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National Practice Guidance

There are a number of national guidance documents and webpages to inform safeguarding practice and some links are provided below. See also separate pages on this website for Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Making Safeguarding Personal.

The NHS have created the following booklet: Sexual Assault
and Sexual Abuse, Information to support people seeking asylum in the UK

The booklet is also available in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish and Pashto.

NHS England have a pocket guide on safeguarding that can be found here.

Evidence of any one indicator from this guidance note by SCIE should not be taken on its own as proof that abuse is occurring. However, it should alert practitioners to make further assessments and to consider other associated factors.

Under the Care Act 2014 there is now a statutory framework for safeguarding adults. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance gives local authorities information about how they should meet their legal obligations.

A guide to support those who work with people who have care and support needs, whose circumstances make them vulnerable, and who may also be victims of domestic abuse. Its purpose is to help staff to give better informed and more effective support to people who need an adult safeguarding service because of domestic abuse: Guide to Support Practitioners and Managers

Modern slavery is a serious crime. It includes slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Modern slavery victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation. A person is trafficked if they are brought to (or moved around) a country by others who threaten, frighten, hurt and force them to do work or other things they don’t want to do. How to report Modern Slavery. More information can be found at the Modern Slavery helpline.

It is important that social workers and their managers are as clear as possible on which legal powers or options apply to which situations, and in cases of any uncertainty that they consult their senior managers and/or the legal department of the Local Authority.This guide clarifies existing powers and legal options relating to access to adults suspected to be at risk of abuse or neglect where access is restricted or denied. It lays out the potential routes to resolution and contains links to relevant legislation and case law. Access to adults suspected to be at risk or abuse or neglect

This guidance provides clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the key agencies involved in adult safeguarding. The aim is to ensure that the right things are done by the right people at the right time, working within their own agency and with partners. Safeguarding adults – Roles and responsibilities in health and care services

This document outlines standards to support a dynamic process of continuous improvement and, through self-assessment and peer review, to challenge commissioners to improve outcomes for adults using social care, their carers, families and communities. The standards are relevant to all aspects of commissioning and service redesign, including decommissioning. Commissioning for Better Outcomes: A Route Map

Whistleblowing is the term used when a worker passes on information concerning wrongdoing. The wrongdoing will typically (although not necessarily) be something they have witnessed at work. See Guidance for Employees and Code of Practice. Your organisation should have its own Whistleblowing Policy.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are an estimated 130 million women and girls living with FGM worldwide. Most of these women are located in 29 African countries. In the UK, FGM is increasingly identified amongst migrants from FGM-practising countries. There are an estimated 137 000 women in the UK affected by FGM.

Health professionals have a statutory duty to safeguard their patients and should be familiar with the FGM Risk and Safeguarding Guidance for Professionals (Department of Health, May 2016 – updated January 2017) when caring for patients with FGM.

Free FGM e-Learning is available from e-learning for Healthcare. The course contains five sessions and is relevant to all healthcare professionals.

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) represents all the directors of adult social services in England; the website provides information for social care professionals.

The Care Act 2014 introduces new responsibilities for local authorities and has major implications for adult care and support providers, people who use services, carers and advocates

Care Quality Commission provides information for professionals to work with others to help safeguard people from abuse.

Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) (formerly CRB) supports safer recruitment protecting the vulnerable by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable to work with them.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal in the UK. It is also illegal to take a British national or permanent resident abroad for FGM or to help someone trying to do this. The link to the Berkshire Procedures online for FGM is below. This provides clear pathways of what to do if you are worried. http://www.proceduresonline.com/berks/reading/p_fem_gen_mutil.html?zoom_highlight=FGM

forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used.

Healthwatch England is the national consumer champion in health and care. It has significant statutory powers to ensure the voice of the consumer is strengthened and heard by those who commission, deliver and regulate health and care services. Each local Healthwatch is part of its local community and works in partnership with other local organisations: ReadingWest BerkshireWokingham.

Honour Based Violence (HBV) is a collection of practices which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. See CPS guidance on identifying and flagging cases  and the Karma Nirvana website.

Office of the Public Guardian supports and promotes decision-making for those who lack capacity or would like to plan for their future.

Safe Spaces, supporting survivors of church-related abuse, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church or as a result of their relationship with the Church of England, the Catholic Church of England and Wales or the Church in Wales. For further information and/or to make a referral please visit their website: Safe Spaces England and wales – Safe Spaces England and wales