What is duty of care in safeguarding?
Duty of care means to safeguard from harm and promote the wellbeing of those in your responsibility. There are specific obligations and legal requirements that organisations should follow to protect adults and children from harm in different settings.
Duty of care and safeguarding adults
As the UK’s leading children’s charity, everything we do protects children today and prevents abuse tomorrow, to transform society for every childhood. We provide child safeguarding guidance, resources and training for people working and volunteering with children. We don’t provide information about safeguarding adults – if you’re looking for guidance about duty of care in adult safeguarding, the Ann Craft Trust has advice and information.
Duty of care in child protection and safeguarding
It’s essential organisations meet a duty of care when working with children and young people. Statutory guidance sets out the safeguarding and child protection requirements you should follow.
There are different legal duties for organisations and individuals depending on the sector you work in, and whether you are in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
Wherever you work, there are things you should do to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children. For example you should:
Some settings, like education, health and social care must follow additional statutory guidance and legislation.
There is also other legislation that you might need to consider when thinking about safeguarding children and young people. For example, the health and safety legislation that might contribute to your duty of care for safeguarding in sports clubs and organisations.
What is duty of care in childcare?
Like all organisations, those working in childcare and early years should meet a duty of care. This includes making sure any adults working and volunteering with children are suitable and that children are safe and well cared for.
Providers should also make sure that they follow safer recruitment processes and that supervision levels are appropriate.
Who is responsible for safeguarding?
It is everyone's responsibility to safeguard children and young people. All organisations that work with or come into contact with children should have safeguarding policies and procedures to make sure that every child - regardless of their background or circ*mstance - is equally protected from harm.
Everyone working and volunteering with children has a responsibility to keep children safe and should understand what they need to do, what to look out for and how to respond appropriately to concerns.
If you're new to safeguarding we have a range of content and tools to help you.
> See all our safeguarding and child protection information and resources
References
Learn more about safeguarding with our introductory course
Increase your confidence in identifying and responding to possible signs of child abuse and neglect with our CPD-certified introduction to safeguarding and child protection course - available online and face-to-face:
- take the elearning course and train anywhere, anytime and at your own pace
- receive real-time feedback from expert trainers with our live virtual course, or
- meet and network with your peers with our face-to-face training course.
Whatever format you choose, you'll take part in interactive exercises and will be able to access further information and resources. Every learner receives a personalised certificate on completion of the course.
What’s more, income generated from the sale of our training courses is reinvested into the NSPCC to help us protect even more children.
> See introduction to child protection and safeguarding course
FAQs
Tips for answering safeguarding interview questions
- Read and familiarise yourself with the school's safeguarding policy.
- Provide example situations.
- Be honest with your answers.
- Be mindful of confidentiality.
Duty of care means to safeguard from harm and promote the wellbeing of those in your responsibility. There are specific obligations and legal requirements that organisations should follow to protect adults and children from harm in different settings.
What are the 5 R's of safeguarding? ›
'The Five R's' of safeguarding are a useful and structured way to remember what to do should a safeguarding concern occur.
- Recognise. Communities surrounding children and vulnerable adults should have a clear and definite understanding of the signs of potential abuse, harm and neglect. ...
- Respond. ...
- Report. ...
- Record. ...
- Refer.
Responding to disclosures
- show you care, help them open up: Give your full attention to the child or young person and keep your body language open and encouraging. ...
- take your time, slow down: Respect pauses and don't interrupt the child – let them go at their own pace.
These include: recognising and responding to abuse. responding to allegations of abuse made against a child. recruiting the right people to work and volunteer with children.
What are your 4 key actions in safeguarding? ›
The 4 Ps in Safeguarding are – Prevention, Proportionality, Protection and Partnership. These 4 Ps are taken from the 6 principles of safeguarding which have been established by the government of the UK to ensure the safety and welfare of vulnerable people.
What is your role in safeguarding? ›
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
You can help create a safer culture in your community. Learn about the different types of harm and abuse, and how to spot the signs. Record any concerns you have. Report your concerns to your nearest Safeguarding Adults Social Care Team.
What are the 6 principles of safeguarding? ›
There are 6 main principles of safeguarding as outlined in the Care Act; empowerment, prevention, protection, proportionality, partnerships and accountability.
How do you establish duty of care? ›
For a duty of care to exist, there must be reasonable foreseeability of harm, proximity between the parties and it must be fair, just and reasonable to impose liability. These requirements will usually be satisfied but the courts take a cautious approach when considering novel situations.
What is the main aim of safeguarding? ›
Safeguarding is everybody's business
The aims of adult safeguarding are to: prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to adults with care and support needs. stop abuse or neglect wherever possible. safeguard adults in a way that supports them in making choices and having control about how they want to live.
Without safe adults, children become mini-adults, carrying the weight of adult responsibilities and worries. I have started teaching about how to be a safe adult using 5Cs which I will explore with you in this article: Calm, consistent, communication, connection, curiosity.
What are the three C's of safeguarding? ›
Understanding the risks to children
Areas for online risks can be categorised into the 3 C's - Content, Contact and Conduct, and can be commercial, aggressive or sexual in nature as shown in the table below.
How do you answer what is safeguarding? ›
Safeguarding means protecting people's human rights, health and general wellbeing, preventing neglect, harm or abuse. It is a major responsibility in roles such as healthcare, social care, child care, education, nonprofits and working with the disabled or in care homes for the elderly.
What is the most common form of abuse? ›
Neglect is the most common form of child abuse. Physical abuse may include beating, shaking, burning, and biting. The threshold for defining corporal punishment as abuse is unclear. Rib fractures are found to be the most common finding associated with physical abuse.
What are leading questions in safeguarding? ›
Examples of leading questions are things like “who hit you?” or “did your uncle do this to you?” They are leading questions because there is a presumption on the part of the questioner as to what happened. A non-leading question would be “how did that happen?” or “can you tell me how you got that bruise?”
What is the best way to explain safeguarding? ›
Safeguarding means protecting a citizen's health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. It is an integral part of providing high-quality health care.
What are the 3 steps to support in safeguarding? ›
Take the following steps if you witness abuse or to report abuse: Make sure that the person is safe. Listen calmly to the person. Talk reassuringly to the person and guarantee confidentiality.
What is an example of a leading question in safeguarding? ›
Examples of leading questions are things like “who hit you?” or “did your uncle do this to you?” They are leading questions because there is a presumption on the part of the questioner as to what happened. A non-leading question would be “how did that happen?” or “can you tell me how you got that bruise?”
Can you tell us about safeguarding? ›
A safeguarding issue or concern is anything that might impact on children and young people' safety and welfare, cause them harm, or put them at risk of harm. Sometimes, a child or young person might tell someone about (or disclose) abuse or neglect.
