The one about Safeguarding….
In many organisations I work with, there is one recurring pattern- staff struggling to identify when something is genuinely a safeguarding concern, and when it isn’t.
I’m seeing some organisations over-reporting to the Local Authority, and others failing to recognise when statutory safeguarding duties are triggered at all.
In my opinion, the issue usually comes down to one small nuanced point. Its the difference between:
safeguarding (small s) and Safeguarding (capital S)
Small ‘s’ safeguarding
This is about putting safeguards in place to ensure everyone’s wellbeing and welfare is take care of. Its about an organisation's duty of care, to everyone who comes into contact with an organisation.
It’s how we create safe environments, prevent harm and support people well. It applies everywhere and is based on a number of different legislative guidelines, notably Health & Safety, Employment law, and Equalities Act.
Capital ‘S’ Safeguarding
This is different! These duties include legal obligations under the Care Act and the Children’s Act. It is triggered when a statutory threshold is met- what I often teach as the 3-Point Rule:
The person has care and support needs.
They are experiencing (or at risk of) abuse or neglect.
Because of those needs, they are unable to protect themselves.
If all three are present, safeguarding duties apply. If they are not, we may still need to act, but the actions are different.
As an example, I regularly have conversations with managers who want to “do something” when a member of staff is suspected of experiencing domestic abuse. But we need to ask the question:
Does this situation lead to a safeguarding referral?
Probably not.
Remember the 3 point rule? If the staff member is not an adult with care and support needs, and is able to protect themselves (even in difficult circumstances), the statutory safeguarding threshold may not be met.
However, it doesn’t mean we do nothing. It just means the actions will be different. Our response will fall under:
Employer duty of care
HR support
Occupational health
Flexible working
Signposting to specialist domestic abuse services
Of course, it’s a serious welfare issue. It’s just not automatically Safeguarding.
My aim here is to help staff teams and managers understand where duty of care ends and Safeguarding duties start. It can be a very blurry line, but if we can gain clarity around this, what happens is that we:
Increase confidence across teams to take the right action
Make referrals that are effective, impactful and defensible
Provide the right kind of support to the people who need it.
This is one of the most common areas of confusion I see when reviewing policies and delivering safeguarding training across the sector, but its so easily clarified!
And I can help with this! I currently work with a range of Third Sector organisations to:
Clarify safeguarding thresholds
Align policies with current legislation
Train staff and managers to make confident, proportionate decisions
Reduce risk without creating fear-based cultures
If you’d like to sense-check how your organisation approaches safeguarding identification, just reply to this email or book a short call.
Jennie
