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Safeguarding Assurance

আমি একটা অনুচ্ছেদ। এখানে ক্লিক করে নিজের লেখা যোগ করুন এবং আমাকে এডিট করুন। এটা সহজ। শুধু "Edit Text" এ ক্লিক করুন অথবা আপনার নিজস্ব কন্টেন্ট যোগ করতে এবং ফন্টে পরিবর্তন করতে আমাকে ডাবল ক্লিক করুন। আপনার পৃষ্ঠায় যেকোনো জায়গায় আমাকে টেনে আনতে দ্বিধা করবেন না। আমি আপনার জন্য একটি দুর্দান্ত জায়গা যেখানে আপনি গল্প বলতে পারেন এবং আপনার ব্যবহারকারীদের আপনার সম্পর্কে আরও কিছু জানাতে পারেন।

The CSCP has a statutory duty to evidence the current safeguarding arrangements for children in Croydon. This oversight is achieved through multi-agency audits and reviews. Section 11 is a vital statutory tool that supports organisations to be self-assured in their practice, providing essential evidence to the CSCP that robust safeguarding arrangements are in place.

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What is Section 11?

The Children Act 2004 places a clear legal requirement on a wide range of agencies to ensure that their functions, and any services they contract out, are discharged with regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

This means safeguarding is not just an optional policy, but a core legal responsibility for every member of your leadership team.

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VCSF Engagement

Voluntary, Community, and Faith organisations are often the first point of contact for families. Your unique position of trust within the community means you are essential partners in identifying early signs of need or risk.

The CSCP works closely with the VCSF sector to ensure that community wisdom and religious sensitivities are respected within local safeguarding practices.

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Audit & Assurance

The Section 11 audit is one mechanism used by the CSCP to monitor how well organisations are meeting these standards. It is a tool for self-reflection that helps you identify gaps in policies, training, or recruitment.

Completing the audit provides your board or trustees with formal evidence that your organisation is safe, compliant, and focused on the wellbeing of children.

Understanding your Duties

What Safeguarding Arrangements should be in place?

 

As set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children, these organisations and agencies should have in place arrangements that reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including:

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Does Section 11 apply to you?

You have a statutory (legal) duty if you are:

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  • A Local Authority Service

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  • An NHS organisation or Trust

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  • The Police or Probation Service

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Note: Schools and Colleges have similar duties under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002.

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While not subject to Section 11 duties, other agencies and organisations have safeguarding responsibilities under different legislation, as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children. These include:

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  • Early Years and Childcare

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  • Children’s homes 

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  • UK Visas and Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and the Border Force

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  • Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

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  • Voluntary, charity, social enterprise, faith-based organisations and private sectors 

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  • Sports Clubs / Organisations.

Compliance Self-Assessment

Regardless of the specific statute, the CSCP encourages all organisations working with children to meet safeguarding standards.

 

The CSCP Self-Assessment Tool is available for organisations that wish to use it to support this process. After completing your self‑evaluation, organisations are encouraged to develop an action plan for any areas that do not yet meet the required standard.

CSCP remains available to provide support on any of the criteria where organisations feel additional guidance would be helpful.

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It is important to note that completion of this tool does not constitute formal validation or approval by the Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP). Rather, it is designed to enable organisations to undertake their own quality assurance and to contribute to a broader, partnership-wide understanding of safeguarding practice.

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Organisations working with children and young people in Croydon are invited to complete self‑evaluation activity using the criteria below:

1. Leadership, Governance and Culture

4. Responding to Concerns

2. Policies and Procedures

5. Child Centred Practice

3. Safer Recruitment and People Management

6. Information Sharing and Partnership Working 

Resources

CSCP Audit Tool

​Organisations can utilise the CSCP Self-Assessment Tool to help measure performance against the criteria set out above.

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Once completed, it is best practice to create an Action Plan for any area judged not to be meeting the required standard.

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Please note - clicking the link for the audit tool will trigger an automatic download, rather than opening in the browser. 

Reporting Concerns​

​If you have a concern about a child, you must refer to the Croydon Thresholds guidance to determine the appropriate level of support.

Concerns about staff or volunteers​

For allegations against people who work with children, you must notify the LADO within one working day.

Sector Specific Help

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​Safeguarding Children Training

 

Faith Group Guidance

 

VCFS Sector Toolkit

 

Sports Club Resources

 

National Safeguarding Guidance (All Sectors)

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