Essential safeguarding: why, who, how

1. Essential Safeguarding: why?
This is Sharon Willetts.
Sharon works for a rail company.
She was trained to look out for people who might
take their own life. She saved the life of a young
man. She’s proud. Her colleagues are proud. The
young man’s family call her their angel. Hear Sharon
talk about it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m5bm1.
You may cry.
Now we want to take a similar approach to safeguarding children and young people
from harm and exploitation.
By expanding the role of staff working in public-facing services, we can make a huge
difference to thousands of young lives, as well as helping workers across the UK
develop new skills and confidence, in a way which can only contribute to their
companies’ overall performance.

2. Essential Safeguarding: why?
Ten years (2003) ago Lord Laming wrote in the Victoria Climbié Inquiry:
“*T+he general view was that the ‘eyes and ears’ of the community are not used enough in
the identification of children potentially in need. It was felt that efforts should be made to
encourage more members of the public to come forward with their concerns.” (para.17.30)
Yet in 2011, Ofsted’s Learning Lessons from Serious Case Reviews still notes:
This review highlights the fact that often the agencies have to rely on members of the
public as their “eyes and ears”. Neighbours, family and friends are often in a better position
to see or become aware of possible child protection issues. The potential value of the
general public in the child protection task needs to be better exploited.’(para. 32)
And in November 2013, the Children’s Commissioner’s report on Child Sexual Exploitation
says:
“A child gains confidence in the system when professionals, children and the public at large
know what child sexual exploitation is all about and understand the impact that it can have
on a child.” (p.41)

3. Essential Safeguarding: who?
That’s where we come in.
We’re a group of children’s social workers from Greater
Manchester, with about 200 years of front-line
experience between the lot of us.
We’ve decided we can’t wait around for an other 10
years, hoping that the powers-that-be will come up with
the answers.
We’re going to do it ourselves.

4. Essential Safeguarding: who?
This is us, the three key founder directors:
Louise, social worker from Bury
Tahar, social worker from Rochdale
Paul, the dull business manager one, from Salford
And we’re backed by a team of associates, from Child Sexual Exploitation
specialists to parenting experts, ready to get stuck in.

5. Essential Safeguarding: how?
We’re setting up Essential Safeguarding, a social enterprise dedicated
to community-wide child protection, and to the promotion of great
parenting.
We’ll move beyond the traditional interpretation of public services,
and develop the safeguarding functions of public-facing organisations
like supermarkets, the pub trade, the travel industry.
With support from the Public Service Launchpad, we can help create a
generation of public-facing workers, just like Sharon Willetts, who can
bring the same learning, pride and innovation to safeguarding; who
can help children be children; who can ensure young people grow up
free from exploitation.
We’ve waited long enough.