Our Intention
Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility, and at Camphill Village Trust (The Trust) we encourage an open and transparent approach across all of our communities and services.
In accordance with The Care Act Statutory Guidance (2014), The Trust defines safeguarding as protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. Safeguarding is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse and neglect, while at the same time making sure the person’s wellbeing is promoted.
The Trust is therefore committed to stopping abuse and neglect wherever possible, to prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse and neglect to the people we support across all of our settings.
All people have the right to be protected from abuse and neglect. This is regardless of their; age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy, and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex and sexual orientation.
The Trust has a legal and moral obligation to ensure that all Employees, Shared Lives Carers, Volunteers, Trustees, Contractors and any other party or agency acting on behalf of the organisation, understand their safeguarding responsibilities, when it comes to; recognising when someone is at risk of abuse or has been harmed, reporting an allegation or concern, and keeping the person safe by protecting their human rights and wellbeing.
Who is an adult at risk?
Under the Care Act (2014), Safeguarding duties apply to an ‘adult at risk’ who is aged 18 years old or over and:
- Has care and support needs (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs), and
- Is experiencing or is at risk of abuse and neglect, and
- As a result of those care and support needs, is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse and neglect.
The Trust also work and come into contact with children and young people under the age of 18 years old and is therefore obliged without exception to report all allegations to the necessary authority. Child abuse is defined as the maltreatment, abuse, or neglect of a child or young person, by inflicting harm, or by failing to prevent harm.
What is a safeguarding concern?
The Care Act (2014) identifies ten types and patterns of abuse and neglect and the different circumstances in which they may take place. As a Trust, we consider safeguarding in a wider context and do not limit our view to what constitutes abuse and neglect, which can take many forms as the personal situation of each individual must always be taken into account.
Incidents of abuse may be one-off or multiple and affect one person or more. As a Trust we look beyond single incidents or individuals to identify patterns of harm. In order to see these patterns, it is important that information is recorded and appropriately shared.
The following list, though not exhaustive, gives an illustrative guide as to the sort of behaviour which could give rise to a safeguarding concern:
Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual abuse, Psychological abuse, Financial or material abuse, Modern slavery, Discriminatory abuse, Organisational abuse, Neglect and acts of omission, Self-neglect, Behaviours of Concern, Fatality, Falls (Health Related), Health Related Incidents, Missing Persons, Child Abuse, Radicalisation/Extremism, Self-Harm/Suicidal Ideation and Medication Errors.
Safeguarding Principles
The Trust is committed to implementing the six principles of The Care Act 2014, across all of our settings to ensure that the wellbeing of each person we support is always at the centre of any safeguarding concern raised. The principles underpin all adult safeguarding work and inform the ways in which professionals should support a person when a concern has been raised:
- Empowerment – the person is supported to make their own decisions and where possible should give consent about what happens.
- Prevention – we must all work together to stop abuse before it happens.
- Proportionality – we must consider the least intrusive response to the risk presented.
- Protection – organisations and individuals must ensure they know what to do when abuse has happened.
- Partnership – the individual, organisations and local communities must work together to support the person.
- Accountability – safeguarding is everybody’s business and there must be openness and transparency throughout the process.
Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP)
Making safeguarding personal (MSP) means any professional involvement with the person must be person-led and outcome-focused. MSP engages the person in a conversation about how best to respond to their safeguarding situation in a way that enhances involvement, choice, and control, as well as improving quality of life, wellbeing, and safety.
As professionals we must recognise that as individuals, we all have different preferences, histories, circumstances, and lifestyles, so it is unhelpful to prescribe a set process whenever a safeguarding concern is raised. We must have regard for the person’s views, wishes, feelings and beliefs before deciding on any action. We should also acknowledge that due to complex interpersonal relationships, the person may be ambivalent, unclear, or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.
MSP provides a framework that enables professionals to see the person as the expert in their own life, where we can work alongside and have conversations regarding what outcome they would want from the safeguarding concern.
As a way of involving the person in the safeguarding process, it may be appropriate, though not always, according to the nature of the concern and how it is being managed, that we record any personal wishes and outcomes using a ‘Keeping Me Safe’ Plan. This enables the person to take ownership of the process and be central to all decision making.
The Trust’s Co-production Teams work with the people we support across each community and have been responsible for creating the ‘Keeping Me Safe’ Plan, as well as devising easy-read information on safeguarding and jointly presenting the ‘Keeping Safe’ workshops. The Trust aim is to empower every person we support to become more assertive and speak out about abuse and poor practice.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Trust Safeguarding Lead oversees all safeguarding activity across the organisation, and is supported in the role by the Operations Director, as well as a Safeguarding Lead in each Community. Regular reports and updates are provided to the Executive Management Team, Quality & People Committee, and Board of Trustees.
All safeguarding concerns are reported and collated centrally by the Trust Safeguarding Lead. The data is then shared at the Quality & People Committee meetings, which are held quarterly and attended by the CEO of the Ann Craft Trust, as an external expert. This ensures that The Trust’s safeguarding and protection arrangements meet our contractual and regulatory requirements.
The committee reviews the report, who advise and reflect on organisational experiences to continuously improve our everyday practice through learning. The safeguarding document is then shared with our team of General Managers and Community Safeguarding Leads who circulate the information to all staff.
Safeguarding Training
All staff, volunteers and Shared Lives Carers working for The Trust undertake regular safeguarding training. New staff must complete the minimum requirement of the Care Certificate, then further, advanced safeguarding workshops are delivered to all staff specific to their role, including the Board of Trustees. This ensures our staff are kept up to date on best practice guidance and that we liaise effectively with external agencies regarding the reporting of abuse or suspected abuse.
Both our Safeguarding Adults at Risk and Children’s Safeguarding policies and procedures are presently being revised to reflect changes in our new reporting and recording system.
Reporting a Safeguarding Concern
If you have a safeguarding concern and think that a person is at risk of harm from abuse and neglect or is at risk of harming others, then do not hesitate to contact someone.
If your safeguarding concern is immediate, then please call 999 now.
Otherwise, you can speak with someone from the local Camphill Village Trust Community (telephone numbers are available on the website) or you can contact:
Local Authority Safeguarding Team – (google your respective council)
Non-Emergency Police – 101
Camphill Village Trust Main Office – 0845 0944638
Care Quality Commission: 03000 616161
Ann Craft Trust – 0115 9515400
NSPCC – 0808 800 5000.
Safeguarding Key Documents
Annual safeguarding report 2023-24
Safeguarding Policy – children, young people and adults
Page last updated June 2024
