Explain own responsibility to safeguard children and young people who are present in an adult social care work setting

All health and care organisations and agencies must work in partnership to protect children from harm or maltreatment, prevent harm to their health and development and ensure they grow up with the provision of safe and effective care.

Although you may not work directly with children, you have a statutory duty to promote the health and well-being of children that you come into contact with as part of your work. This could be, for example, members of a service user’s family that visit them in your setting.

Your organisation should have a policy and procedure for the reporting of children’s safeguarding concerns and you should also receive basic training in this area.

In most cases, you will fulfil your obligations by reporting any concerns or suspicions you have to your manager or safeguarding lead who will be able to provide guidance about what should be done next.

In more serious cases, where the child or others may be in danger of significant harm, you may need to contact the Police and/or Social Services directly.

You should always document your concerns in writing to maintain an audit trail of your actions.

You can supplement your knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and protection of children by reading the government publication ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused: Advice for practitioners‘ (2015).