Safeguarding Children and Safe Practice Policy

Introduction

WillisPalmer takes the matter of safeguarding children very seriously. Accordingly, we subscribe to best industry practice.

WillisPalmer subscribes to Working Together to Safeguard Children: 7 Key Principles for Working with Children and Families, published by the Department of Health.

WillisPalmer also subscribes to the General Social Care Register Code of Practice, published by the General Social Care Council.

DoH 7 Key Principles for Working with Children and Families:

1. Working in Partnership with Children and Families
   • Good relationships between professionals and families in helping to bring about the best possible outcomes for children.
   • Families should have the right to know what is being said about them and to contribute to important decisions.
   • Children and young people need to understand their involvement in decision and planning processes.
   • Help with understanding child protection process.
2. Race, Ethnicity and Culture
• In order to make sensitive and informed professional judgements, professionals must be sensitive to differing family patterns and lifestyles that vary across racial, ethnic and cultural groups
3. Sharing Information
   • Keeping children safe from harm requires professionals and others to share information.
   • Personal information held by agencies is subject to a legal duty of confidence.
   • However, the public interest in child protection may override the public interest in maintaining confidentiality.
4. Professional Medical Guidance
   • Importance in most cases of obtaining a patient's consent to disclosure.
   • Information can be disclosed without consent.
   • Guidance applies to disclosure about third parties who may pose a risk to children and about children who may have been abused.
5. Record-keeping
• Record keeping is an important part of accountability, it helps focus work and is essential to working effectively across agencies.
6. Supervision: Support
   • Making difficult and risk-based professional judgements is demanding and distressing; effective supervision is essential in promoting good standards of practice and supporting staff.
7. Recruitment and Selection of Staff
   • The entire process is designed to deter those who are unsuitable to work with children and includes Criminal Records Bureau enhanced checks and the verification of identity, qualifications, references and employment histories.

GSCC Code of Practice:

• Protect the rights and promote the interests of service-users and carers.
• Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of serviceusers and carers.
• Promote the independence of service-users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm.
• Respect the rights of service-users while seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people.
• Uphold public trust and confidence in social care services.
• Be accountable for social workers own practice and take responsibility for maintaining and improving knowledge and skills.