) help organisations to recruit safely and ensure any individuals conducting regulated activity do not pose a risk to those with whom they may work.
The level of DBS check required will depend on the nature of the activity taking place. Criminal record checks can only be undertaken on individuals aged 16 and over.

The four types of DBS check are:

• Basic. This only discloses any unspent convictions on an individual’s criminal record.
• Standard. This is used by employers on behalf of applicants to check their criminal record and ensure they are suitable for the role. A standard check shows information on any cautions, warnings, and reprimands, as well as unspent convictions.
• Enhanced. This is used for roles in which an individual will work alone with children, as it allows employers to also see any spent convictions. Enhanced checks can be expanded to include the Children’s Barred List or Adult First List. Barred lists are also maintained by the DBS and contain individuals deemed to be a risk to those in vulnerable positions. Individuals can be added to the barred lists if convicted of a crime that is subsequently investigated by the DBS, if given an official caution that requires them to stay away from a vulnerable adult or child, or if subject to a referral by an employer, manager, or organisation.

Recruiters can only request a DBS check on an individual when legally permitted to do so. This is explained further in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

What other organisations are involved in safeguarding?

Safeguarding responsibilities are held by numerous organisations and individuals, both at a national and a regional level. Sector-specific organisations, such as a sport’s national governing body, may also have safeguarding duties.

• The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). This individual is notified when there are concerns that an employee or volunteer has behaved in a way that has harmed (or may have harmed) a child, or committed a criminal offence related to a child. The LADO oversees and directs investigations to ensure they are thorough, timely, and fair.
• Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). These assess and manage the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders. They also provide guidance to the police, prison service, and probation trusts.
• The Police. Police officers must ensure safeguarding concerns are managed promptly and reported responsibly to all relevant agencies. They will lead on criminal investigations, as well as protecting individuals at immediate risk of harm.
• The NSPCC. In addition to providing resources on safeguarding and child protection, the NSPCC has a helpline for reporting immediate risks.
• Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). These are a legal requirement for schools and colleges, providing the first point of contact for reporting concerns. An organisation can have more than one DSL.