When completing this tool, there must be clear evidence provided for the ratings that are given. For example, wherever possible the rating should be backed up with data or qualitative evidence arising from audit/internal quality assurance processes. The GSCB may ask for further evidence to support the rating that has been given if it is not clear from the information that has been provided. Standard 1: Organisational Safeguarding Responsibilities are Clearly Stated Evidence Required Not Met Partly Met Fully Met Rating Supporting Evidence and Action Being Taken 1.1 – Each agency has a named person with overall responsibility for safeguarding arrangements (Please state their name and job title) There is no named person with overall responsibility for safeguarding within the organisation. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a named individual with overall responsibility for safeguarding within the organisation. (please provide name and job role in the evidence/comments field) 1.2 – Staff and volunteers within the organisation know who the named person is, and they understand their role and know how to contact them Staff are not aware that a) there is a named person responsible for safeguarding b) what their role is and c) how to contact them Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Staff are aware that there is a named person with responsibility for safeguarding, they understand their role and know how to contact them 1.3 - The importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is clearly This message is not communicated within the organisation. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully There are a range of communication tools in place that regularly reinforce the
communicated to all staff meeting the standard importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. 1.4 – There is a clear and accessible safeguarding policy in place which sets out the responsibilities for staff and volunteers for safeguarding children, including when and how to act on safeguarding concerns(provide a copy as evidence) The organisation does not have a safeguarding policy in place. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a clear policy in place; staff work to the policy and make changes to their practice in line with policy updates 1.5 - Staff, children and families are aware of how to make complaints when responsibilities are not met (provide a copy of the complaints policy and data in relation to the number of safeguarding complaints dealt with during the year) Staff, children and families are not aware of how to make a complaint. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a clear and easy to understand complaints policy in place, which staff, children and families are aware of and understand. The policy is readily accessible and complaints are responded to in a timely manner.
1.6 – Whistleblowing concerns are taken seriously and are treated in line with the organisation’s whistleblowing procedures There is no procedure in place to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the organisation’s safeguarding arrangements Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a whistleblowing procedure in place; all staff are aware of the procedure to follow should they have concerns. There are procedures in place for concerns to be raised with the organisation’s leadership team. Standard 2 – A clear line of accountability for the commissioning and/or provision of services designed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 2.1 – Safeguarding priorities are reflected in the agency’s strategic plan The strategic plan does not make any reference to safeguarding and it is not felt to be a strategic priority Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard The strategic plan includes clear safeguarding priorities and there are clear actions for how these will be achieved and what difference will be made for children and families. 2.2 - Safeguarding governance arrangements are clearly defined within the organisation e.g. through regular discussions at strategic leadership meetings Safeguarding governance arrangements are not clearly defined within the organisation Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Safeguarding governance arrangements are clearly defined. There are robust discussions in relation to safeguarding responsibilities and all
Senior Managers are kept up to date with both local and national safeguarding guidance and the role they have to play in improving outcomes for children. 2.3 - Safeguarding responsibilities are included in job descriptions and/or volunteer responsibilities Job descriptions and volunteer responsibilities don’t make any reference to the safeguarding responsibilities of individuals Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Safeguarding responsibilities are included in job descriptions and volunteer responsibilities and staff and volunteers are fully aware of to whom they are accountable 2.4 – Safeguarding is routinely discussed and is a standing item in supervision and appraisal. (please provide evidence of any recent audits) Safeguarding is not discussed during supervision or included in appraisals Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Safeguarding discussions are integral to all supervision arrangements and clear actions are agreed and followed up through management oversight. Safeguarding responsibilities are included within the appraisal process, which includes a clear focus on learning and development needs of staff and the outcomes
that need to be achieved 2.5 - FOR COMMISSIONING ORGANISATIONS ONLY: Private, Voluntary and Independent organisations commissioned to provide services, are compliant with S11 standards and these are monitored through contract monitoring arrangements Contract monitoring arrangements do not include whether the organisation is compliant with S11 standards. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Compliance with S11 Standards is fully regulated through the contract monitoring arrangements. Any non-compliance is addressed and actions are put in place to ensure full compliance with the standards in order to safeguard children. The organisation has a demonstrable understanding that it is their responsibility to ensure that organisations providing services on their behalf are compliant with Section 11. The GSCB Guidance for Commissioners is used to ensure compliance with S11 standards. 2.6 - FOR COMMISSIONED The commissioning process did not place a The commissioning organisation included a
ORGANISATIONS ONLY: The commissioning process included a requirement to safeguard children. requirement on the organisation to safeguard children. specific requirement on the organisation to safeguard children, as part of the commissioning process. Standard 3 – There is a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, both in individual decisions made about them and the development of services 3.1 - Service development plans are informed by the views and experiences of children and families Plans are developed without taking into consideration the wishes and feelings of children, young people and families Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Children and families are actively involved in the design, development and delivery of services. 3.2 – The voice and experiences of the child are routinely heard and acted upon The voice of the child is not taken into consideration and there is no evidence of the child’s views and experiences being recorded on files or evidenced in plans. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard The voice of the child is routinely heard and acted upon. There is clear evidence that the child’s experiences, views and wishes have been taken into account and assessments and plans are focussed around the needs and timescales of the child. Service user involvement forums and surveys take place on a regular basis. 3.3 Feedback from children and families Feedback from children and families is not Please rate partly met if your agency had some Feedback from children and families is an
effectively informs internal quality assurance processes and leads to action for improvement (Improvement Plan) routinely sought and does not inform quality assurance processes arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard integral part of quality assurance processes within the organisation and their views and experiences are used to improve safeguarding practice through learning and development activity and system changes 3.4 - The diversity needs of children are met, and there is equality of opportunity There is no evidence in place to suggest that the work of the organisation is The organisation does not have an equality and diversity policy. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Individual needs based on race, language, religion, faith, gender and disability are taken into account when working with a child and their family. There is an equality and diversity policy and action plan in place which is monitored and updated on a regular basis. Standard 4 – Effective Inter-Agency Working to safeguard children 4.1 - The organisation is regularly represented and is an active participant at safeguarding forums, meetings and child There is little or no representation by the organisation at safeguarding meetings and forums. When the organisation is Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a representative from the organisation who regularly attends safeguarding meetings or forums and fully
employment. 6.2 - Safeguarding training is accessed by all members of staff appropriate to their job roles, which includes; in-house single agency training and as appropriate specialist training. Staff within the organisation do not receive appropriate levels of training. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard All staff within the organisation have received safeguarding training or are due to receive the training appropriate to their role and responsibilities. This can be clearly evidenced and is regularly reported to the senior leadership team. 6.3 – The organisation keeps records of the safeguarding training attended by each volunteer or staff member There are no safeguarding training records kept by the organisation Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There are robust records kept by the organisation that show each course, both single agency and multi-agency that a member of staff has attended and the date of attendance. The organisation also records that the evaluation questionnaire has been completed. 6.4 – The organisation measures the impact of safeguarding training There are no processes in place within the organisation to Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place The organisation has a robust mechanism to be able to measure the
back in the workplace and on outcomes for children and young people measure the impact of safeguarding training but is not yet fully meeting the standard impact of safeguarding training attended by staff and volunteers on their practice through applied learning, which leads to improved outcomes for children and young people 6.5 - Learning from system reviews, relevant to the organisation have been disseminated and embedded. They might include Serious Case Review’s (SCR) and other systems review, Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP), Critical learning review (Youth Justice Board) No dissemination of learning from any system reviews. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Systematic dissemination of learning from reviews relevant to the organisation and of embedding the learning into the organisational culture. Standard 7 – Safe Recruitment and Allegations Management 7.1 - Relevant staff have access to safer recruitment training Relevant staff within the organisation do not have access to safer recruitment training Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Relevant staff have undertaken safer recruitment accredited training, (e.g. GSCB safer recruitment training) 7.2 - Interview panels Interview panels do not Please rate partly met if When appropriate,
include someone trained in safer recruitment when appropriate include a panel member who is trained in safer recruitment your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Interview panels always include at least one member who has undertaken accredited Safer Recruitment training 7.3 - References are taken up in line with the organisation’s recruitment guidelines References are not taken up in accordance with organisational guidelines. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Where organisational guidelines state that references are taken up after interview, this is always the case and staff are not appointed unless a satisfactory reference has been received 7.4 - Regulated activity under DBS has been agreed and checks undertaken There is no clear understanding of regulated activity and DBS checks are not undertaken. Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard The organisation undertakes DBS checks on all staff and volunteers who work with children in regulated activity 7.5 - All staff (where appropriate) are aware of the procedures for allegations against staff and have received relevant training Staff are not aware of the procedures to be followed if allegations are made about them or a colleague Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard Procedures for the management of allegations are known by all appropriate staff. Allegations are referred to the most senior person who is not implicated in the concern. If an allegation has been
learning and development opportunities and changes to policies and procedures 8.2 – There are key performance indicators in place that provide internal assurance about the quality of safeguarding responses and data is routinely shared with the GSCB (Improvement Plan) The organisation does not have safeguarding performance indicators in place Please rate partly met if your agency had some arrangements in place but is not yet fully meeting the standard There is a robust safeguarding performance framework in place, and reports are provided on a quarterly basis through the organisation’s strategic reporting frameworks. Data is shared with the GSCB on a quarterly basis and more detailed reports are provided as required.