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Locations

This section of the website looks at what to do when harm happens to young people in community locations. 

When we talk about 'locations' we mean any community location - like a park, a shopping centre, a housing estate or perhaps a shop. Our existing safeguarding system responds to harm affecting families in their homes. In Contextual Safeguarding, we add to this by developing ways to safeguard young people when they are affected by harm in the wider community, in the places where they spend time. 

When people are worried that young people are being harmed in a particular location, the first place to start is to get a good understanding of what is happening there, and why.  One way to do this is through a location assessment.  Because every location is unique, every location assessment will be different, including which partners will be involved.  One thing that stays the same, is that every location assessment (just like every 'child and family assessment'), should respect young people's rights, promote their well-being and focus on building safety. Every location assessment - and plan of action that follows - should also involve young people and their families at every stage of the process as active partners. 

Thanks to the work of those Scale-Up sites who have run location assessments, we have learnt more about how to do location assessments well and how to avoid the challenges. This learning has been turned into tools and resources to support you in developing this work. For guidance and ideas about safeguarding responses that can follow on from location assessments, have a look in the Responses and Outcomes section of the Scale-Up toolkit. 

 

Resources

What is a location assessment? How do we learn about harm and safety outside the home? These resources focus on what to consider when conducting a location assessment, including how to involve young people and the community and how to ensure the values of Contextual Safeguarding are central to the approach.