Contextual safeguarding – what journey have you had in your community and family?

It recognises that the different relationships that young people and others form in their neighbourhoods, schools and online can feature violence and abuse. Parents (or in this case grandparents) and carers have little influence over these contexts, and young people’s experiences of extra-familial abuse can undermine parent/adult-child relationships.

Therefore children’s social care practitioners need to engage with individuals and sectors who do have influence over/within extrafamilial contexts, and recognise that assessment of, and intervention with, these spaces are a critical part of safeguarding practices. Contextual Safeguarding, therefore, expands the objectives of child protection systems in recognition that young people are vulnerable to abuse in a range of social contexts.

For more information visit the Contextual Safeguarding Programme.

Video: What is contextual safeguarding?