Also understood as ‘risk outside the home’, contextual safeguarding is an approach to understanding, and responding to, young people’s experiences of significant harm beyond their families. It recognises that the different relationships that young people form in their neighbourhoods, schools and online can feature violence and abuse. Parents and carers have little influence over these contexts, and young people’s experiences of extra-familial abuse can undermine parent-child relationships.
Therefore, children’s social care practitioners, child protection systems and wider safeguarding partnerships need to engage with individuals and sectors who do have influence over/within extra-familial 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 beyond their front doors.
Threats to child welfare include:
- Child sexual exploitation
- Peer-on-peer exploitation
- Child criminal exploitation
- Modern slavery and trafficking
- Missing young people
- Radicalisation
- Gang activity
- Online exploitation
Our approach
The Adolescent Safety Framework (ASF) is our approach to contextual safeguarding in Devon and uses the Safer Me assessment.
The Contextual Safeguarding Network
The Contextual Safeguarding Network (often abbreviated as CSN) is a UK-based initiative that develops, guides and promotes the contextual safeguarding approach. The Contextual Safeguarding Network website has more information and resources, including the following videos.
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