What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding refers to the actions taken to protect individuals, particularly vulnerable ones, from harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation. It is a set of measures designed to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals, especially children, young people, and adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse.
Safeguarding can involve various strategies and practices, including risk assessments, developing policies and procedures, training staff and volunteers, monitoring and reporting any concerns, and providing support and services to those who have been affected by harm or abuse.
Safeguarding is a critical issue in many settings, including schools, healthcare, social care, sports, and religious organisations. It is everyone’s responsibility to promote and uphold the principles of safeguarding, including recognising the signs of abuse or neglect, reporting concerns, and working together to ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals.
Safeguarding
At Stepping Stones we believe that every young person has the right to feel happy and safe. With this in mind, we have put in place robust safeguarding measures to ensure that our students are protected from harm, including bullying, abuse, discrimination, or harassment, and feel secure in their environment.
As we work with small groups of young people, we ensure that all of our staff receive adequate training and support to maintain the highest standards of safeguarding. We have ensured that two members of our staff team have completed Designated Safeguarding Lead training courses to ensure the highest standards are upheld and maintained. In addition to this, all of our staff members are subject to rigorous background checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This check ensures that anyone with a history of criminal offenses, particularly those related to children, is not permitted to work with our organisation.
Furthermore, our organisation follows a comprehensive safer recruitment policy, which is designed to attract and select the most suitable candidates for our vacancies. This policy includes several stages of recruitment, such as application and reference checks, face-to-face interviews, and assessment of candidates’ suitability to work with children and young people.
At Stepping Stones, safeguarding is paramount. We ensure honest communication with parents/carers occurs daily. This is also reciprocated with Schools and other provisions ensuring there is a whole safeguarding team supporting our young people.
We ensure that our staff members receive regular safeguarding training ensuring that they are up to date with the latest policies and procedures. Our organisation also has a variety of policies and procedures for our staff team to adhere to. We want to provide the best possible care for all the children and young people we work with. If you have any questions or queries about would like any more information on our policies and procedures do not hesitate to contact us.