Child protection

When it comes to working with children and young people, safety and protection is extremely important.

That’s because during consultation work, it’s possible that a child may say something that suggests they may be experiencing abuse in their family or community.

Below is a list of useful safety guideline which will help make sure that children and young people aren’t put at risk when put in contact with adults.

Basic safety

  • Make sure that staff know what to do if they see or hear something that makes them worried about the safety of a child.
  • Agree with staff beforehand on what should happen if there are any concerns about a child’s safety.
  • If there is any doubt about what to do, contact the duty social work team in the local Social Services department.

Make activities safe for children and young people

  • Involve more than one adult as part of the work so that you avoid unsupervised contact. In other words, make sure that staff do not work or travel alone with children and young people. This precaution will also help to protect staff.
  • If any part of the work involves talking to children by themselves rather than as part of a group, make sure this is done in an open and visible way so that staff and the child can still be seen by other adults.
  • If a member of staff has contact with children where other adults aren’t present, then it’s essential that the member of staff has undergone a police criminal record check. This is an official checking procedure that helps ensure a person is suitable to work with children.
  • If you are working with consultants or staff from other organisations, they may have already been police checked. However, it is still your responsibility to ensure that police checks have been carried out. Ask the consultant or member of staff for a referee to provide written confirmation.
  • If there are any difficulties, it’s simpler and safer to ensure that contact with children is supervised by another adult (who has been police checked).
  • Even where work with children is supervised, you should still take precautions to ensure that staff you use are properly experienced and are trusted adults.
  • Partner agencies should be able to vouch for staff you use. You may also want to ask for some form of reference that confirms the person is suitable to work with children.