London 05/12/12

Facilitators network

• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

• Launch of DBS

• New inspection framework

Major changes during 2012

• What have been the major changes in safeguarding policy and practice that have impacted on you during 2012?

• Which of those changes was welcome – and why

• Which of those changes was unwelcome – and why?

LSIS safeguarding conferences

• 7th February 2013 – Manchester

• 28th February 2013 - London

Quiz

• What does “DBS” stand for?

• When will DBS begin its work?

• Do staff in the college finance office need to be CRB checked?

• Why is it inappropriate to use the term “vulnerable adult?”

• Is the provision of first aid a “regulated activity?”

• How many types of CRB checks are there?

• What are the different types of CRB check?

• Do WBL assessors working with apprentices need to be CRB checked?

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

• Sets out to rebalance the need for safeguarding with the need to have in place policy and practice which is proportionate and respectful of individual privacy and freedom

• ISA+CRB = DBS (Dec 2012)

• Update service (early 2013)

• New definition of Regulated Activity (RA)

• Controlled Activity abolished

• VBS cancelled

• No “additional information”

• No CRB for anyone under 16

• More rigorous relevancy test

For adults & RA the focus will be on the activities people undertake with adults

• Healthcare

• Personal Care

• Social work

• Assistance with a person’s cash

• Assistance with conduct of own affairs

• Conveying

• No longer a requirement to undertake activities a certain number of times

For children & RA

• Unsupervised activities

• Work in “specified establishments”

• Work regularly (once a week or more often, or on 4 or more days in a 30 day period, or in some cases overnight

• Relevant personal care

• Registered child minding and foster care

To note:

• Supervised volunteers come out of RA

• All office holders and inspectors come out of RA

• The opportunity to have contact with children – in a specified place - brings you into RA

• Having access to sensitive data does not bring you into the ambit of RA

• Results of CRB go only to the person who has been CRB’d

But don’t forget, its not just about CRB

We still emphasise the importance of a culture of vigilance

Using the target sheet:

Place the role descriptions on the red circle if they require enhanced CRB checks, on the orange circle if they require a CRB check and on the green circle if they do not need CRB checks

To summarise:

• DBS launches in Dec 2102

• Police can provide “relevant” info as determined by Chief Constable – replaces “additional” info

• Use the terms “children and adults”

• When a college has its main group of learners under 18 (children) attending during the day it can be a “specified place” and eligible to apply for enhanced CRB checks with barring - further clarification is needed

• Important for providers to define clearly who is eligible for which type of CRB check – CRB will soon publish decision tree

• A whole organisation approach remains vital

• Rigorous risk assessment is crucial to determine eligibility for CRB checks and other safeguards

• Organisations will be required to justify why they apply for enhanced disclosure CRB – especially if it is with barring

• New CRB application forms will accompany the start up of DBS – old forms can be used until 28/02/13

• Online update service available from spring 2013

• From spring 2013 the individual will receive and hold their CRB cert

• The employer can check online if it has been awarded but the individual has to make the cert available

• An online update criminal record service will operate from early 2013

What is not changing

•You must make appropriate referrals to the DBS

•You must not engage in regulated activity someone whom you know has been barred by the DBS

•Everybody within the pre-September definition of regulated activity will remain eligible for enhanced CRB checks

Safeguarding and employment checks

• Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks remain the key employment safeguarding check available to providers

• They should be used as one element in a recruitment process that has safeguarding embedded in it at each and every stage

CRB checks decision tree

Working in small groups:

• Look at the NHS CRB checks decision tree

• Identify if/how you might adapt/improve this for use in your organisation

• Report back to the whole group

Inspection – CIF 2012

Working in small groups, create a five minute presentation:

•Imagine you are training a new group of staff in safeguarding. Make the positive case to them for removing the limiting grade for safeguarding

•Explain why and how safeguarding has to be embedded in their day to day work

•Identify three key safeguarding priorities for your organisation

•Be ready to give your presentation to the whole group

Inspection – CIF 2012

Under the heading of Effectiveness of leadership and management:

Inspectors will make a judgement on the effectiveness of leadership and management by evaluating the extent to which leaders, managers, and where applicable, governors:

•Safeguard all learners

The effectiveness of Leadership and Management

•Demonstrate an ambitious vision, have high expectations for what learners can achieve, and attain high standards of quality and performance

•Improve teaching and learning through rigorous performance management and appropriate professional development

•Evaluate the quality of provision through robust self -assessment, taking account of users’ views, and use the findings to promote and develop capacity for sustainable improvement

The effectiveness of Leadership and Management

•Successfully plan, establish and manage the curriculum and learning programmes to meet the interests of learners, employers and the local and national community

•Actively promote equality and diversity, tackle bullying and discrimination and narrow the achievement gap

Embedding safeguarding in Leadership and Management

Working in small groups:

•Use the Leadership and Management grid to identify at least two activities or procedures that can be included in each of the OFSTED components of Leadership and Management, other than that which deals with safeguarding specifically, that will embed safeguarding in them

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of

what, in your organisations context, could cause

harm. You can then decide whether you have taken

enough precautions or should you do more to prevent harm.

Adapted from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Risk Assessment Information sheet

Dealing with the risk

What are the options?

• Avoidance (eliminate, withdraw from or not become involved)

• Reduction (optimise - mitigate)

• Sharing (transfer - outsource or insure)

• Retention (accept and budget)

Managing the Risk: The ProcessThe risk management process should include the following

steps:

•Risk context

•Risk identification

•Risk assessment (this includes risk identification, analysis & evaluation)

•Risk response

•Risk reporting

•Risk review

Ref; BS 31100:2008 Risk management – Code of practice

(Oct 2008)

The Five Steps to a Safeguarding Risk Assessment

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

Identify and detail the situation that could cause potential harm

Decide who might be harmed and how

Evaluate the risk and decide on precautions /interventions

Record and report your findings and agreed actions

Review your assessment and update if necessary

Operational thinking for the identification of risks

Certain6

Likey

5

Probable

4

Possible

3

Remote

2

Improbable

1

Catastrophic

4 24 20 16 12 8 4

Critical

3 18 15 12 9 6 3

Marginal

2 12 10 8 6 4 2

Negligible

1 6 5 4 3 2 1

MediumLow High

Deciding on the level of Risk

1-7 LOW 7-13 MEDIUM 13-24 HIGH 

• Low - If risk lies in the low category no additional direct action is required to address the risk but it is worth identifying and recording so that everyone is aware and measures can be taken to reduce the risk should this become necessary.

• Medium - Risk in the medium category poses a significant risk and therefore countermeasures should be taken to reduce the likelihood of occurrence and/or significance. Contingencies should also be in place to deal with the risk should it occur.

• High - High risks pose a substantial risk and should be evaluated to decide whether they are tolerable or intolerable. If the risk is deemed tolerable then activity should only be started once measures have been taken to reduce the risk and satisfactory contingencies have been put in place to minimise the impact of the risk.

• Source: Adapted from PRINCE2 risk management

How a safeguarding risk can be mitigated

Risk

14-16 year olds lunch

arrangements

Staff member who is left

alone to close the restaurant

following an evening session

Apprentices in the

workplace

Mitigation

To appoint and train a

lunchtime supervisory team

To put in place escort

arrangements with the

security team

Safeguarding awareness

training for learners

Emergency contact

arrangements

Cont…………

Risk

Mixed age group and gender

Who are residential in the

Organisation

Older learners who you know

have a history of aggressive

behaviour mixing with

younger learners

Mitigation

Single gender accommodation

blocks for 18 and under year

olds

Duty warden who can be

contacted 24/7

Senior staff 24/7 duty contact

Raising awareness of all

learners on how to safeguard

themselves

Raise staff awareness of

potential risk and provide

training for staff on what to do

Working in small groups:

• Take a case study, and complete the Risk Assessment Record Sheet attached to it

• Be ready to feed back to whole group

Where does safeguarding begin and end?

•The sector has, by and large, met the challenge of establishing reporting systems and making them work

•How can we refine DP decision-making about action taken in response reports? Some reports do concern safeguarding challenges. Some do not. Some have elements of safeguarding entwined with other issues.

• How do we make the reporting process work without becoming overloaded?

Priorities

Working in table groups:

•You will be given a chart with coloured concentric circles on it. The inner red circle represents high priority safeguarding issues. The middle orange circle represents medium priority safeguarding. The outer green circle represents low priority safeguarding issues.

•You will be given a set of cards each describing an issue reported to a Designated Person

Priorities

•Consider each card and place it on the appropriate coloured circle – thereby grading it for safeguarding priority level

•Identify your reasons for placing each card

•Identify who in addition to the DP within and outside your organisation may be involved in acting on the report

•Feedback to the whole group

Priorities

Thinking back to how you placed your cards on the three-coloured chart and the subsequent discussion:

•We can define a set of principles or criteria that may help you decide if an issue is a low, medium or high priority for a Designated Person

•Take the “Prioritising a report” grid handout and complete it, identifying the situations in which a referral would fall in one of the three columns

Prioritising a report

High priority – needs immediate action

Medium priority – may need action– needs to be kept under review

Low priority – no action required

Involvement of emergency services is required

Abuse or harm is one possible, but unlikely, explanation for behaviour, signs or symptoms

If there is no discernable linkage to abuse or harm

A disclosure of actual or potential harm or abuse has been made

A lead person other than the Designated Person is responsible for the issue

Abuse or harm is a possible explanation for behaviour, signs or symptoms, or may occur

Despite evidence to the contrary, a suspicion of abuse or harm remains

Prioritising reports

•Always record all reports!!

•Regularly review all report records!!

• Patterns illuminated by review may cause priorities to be revised

www.excellencegateway.org.uk

Thank you for attending