This document is designed as a best practice guide to help anyone who provides a service to children and families to develop guiding principles and child safeguarding procedures to keep children and young people using their services safe from harm. Safeguarding is more than just reporting child protection or welfare concerns; it is also asking yourself and your organisation what you can add to the child or young person’s life to assist them to fully meet their future potential.

Seeking positive outcomes for children and young people is also about staying involved, remaining interested and actively participating with others to improve the child or young person’s life. Six best practice themes have been identified to assist your organisation to meet its child safeguarding responsibilities. The six sections of this document provide guidance on how to meet your organisation’s responsibilities under each of these themes.