Driving Forward the Safeguarding Adults Agenda – the National

Perspective

Moira MurrayMoira Murray

A single point of contact (SPOC) was set up by the 4 Local Authorities bordering the Olympic Park for safeguarding children Arrangements were made pan-London to deal with child protection issuesA Safeguarding Adults at Risk Group (SAARS) was established

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Having in place:

A Safeguarding Policy and Procedures for: Children and Adults

A safeguarding escalation procedure A laminated card detailing the

safeguarding escalation procedures distributed to all staff/volunteers

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Appropriate and Proportionate Safeguarding Training provided to all managers and frontline staff Pre-employment checksHome Office vetting Enhanced CRB checks for those who had direct contact/responsibility for children and adultsReference checks

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Safeguarding Manager being available for advice and consultationBeing visibleVisiting venues and talking to staff

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So what happened?

Not a single referral was made to the SPOC There was a marked decrease in Child Protection referrals to Local Authorities Anticipated Safeguarding Adults at Risk (SAAR) concerns did not materialise

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The Olympic and Paralympic Games benefited from having in place:

A designated Safeguarding Manager who raised awareness of safeguarding issues and dealt with all aspects of safeguardingClear, user friendly policies of which staff were aware A proportionate and appropriate approach to safeguarding during the Olympic and Paralympic Games

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What didn’t work well:

Lateness in the referring of some information

Lack of awareness of the training requirements concerning safeguarding adults

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Changes to the ISA/CRBGovernment Objectives

A more proportionate and ‘common sense’ approach

Re-balancing the responsibilities of employers and the state

Reducing bureaucracy

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Changes commencing September 2012

Registration with the ISA to be scrapped and replaced with a statutory obligation to obtain a barred list check for all roles in Regulated Activity (RA) Implemented 2013Reduced scope of RABarring to be scaled back to cover only those who may have regular or close contact with vulnerable groups

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Criminal Records checks will be portable and will only be sent to the individual – a new updated scheme. Implemented 2013Minimum age for criminal record checks to be raised to 16 The CRB and the ISA merge to form one NDPB, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

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A new definition of Regulated Activity

Regulated activity scaled back to focus on work which involves close and unsupervised contact with vulnerable groupsThose involved in activities and work which are being taken out of regulated activity will still be eligible for enhanced criminal records checks BUT they will no longer be eligible for barred list checks

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What constitutes Regulated Activity?No longer labels adults as ‘vulnerable’ The definition identifies the activities, which if any adult requires them, lead to that adult being vulnerable at that particular time (e.g. providing health care, providing personal care, providing social work, assistance with cash, bills and/or shopping, assistance in the conduct of a person’s personal affairs, conveying)There is no longer a requirement to do activities a certain number of times before a person is engaging in regulated activity

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What is not changing? The need to make appropriate referrals to the DBS Not employing someone in regulated activity someone whom you know has been barred by the ISA/DBS Individuals who fall under the new definition of Regulated Activity will continue to be eligible for an enhanced disclosure with a barred list checkIndividuals who fell within the old definition of Regulated Activity, but do not now, will remain eligible for Enhanced Checks but without a barred list check

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Information Sources

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/disclosure-and-barringwww.homeoffice.gov.uk/crbwww.isa.homeoffice.gov.uk/www.nhsemployers.org/employmentcheckswww.wp.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/08/new-disclosure-and-barring-services-definition-of-regulated-activity/

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Thank youMoira MurrayIndependent Safeguarding ConsultantMoira1murray@btinternet.comMoira.murray@safeguardingfirst.co.ukTel: 0207 587 0382M: 07795973622

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