Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. Safeguarding means: protecting children from abuse and maltreatment. preventing harm to children's health or development. ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care.

Safeguarding is not to be confused with ‘child protection’. While they are similar, there is a key distinction. Safeguarding as a term and practice is what is done for all children, whereas child protection is what is done for children at risk of significant harm. Think of child protection as a specific arm of safeguarding.   

According to the UK government’s ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ document, safeguarding can be defined as such:

• Protecting children from maltreatment.

• Preventing impairment of children's health or development.

• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

In simple terms, safeguarding is the practice of protecting children, supporting vulnerable parties, care in all environments and taking action to resolve any discovered issues.

In any educational setting there is always a Designated Safeguard Lead (DSL); both Julie and Vicki at ACE Provision are DSL and have been DSLs in secondary schools including auditing safeguarding in a consultancy role at Secondary level.

To ensure our commitment to ensuring the safety and care of the children we support includes:

• Vigilance: to notice when things are troubling the children and gently investigate during 1:1 sessions.

• Understanding and action: to explore what is happening to a child; for the child to be heard and understood; and to ensure ACE staff have it acted upon.

• Stability:Staff at ACE to develop an ongoing stable relationship of trust with the children in order to help them.

• Respect: Children at ACE to be treated with the expectation that they are competent rather than not.

• Information and engagement: Staff at ACE to be informed about and involved in procedures, decisions, concerns and plans(from home school/parents/professionals) for the children we support.

• Explanation: Relevant ACE staff informed of the outcome of assessments and decisions and reasons when their views have not met with a positive response from children and or parents.

• Support: Children at ACE to be provided with support in their own right as well as a member of their family.

• Advocacy: Children at ACE to be provided with advocacy to assist them in putting forward their views.

• Protection: Children at ACE to be protected against all forms of abuse and discrimination.

At ACE Provision we continue to ensure we are up to date with government, both National and local, updates and training.

 NSPCC child protection website  learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection-schools/ 

Bristol safeguarding website     www.bristolsafeguardingineducation.org/

Government KCSIE website   www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2 

Andrew Hall safeguarding website www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/ 

Safeguarding article TES    www.tes.com/for-schools/blog/article/why-safeguarding-so-important-schools 

How to keep children safe online   safeguarding.network/content/safeguarding-resources/online-safety/ 

Adverse childhood experiences, what are they and what are their effects www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html 

CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)  www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/your-guide-to-support/guide-to-camhs/ 

Huge bank of websites to support victims of abuse of any kind e.g domestic abuse, drug abuse, hate crimes www.lighthousevictimcare.org/support-services/organisations/ 

Support for bereavement www.cruse.org.uk/ 

Support for victims of domestic abuse   www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/services 

We all have a responsibility to keep children safe. The DSL has additional responsibilities in ensuring the safety and well being of children and young people involved in an organisation.

The nominated child protection lead is the point of contact for anyone in an organisation who is concerned about a child. The role is also responsible for leading on:

• safeguarding policies and procedures

• training and development 

• receiving concerns about a child

• reporting, storing and retaining child protection records following the organisation’s policies and procedures.

At ACE Provision Julie Smedley is the DSL and Vicki Starkie is the deputy DSL