It is vitally important that all organisations which employ
people to work with children and the vulnerable adopt safe
recruitment and selection procedures which help to deter, reject or
identify people who might abuse the vulnerable.However, policies
and procedures themselves are unlikely to offer the necessary
levels of protection. They must be accompanied by the
creation and maintenance of a safe working culture within each
organisation so that every worker understands their duty of care,
as well as which behaviours constitute safe practice and which
should be avoided.
These standards have been developed as a minimum to be attained
to assist managers to reach safer levels of recruitment, training
and the management of staff. A commitment to safeguarding is the
central focus at every stage of the recruitment process, from the
planning stages through placing an advert (which will have a clear
commitment to safeguarding prominent within it), short-listing,
obtaining references, providing information for candidates,
conducting the interview itself, making appropriate checks of
identity and qualifications, as well as undertaking appropriate
vetting.
It is recommended that all agencies are
compliant with the Peterborough Safeguarding Children Board’s
inter-agency procedures relating to handling matters of
safeguarding in employment, and if in any doubt about such matters,
organisations should refer to the Local Authority Designated
Officer (LADO). The Children’s Trust will require its member bodies
to undertake an annual audit of compliance against the standards,
reporting back to the Children’s Trust Partnership Board via the
Stay Safe Partnership as appropriate.
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Key Safeguarding Employment Standards
(161KB, 8 pages)
Checklist
(169KB, 12 pages)