Everyone is responsible for safeguarding at all times. However, as a social care professional, you have a responsibility to do everything possible to protect and keep children safe. You must also disclose any concerns about children or adults’ safety.

All social care practitioners must be aware of how the safeguarding environment might change, and issues such as criminal and sexual exploitation must be understood.

Many child abuse and neglect investigations have focused on poor communication between social care professionals and agencies, as well as the consequences of this failure to collaborate effectively.

Everyone working in safety and childcare must comprehend both the context in which they work and the environment in which young people live, go to school, and grow up.

Learning Results

• Understanding what safeguarding is
• Understanding the legal principles underlying safeguarding
• Understanding the many types of abuse
• Understanding child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation
• Understanding how to deal with disclosure by children

Legislation

Children Act of 1989
This Act provides a framework for all types of child protection and child welfare. The protection protocols and laws enacted in England and Wales. The Act emphasises the significance of children’s welfare and the obligations and expectations of anyone with a responsibility to care for a child.

2004’s Children Act
This Act is an evolution of the Act of 1989. It reinforces the responsibilities of all individuals and organisations working with children to assist in their protection and welfare.

The 2008 Children and Young People Act

This Act reformed the care system in an effort to enhance outcomes for children in care and those leaving care.

2014’s Children and Families Act:This Act codifies the legal protection of vulnerable children by bringing together a number of statutes affecting them.

The Children’s Social Services Act of 2017:This Act contains provisions for minors in foster care, child welfare, and the regulation of social workers.

The Female Genital Mutilation Act (Female Genital Mutilation Act) of 2003. This Act establishes UK law regarding FGM.

The 2018 Data Protection Act:This Act transposes the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations into UK law and mandates that, where there are concerns about a child’s safety, information must be shared between organisations in a timely and effective manner so that decisions and actions can be made in the child’s best interests.

Regulations and Specifications

Working Collectively to Protect Children:A guide to inter-agency collaboration for the protection and promotion of children’s welfare.

SEND Code of Conduct: 0 to 25 Years From 1 September 2014, guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for infants and young people aged 0 to 25.

Protecting Children in Education in 2022:This guidance outlines what schools and colleges in England and Wales must do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people younger than 18 years old.

Fostering Services: Minimum national requirements Guidelines for local governments regarding the national minimum requirements for the provision of foster care services.

Foster Care Training, Support, and Development Standards: Standard 6 – ‘Keep Children and Young People Safe From Harm’ – specifies what social care practitioners must know and do to keep children and young people safe and protect them from harm, including the relevant laws, policies, and local safeguarding arrangements, how to recognise that a child or young person is being abused or neglected, and how to collaborate with other child protection agencies. It also describes what to do if you have concerns about the welfare of a child or adolescent due to malpractice, negligence, or unprofessional conduct.

Current Statistics

In 2022, there were 404,310 children in need (an increase of 4.1% from 2021 and 3.9% from 2020), which corresponds to 334.3 children per 10,000 children (an increase from 321.2 in 2021 and 323.7 in 2020). These figures and rates are the greatest since 2018.

50,920 child protection plans were in place (an increase of 1.8% from 2021 but a decrease of 1.1% from 2020), which corresponds to 42.1 child protection plans per 10,000 children (an increase from 41.4 in 2021 but a decrease from 42.8 in 2020).

There were 650,270 referrals (an increase of 8.8% from 2021 and 1.0% from 2020). This represents the highest level since 2019. The number of referrals from schools increased in 2022 compared to 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions were in effect, and was the highest since records began in 2014.

In addition, 645,070 assessments were conducted (a 3.1% increase from 2021 but a 3.1% decrease from 2020).