Safeguarding

Safeguarding & Prevent

Safeguarding our learners, staff and visitors is important to us. This page has been set up to provide you with useful information about Safeguarding and Prevent.

Safeguarding

The Skills People Group are committed to working with others to ensure that people who enrol on our learning programmes do so in an environment that is free from prejudice and safe from abuse. We recognise that it is everyone’s responsibility and we can all play a part in preventing, being alert to and responding appropriately to abuse and/or neglect.

Specifically we aim to; raise awareness about the abuse and/or neglect of children, young people and adults at risk, develop a culture that does not tolerate such abuse and encourages people to raise concerns, prevent abuse from happening wherever possible, respond promptly and proportionately where abuse does happen to stop the abuse and ensure the person harmed receives effective and appropriate support including ongoing support / aftercare work within the agreed multi-agency framework ensuring a coordinated response to safeguarding. This policy is underpinned by associated procedures that provide straightforward guidance for all staff about what to do if any concerns are identified about harm / abuse, including where a member of staff may be implicated. They ensure that we respond promptly and effectively when there are concerns of abuse / harm to a child or young person or an adult at risk. These are not intended to be used in isolation but in conjunction with other policies and procedures to promote best practice including the complaints procedure, whistle-blowing policy and within employment practices such as recruitment.

The Skills People Group aims to create a culture of vigilance through ensuring all staff receive comprehensive safeguarding training from induction, training and regular updates. We aim to raise and promote the awareness of safeguarding for all employers and learners by embedding safeguarding across all our delivery programmes.

Prevent

The Prevent statutory duty requires local authorities, schools, colleges, higher education institutions, health bodies, prisons and probation, and the police to consider the need to safeguard people from being drawn into terrorism. It sits alongside long-established duties on professionals to safeguard vulnerable people from exploitation from a range of other harms such as drugs, gangs and physical and sexual exploitation.

The Government’s Counter Terrorism Strategy ‘CONTEST’ overarching aim is to reduce the risk to the UK and its Citizens and interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.

The Government’s approach to the CONTEST strategic framework is made up of the four ‘Ps’ approach:

  • Prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
  • Pursue: to stop terrorist attacks.
  • Protect: to strengthen our protection against a terrorist attack.
  • Prepare: to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack.

Of the four Ps’ approach, Prevent is at its heart to safeguard and support vulnerable people to stop them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

The objectives of Prevent are to:

  • Tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism.
  • Safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention, identifying them and offering support.
  • Enable those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.
  • Prepare: to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-terrorism-strategy-contest-2018

Channel is part of the Prevent strategy. The process is a multi-agency approach to identify and provide support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/channel-guidance

Immediate terrorist threats: Call 999 or the police anti-terrorist hotline 0800 789 321

Online learning: Education & Training Foundation – https://www.etflearners.org.uk/

Modules on:

  • Radicalisation and Extremism
  • Staying Safe Online
  • What can you trust?
  • British Values

https://educateagainsthate.com/

http://counterextremism.lgfl.org.uk/

https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but where there’s no medical reason for this to be done. It’s also known as “female circumcision” or “cutting”, and by other terms such as sunna, gudniin, halalays, tahur, megrez and khitan, among others. There are no medical reasons to carry out FGM. It doesn’t enhance fertility and it doesn’t make childbirth safer. It is used to control female sexuality and can cause severe and long-lasting damage to physical and emotional health.

The practice is illegal in the UK and is classed as child abuse. It is also illegal to arrange for a young person to be taken abroad for FGM. To find out more about Female Genital Mutilation: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

FGM helpline – the NSPCC have a 24-hour dedicated FGM helpline offering information, advice and guidance.

Tel: 0800 028 3550

Email: fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk

Online learning: https://www.fgmelearning.co.uk/

http://nationalfgmcentre.org.uk/

Honour Based Violence and Forced Marriage

Forced marriage is a marriage performed without the full and free consent of one or both parties. Emotional, financial, physical and sexual threats and abuse, as well as notions of ‘honour’, can all be used to force someone to marry. Forced marriage can lead to physical violence, rape and even murder. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage

If you’re trying to stop a forced marriage or you need help leaving a marriage you’ve been forced into, call 999 in an emergency.

Tel: 020 7008 0151

Email: fmu@fco.gov.uk

Online learning: https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/resources/free-courses/awareness-of-forced-marriage

Worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating to you online?

Make a report to CEOP’s Child Protection Advisors https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre CEOP helps any child or young people under the age of 18 who is being pressured, forced or tricked into part in sexual activity of any kind. This can be something that has taken place either online or in ‘the real world’, or both. The CEOP Safety Centre has clear information and advice on what can be reported to CEOP, the reporting process and what will happen if you do decide to make a report.

Mental Health

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/

https://youngminds.org.uk/https://www.boingboing.org.uk/resilience/schools-resources/

https://www.place2be.org.uk

https://www.educationsupportpartnership.org.uk

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

https://www.samaritans.org/

Online Safety useful links

http://www.esafeglobal.com/

www.internetmatters.org

www.childnet.com/cyberbullying-guidance

www.saferinternet.org.uk

www.pshe-association.org.uk

http://educateagainsthate.com/

https://www.lgfl.net/online-safety/default.aspx

www.thinkuknow.co.uk

www.disrespectnobody.co.uk

Mobile Apps

Bright Sky is a free to download mobile app, launched in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation, providing support and information to anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or those concerned about someone they know. The app is also designed to be used by specialist and non-specialist practitioners and other employers, and for anyone looking for information about issues around domestic abuse such as online safety, stalking and harassment and sexual consent.

Zipit helps you to respond to unwanted chat with the power of GIFs.

Domestic Abuse

http://www.safelives.org.uk/training

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/training/

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/signs-symptoms-effects/

http://www.refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/

https://courses.idas.org.uk/

https://www.hestia.org/brightsky

Neglect

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/childhood-neglect-training-resources

http://solihulllscb.proceduresonline.com/pdfs/neglect_toolkit.pdf

Sexual Behaviours

https://www.brook.org.uk/our-work/category/sexual-behaviours-traffic-light-tool

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

http://paceuk.info/training

https://www.csacentre.org.uk/

https://www.beds.ac.uk/ic/films

https://www.contextualsafeguarding.org.uk/audit-toolkit/introduction

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_work/sexual_exploitation.htm

http://www.knowandsee.co.uk/

Legislation

https://www.nspcc.org.uk

Bullying

https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

https://www.kidscape.org.uk

https://www.cybersmile.org/advice-help

LGBT

https://lgbt.foundation/about-us/safeguarding-and-confidentiality

Reporting a Safeguarding concern

For help and advice between Monday-Friday 8am – 5pm contact a member of the Safeguarding team:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (Strategic Lead)
Sacha McCarthy – Group Director of Quality & Operations
Tel: 01246 589444
Mobile: 07976 744655

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Perry Adams – HR Assistant
Tel: 01246 589501
Mobile: 07860 917688

Safeguarding Officer
Brendan Knowles – Group Head of Quality & Performance
Tel: 01246 589444
Mobile: 07967 460581

Email: safeguarding@skillspeoplegroup.com

http://www.karmanirvana.org.uk/what-we-do/training/

https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/safeguarding

http://nationalfgmcentre.org.uk/breast-flattening/

http://www.afruca.org/

Out of hours contact and support