This resource is from the Scale-Up toolkit and should be used in conjunction with the other resources. You can access the Scale-Up toolkit here.
Briefing: Contextual Safeguarding and Policy Development: Key messages for multi-agency partners
Authors: Carlene Firmin and Katie Latimer with the Hackney Contextual Safeguarding Team
This briefing provides an introduction to policy development for a broad and general multi-agency audience. It is intended to support a range of multi-agency partners involved in implementing a Contextual Safeguarding approach in their local area. As a first step, organisations can review and update their internal policies to ensure they support the approach. Policies and procedures can help to provide an organisational climate in which contextual practice is permissible and encouraged.
This briefing outlines three possible approaches to policy review:
- Ensuring that policies align to the four features of Contextual Safeguarding outlined above.
- Ensuring that policies support partner agencies to work together to address a contextual concern
- Identifying key policies to review and key questions to ask of specific policies during review. Examples are provided throughout. The approaches are complimentary, and may all be used within a single organisation.
This guide was created as part of Hackney's Contextual Safeguarding programme. It helps you to think about some of the initial steps to take when re-writing or editing your polices to be more 'contextual' in their approach.
This guidance is intended to support a range of multi-agency partners involved in implementing a
Contextual Safeguarding approach in their local area. It should be used in conjunction with the Scale-Up toolkit and broader system change.
Contextual Safeguarding and Policy Development:
Key messages for multi-agency partners
May 2020
Carlene Firmin and Katie Latimer with the Hackney Contextual Safeguarding Team