This section contains links to a wide range of practice guidance and resources to support practitioners in their safeguarding role.
Advocacy
Voiceability is an independent charity and one of the UK’s largest providers of advocacy and involvement services. A wide range of advocacy services are available to people in Hampshire.
Voiceability’s statutory advocacy services are:
- Independent Mental Health Advocacy including Young People’s Advocacy (12-18)
- Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) including Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) and Paid Representatives (RPR)
- Care Act Advocacy including Care Act Advocacy in Prisons
- NHS Complaints Advocacy including NHS Complaints Advocacy in Prisons
- Children’s Statutory Advocacy (also known as Looked After Children’s Advocacy)
- Non-Statutory Advocacy
Non-Statutory Advocacy includes services for:
- adults with support needs which mean that advocacy could help them – but who aren’t eligible for statutory advocacy.
- anyone with a mental health issue who is in hospital, or who is eligible to access community mental health services
- anyone who wants to make a complaint about an NHS service
Voiceability leads three user involvement groups: Farnborough Self Advocacy Group, Havant Hub and Hampshire Learning Disability Partnership Board.
To find out about eligibility and download a referral form:
Call: 0300 303 1660
Email: helpline@voiceability.org
Visit: voiceability.org/hampshire
Care Providers
This area contains a wide range of guidance and tools to support care providers in their safeguarding adults role.
HSAB Care Act 2014 Implementation Top 20 Checklist
HSAB Safeguarding Adult Lead Role Profile
HSAB Guidance on writing a Safeguarding Adult Policy – September 2015
Quick Guides to the national Safeguarding Concerns Guidance produced by the LGA
Quick Guide 2 Understanding what constitutes a safeguarding concern
Quick Guide 1 Working with Definitions
Choking
Please click on the link below to view resources and information on choking.
Commissioning
Commissioning for Better Outcomes
This guidance outlines standards to support a dynamic process of continuous improvement and, through self-assessment and peer review, to challenge commissioners and their partners, to strengthen and innovate to achieve improved 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. The standards have been designed to reflect the improvements that experience has shown are needed, to support the transformation of social care to meet people’s reasonable aspirations, and to support the implementation of the Care Act 2014.
Commissioning for Better Outcomes
Achieving a better quality of life for older people with high support needs
SCIE and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has identified seven key challenges that need to be met for older people with high support needs, so that they can achieve a better quality of life. A new At a Glance briefing, published by SCIE, summarises each of the seven challenges set out by JRF, along with relevant SCIE resources related to meeting the challenges.
Guide to achieving better quality of live for older people with high support needs
Safeguarding in Commissioned Services
This guidance is designed to provide a clear framework with which to respond to safeguarding concerns occurring in regulates NHS and social care settings.
4LSAB Guidance on Safeguarding in Commissioned Services (June 2020)
Community Partnership Information Sharing Forms
Sharing of information is critical to developing a clearer picture of local and wider issues, to inform the actions police need to take to reduce threat, harm and risk.
Hampshire Constabulary are seeking the support of partners, education staff and practitioners to share information known to them which, often without realisation, could provide crucial links where gaps in intelligence might exist.
To help improve information sharing, the CPI form gives professionals a safe and direct way to share non-urgent information with police relating to children/adults at risk of:
- Missing, Exploited, Trafficked
- Child Sexual Exploitation
- Criminal Exploitation
- Drug Related Harm
- Modern Day Slavery
- Community Cohesion
- Anti-Social Behaviour
- Organised Crime
The CPI Form: Use and Process Summary
If the information known to you is non-urgent, not a crime and a child/adult is not at immediate risk, this is appropriate to be shared as police intelligence using the CPI form. The CPI form is not a referral form, it is for sharing non-urgent information only specific to the risks listed above.
Upon receipt of a CPI form, intelligence handlers assess it to determine the level of risk and priority, this process can amount to one of the following outcomes:
- CPI sanitised an intelligence log created – added to police systems for officer awareness/action
- If information details a crime, this is tasked to the crime desk for allocation to be investigated
- If there is a concern for safety, it will be referred to the relevant safeguarding services/teams
- In some cases, no action will be taken
For more information, and access to the CPI forms, please click here
County Lines
Please find below links to information supplied from the Home Office regarding a number of recently published sector based resources for frontline staff on serious and organised crime. The guidance is aimed at supporting policing and other statutory frontline staff – particularly those who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults – in identifying potential victims of this type of criminal exploitation. It sets out the signs to look for in potential victims, and what action staff should take so that potential victims get the support and help they need. The document supplements an organisation’s existing safeguarding policies.
This is the guidance:
Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines Guidance Sept 2018
Alongside the guidance, there are also resources for frontline professionals to help policing and statutory staff recognise the signs to look out for, that could indicate that someone is a victim of county lines gangs:
Protecting vulnerable people from exploitation resources for frontline professionals Sept 2018
The Home Office is also raising awareness of county lines across a range of non-statutory sectors. Here are the resources for staff working in the following sectors:
- Private security staff: Private Security Industry
- Licensed taxi and private hire company staff: Taxi and private vehicle hire
- Bus and coach company staff: Bus and coach company
- Train operating company staff: Train and rail operators
- Private landlords and letting agents: Letting agents and landlords
Materials for the social housing sector are currently being developed and will be available shortly.
Finally, there are also some social media resources: Social media resources
Guidance from “Unseen” on County Lines
Modern slavery takes many forms, including child exploitation, which is a growing problem in the UK. This guide from “Unseen” aims to help parents and carers spot County Lines exploitation and know how to get help.
Unseen County Lines Exploitation – guide for parents, carers & practitioners
Domestic Abuse
Hampshire Domestic Abuse Strategy
This strategy covers the Hampshire local authority area and takes a holistic approach to the types of abuse, control and coercive behaviour that can have a serious effect on victims and survivors. Domestic abuse is a complex issue which can be experienced by women and men in heterosexual and same sex marriages and relationships.
This strategy is inclusive of all victims and perpetrators of violence, abuse and controlling behaviour, but acknowledges that the prevalence of physical assaults from a partner or adult family member is higher among females than among males. Irrespective of gender or sexual orientation women experience more repeated physical violence, more severe violence, much more sexual violence, more coercive control, more injuries and more fear of their partner1. This strategy will also encompass the needs of children and young people and vulnerable adults who are affected by domestic abuse.
Hampshire Domestic Abuse Strategy 2017-22
Domestic Abuse Referral Pathway
The Hampshire Domestic Violence and Abuse Pathway document is to be used by professionals when they are working with anyone who has experienced domestic abuse. We have a duty not to turn a blind eye to abuse and should always take action. This pathway aims to help all professionals (especially those who don’t have an in depth knowledge of domestic abuse) to take some form of action to help victims of abuse, whether male or female, and to help them get the support they need. The document includes specialist service contact details.
HRDA: High Risk Domestic Abuse
HRDA is a daily meeting of professionals from a variety of agencies, including police, social workers, domestic abuse services, health and housing. You have been identified as being potentially at high risk of harm and will be/were discussed at one of these meetings. The aim of the meeting is/was to ensure that all agencies are aware of your situation and the risk you face so that actions can be taken immediately to try to keep you safe. Professionals will share/shared information relating to risk from any known history of the domestic abuse, the perpetrators offending, their records and current police reports on a confidential basis. This information, along with what you may have asked your specialist domestic abuse worker to share, is used to assess your risk, who that risk is from and to, and which professionals are best placed to help you stay safe.
High Risk Domestic Abuse (HRDA) meetings
Colleagues in the Hampshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) are working closely with partner agencies to introduce daily High Risk Domestic Abuse (HRDA) meetings.
These are multi agency meetings that will consider high risk domestic abuse incidents on a daily basis.
The HRDA meeting will be chaired by police and have a core attendance of:
- Children’s Services, via MASH
- Adult Health & Care, via MASH
- A MASH Health professional and
- A specialist domestic abuse worker
The HRDA meeting will relocate work from MARAC to MASH, which will ensure that those families affected by domestic abuse will receive a faster, more co-ordinated response, with support and the required intervention being provided closer to the timing of the incident. The specialist domestic abuse worker will ensure that the voice of the victim/survivor is represented at the planning stage.
Introduction of HRDA meetings aims to reduce duplication of work for police, health, Children’s Services Department (CSD) and Adults’ Health and Care (AHC), as there will be fewer cases needing research. This, in turn will reduce the time spent on MARAC attendance. As well as securing early specialist domestic abuse involvement, the HRDA will ensure a consistent threshold is applied to high risk domestic abuse cases.
There will be a two week pilot of the HRDA daily meetings process in late September 2018. Subject to positive response and outcome from all parties, it is anticipated that the process will be rolled out shortly afterwards.
Coercive Control Tools and Resources
Guidance has been developed relating to safeguarding people who are victims of controlling and coercive behaviour. The Department of Health has funded a set of tools to help practitioners respond to the issue, which experts say underpins domestic abuse and can be a heightened risk among people with care and support needs. The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced a criminal offence of “controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship”.
Coercive control tools and resources
Help available for people who are victims of domestic violence and abuse
The Department for Work and Pensions has a range of measures designed to support people who flee violent and abusive households.
Help available for people who are victims of domestic violence and abuse
Adult safeguarding and domestic abuse: a guide to support practitioners and managers
The purpose of this guide is to help staff to give better informed and more effective support to people who need an adult safeguarding service because of domestic abuse.
Adult Safeguarding and Abuse guidance
Standing Together- updated Domestic Abuse Co-ordinated Community Response Guide
See below a refreshed guide to effective domestic abuse partnership work – The Coordinated Community Response (CCR)
In Search of Excellence Executive Summary
Family Approach Protocol
This Protocol has been commissioned by the 4 Safeguarding Children Partnerships (4LSCPs) and 4 Safeguarding Adult Boards (4LSABs) in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. The protocol was commissioned in response to findings from a range of reviews across all Partnership’s which highlight the need for professionals to work effectively together to achieve better outcomes for adults, children and their families across all areas. The protocol and supporting documents can be found here:
Family Approach Protocol – Hampshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (hampshirescp.org.uk)
Family Group Conferences
This practice tool can be purchased from the Research in Practice website. It aims to support practitioners and managers who are already running a family group conference (FGC) service for adults, and those who are considering developing a service. It provides an overview of the current evidence base regarding FGCs with adults; the complexities of measuring the impact of FGCs on outcomes for adults and their families and practical ideas to support the evaluation of the process and outcomes of an FGC service for adults. See also the Safeguarding Children Board’s short guide on Family Group Conferences
Family Group Conferences with adults
Short Guide to Family Group Conferences
Female Genital Mutilation
Guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM) for all persons and bodies in England and Wales has been released on GOV.UK. It was first published in 2016 but has just been updated (October 2018). The guidance can be found here:
Multi-Agency Guidance on Female Genital Mutilation
You must read and follow this guidance if you are under statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. You should read this FGM guidance along-side other safeguarding guidance, including (but not limited to):
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) in England
Safeguarding Children in Wales
Hampshire Safeguarding Boards have developed new multi-agency policy and practice guidance on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This covers mandatory reporting duties relating to girls under 18 year old and also our wider responsibilities to women over 18 years who may have been subject to FGM.
4LSAB Multi-Agency Guidance on Honour Based Abuse, Forced Marriage and FGM (June 2020)
Forced Marriage
Marriage My Choice Toolkit is based on independent research commissioned/funded by the National Institute for Health Research and School for Social Care Research. In recognition of the particular needs of people with learning disabilities who may be, or have been, forced into marriage, the guidance specifically addresses assessing capacity to consent to marriage and draws upon research undertaken as part of the My Marriage My Choice project led by Rachael Clawson and research team. This practice guidance is part of a suite of resources which also includes: Summary of Findings (full, short and easy read versions); Case Studies Collection (real life experiences and challenges) and an Awareness Film.
My marriage, My Choice Toolkit
Hoarding
The 4LSAB Multi-Agency Hoarding Guidance sets out a framework for collaborative multi-agency working across Hampshire using a ‘person centred solution’ based model to support those demonstrating hoarding behaviours.
The purpose of this guidance is to support providers, practitioners, and other professionals to identify when to raise concerns regarding poor self care or lack of care for living conditions, identify agencies who can provide support and set out what they may expect by way of a response and encourage and support defensible decision making in accordance with our duty of care. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Hampshire 4LSAB Multi-Agency Safeguarding Policy.
4LSAB Multi-agency hoarding Guidance FINAL 2019
Adult Safeguarding and Homelessness Briefing
The purpose of this briefing is to assist senior leaders, such as members of Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs), as well as commissioners, practitioners and operational managers who are working across relevant sectors and agencies in this field, to support people who are homeless and at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect. This is a complex area of safeguarding adults’ practice. It requires an integrated whole system response. The intention is that the briefing will support and improve practice and encourage debate about policy and service development.
There are 11 sections in this briefing. Particular focus is given to working with people experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness. The eleven sections include an outline of relevant law and a summary of learning from safeguarding adult reviews. Effective practice is explored through a focus on working with individuals, the multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team around the person, organisations around the team, and governance.
The briefing forms part of a sector-led improvement project. The briefing concludes with a list of resources and identifies how the project will be taken forward to further inform policy, service and practice development.
At a local level Homelessness is a priority for the HSAB this year, with the HSAB Housing subgroup working on the production of Homelessness guidance, as well as campaign materials being designed by the Stakeholder subgroup for circulation to raise awareness of the links between homelessness, abuse and safeguarding.
Honour-Based Violence
A multi-agency guidance document for agencies and organisations to use with cases or suspected cases of Honour Based Violence in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight.
4LSAB Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage Multi-Agency Guidance
Housing and Safeguarding
This resource explains the role of the housing sector in adult safeguarding.
Learning and Development
This multi-agency learning and development guidance is designed to support the development of best practice in adult safeguarding work and to ensure that people working with adults at risk across all sectors.
4LSAB Learning and Development Strategy November 2020
Learning Disabilities
This guidance published by the Social Care Institute of Excellence covers care and support for adults with learning disabilities as they grow older. It covers identifying changing needs, planning for the future, and delivering services including health, social care and housing. It aims to support people to access the services needed as they get older.
Supporting older adults with a learning disability
Legal Powers and Remedies
Access to adults suspected to be at risk or abuse or neglect
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 is intended as a source of ready reference rather than as a learning tool, laying out the potential routes to resolution. 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. Throughout the guide there are inks to information on the relevant legislation and case law.
Hampshire Joint Working Protocol 2017
Most parents and carers have the capability and want to provide good or good enough parenting for their children, most of the time. Sometimes, the parent will have such overwhelming needs of their own that they may not have the capacity to be such a capable parent. This protocol supports early intervention work that can make a real positive difference to the outcomes for children and their families.
This multi-agency protocol has been written for every person, staff or volunteer, (hereafter called practitioners) working with people whose complex problems might impact on their ability to care for children and for practitioners working with children whose parents or carers have those complex problems.
Joint Working Protocol Ratified 2017
Making Safeguarding Personal
Making Safeguarding Personal Toolkit (Local Government Association, January 2020)
The toolkit is set out in a modular format with a summary of key areas. These areas range from models, theories and approaches to skills and areas of specialism that safeguarding practitioners need to be aware of. It can be used as a practitioner guide for pointers on how to respond to individual cases, or as a starting point resource for service development. It has been designed as a resource that will develop over time and allow updates and amendments to be made as development takes place or innovative and effective practice comes to light.
Making Safeguarding Personal for SABs (LGA and ADASS)
This resource is part of a suite of resources to support safeguarding adults boards and partners in developing and promoting Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP). It supports Boards both in their assurance role and in actively supporting and leading a culture change towards Making Safeguarding Personal.
MSP – what ‘good’ looks like for Advocacy Services (LGA and ADASS)
This code of practice for advocacy details the core principles within the Advocacy Charter. This provides guidance for advocates and their managers, aimed at providing clarity, support and boundaries for their practice. It is also a guide for commissioners of advocacy services, outlining the expectations and purpose of the role and what people with support needs, as well as commissioners, should expect from the delivery of the service. If these principles are applied consistently within advocacy practice in safeguarding adults then this will support delivering Making Safeguarding Personal and Care Act principles.
MSP – What might ‘good’ look like for the Police (LGA and ADASS)
This summary sets out the headlines of what should be developed and worked on by the police – the essential steps – to make safeguarding personal. These essential steps are expanded on throughout the main body of the resource in section 4 of the document, with suggestions for how and why these steps should be achieved.
MSP – What might ‘good’ look like for HSC commissioners and providers (LGA and ADASS)
This summary sets out the headlines of what should be developed and worked on by commissioners and providers in health and social care − the essential steps − to make safeguarding personal. These essential steps are expanded on throughout the main body of the resource in section 4 of the document, with suggestions for how and why these steps should be achieved.
The Making Safeguarding Personal Temperature Check 2016 included the recommendation (p29): “… an ideal type of outcomes measurement and reporting framework should be agreed, that can be offered as a template and a means for local authorities to measure MSP progress and compare themselves to each other.” To support that recommendation, ADASS and the LGA appointed the Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University and Research in Practice for Adults (RiPfA) to develop an MSP outcomes framework that will provide a means of promoting and measuring practice that supports an outcomes focus for safeguarding adults work, including ways in which IT systems and processes can aid an outcomes approach.
The Medaille Trust – support for women who have been victims of modern slavery across Hampshire
The Medaille Trust that supports women who have been effected by trafficking, exploitation and Modern Slavery across Hampshire called The Moving On Project.
They provide tailored one-to-one long term support to those who might not otherwise have access to modern slavery support services such as the NRM and outreach support. They aim to help women reduce their vulnerability to abuse, violence and exploitation, and move on positively with their lives in the community. They also seek to support survivors pursue judicial outcomes against their perpetrators by supporting them throughout the legal process. See more information about the Medaille Trust and how to make a referral in the document below.
Medaille Trust Referrers Guide
Mental Capacity
Mental Capacity Act 2005
The legal framework provided by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is supported by this Code of Practice (the Code), which provides guidance and information about how the Act works in practice. The Code has statutory force, which means that certain categories of people have a legal duty to have regard to it when working with or caring for adults who may lack capacity to make decisions for themselves.
Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice
Hampshire Mental Capacity Toolkit
The Hampshire Mental Capacity Toolkit has been refreshed following a Safeguarding Adults Review to reflect a number of findings reflected in the review.
Mental Capacity Toolkit Part A
Mental Capacity Toolkit Part B
Mental Capacity Toolkit Guidance Notes
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (Cheshire West Ruling)
The Supreme Court has published a Ruling regarding the cases of P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and P&Q v Surrey County Council which overturns previous judgements that had defined deprivation of liberty more restrictively. The Court has now ruled that all people who lack the capacity to make decisions about their care and residence and, under the responsibility of the state, are subject to continuous supervision and control and lack the option to leave their care setting are deprived of their liberty. The person’s compliance or lack of objection to their placement, the purpose of it or the extent to which it enables them to live a relatively normal life for someone with their level of disability are all irrelevant to whether they were deprived of their liberty, ruled the court. This means that many people are likely to have been deprived of their liberty unlawfully and without safeguards in settings including care homes and supported living placements. Proper application of the judgement is likely to see a significant increase in DOLS applications regarding care home placements, and also applications to the Court of Protection to authorise deprivations of liberty in supported living.
Modern Slavery
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Modern Slavery Partnership has launched its strategy to tackle Slavery in Hampshire, IOW, Portsmouth and Southampton:
Hampshire Modern Slavery Partnership Strategy 2021 – 2023
This updated strategy has been written in line with key learning from our Partners as well as the Government’s Modern Slavery Strategy and the new priorities of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. It sets out our commitments in relation to improving the identification of and support for victims of modern slavery, to actively seek out intelligence in order to to catch offenders, and working together to increase prosecutions.
Guidance on Modern Slavery
The Government has issued new guidance on Modern Slavery. The guidance can be found here:
HSAB Guidance on Modern Slavery
Local Authority guidance on Modern Slavery
The purpose of this guide is to increase awareness of modern slavery and provide clarity for councils their role in tackling it. Whilst it has been produced specifically for Local Authorities, the guidance will also be helpful for a wider range of partners. It should be read in conjunction with other resources designed to help stop slavery.
Modern Slavery – A Council Guide
Modern Slavery Protocol for Local Authorities
Please find links to the newly published Modern Slavery Protocol for Local Authorities. These resources have been produced to help improve the Local Authority’s response to human trafficking and modern slavery, in particular the identification and support offered to adult survivors. The guidance provides non-prescriptive steps to follow when a potential victim of human trafficking or modern slavery is identified. It should be adapted to each local authority’s internal structures.
Hampshire, IOW, Portsmouth and Southampton Modern Slavery Adult Referral Pathway
Adult Modern Slavery Protocol for LAs Statutory Duties and Powers
Adult Modern Slavery Protocol for LAs NRM Process Guide for LAs
Adult Modern Slavery Protocol for LAs Definitions and Indicators
National Enforcement Powers Guide
This guide (updated on 28th July 2021) for England and Wales is aimed at all professionals in law enforcement and associated organisations who may encounter victims and perpetrators of exploitation and modern slavery, along with other forms of serious and organised crime, in their day-to-day activities. It is suggested that this guide should be used as a reference document for agencies to assist in planning and working with partner agencies.
National Enforcement Powers Guide (policingslavery.co.uk)
Pressure Ulcers
This guidance assists practitioners and managers across health and care organisations to provide caring, speedy and appropriate responses to individuals at risk of developing pressure ulcers. The guidance promotes a proactive preventative approach to reduce harm to individuals and secure efficiencies to the wider health and social care system.
Where pressure ulcers do occur, this guidance offers a clear process for the clinical management of the removal and reduction of harm to the individual, whilst considering if an adult safeguarding response under section 42 of the Care Act 2014 is necessary. The guidance demonstrates that the focus on removing harm to the individual will usually be secured by speedy clinical intervention.
The guidance highlights that broader issues of overall quality of care, management of a service, and training of staff will be of significant interest to commissioners, and the regulator the Care Quality Commission, as well as Safeguarding Adult Boards and Quality Surveillance Groups. There should be clear processes in every locality for communicating concerns to the relevant bodies.
This guidance has been adopted by the 4LSABs across the SHIP area and has been incorporated into the local multi-agency adult safeguarding policy and guidance.
Safeguarding and pressure ulcer protocol guidance 2018
Self Neglect and Persistent Welfare Concerns
Self Neglect
This guidance aims to support practitioners, adult and their carers/family members, to identify when to raise concerns regarding poor self-care, or lack of care for living conditions. The 4LSAB Multi-Agency Risk Management Framework provides an effective tool for responding to cases of self-neglect and persistent welfare concerns.
HSAB Guidance on Responding to Self-Neglect
Sexual Exploitation
The guidance provides advice and information to support multi-agency working with adults who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing Adult Sexual Exploitation (ASE). It has been signed off by the key statutory agencies involved in its development. It is intended to support good practice across all agencies within Hampshire. This guidance should where appropriate also be read in conjunction with the Hampshire Safeguarding Adults Board (HSAB) Safeguarding Adults Procedure and Policy.
ASE operational guidance final draft March 2018
Quick reference guides
Safeguarding Process
This explains what providers can expect if they are involved in the safeguarding process.
Safeguarding Guidance for Provider Services
Principles underpinning the safeguarding process
The safeguarding process outlined in this document is underpinned by a number of important principles which should inform the day to day safeguarding practice of partner organisations and their practitioners.
Principles underpinning the safeguarding process
Signs and Indicators of Abuse
This document outlines a range of possible signs or indicators of abuse staff need be aware of.
Unidentified Adults
The term ‘Unidentified Adults’ refers to an adult who agencies are not aware of, or not engaging with. They could be living within a household where children live or with someone who has regular contact with children. This can be in any capacity (such as parent, partner, grandparents, non-family member etc.)
The risk of not engaging effectively with adults who have regular contact with children or live within the family home includes understanding:
- What the child’s main caregiver and other family members might be saying about the ‘Unidentified Adults’ role within the family
- The positive contribution which they might make to the needs and welfare of the child
- What support they may offer to the family, including caring for children
- Any risks which they might present.
The following resources have been produced to assist workers in this area:
Slingshot