Safeguarding Statement

We are committed to providing services in a way that protects the welfare of the people we work with. Nobody should experience harm, abuse or neglect while in contact with our service, and concerns are taken seriously and acted on.

The statutory and professional frameworks we follow, and the safeguarding training standard we hold practitioners to, must be confirmed before publication: Item to confirm before publication: [CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLICATION: the safeguarding frameworks the organisation formally follows, the required training level and refresh period, and any local safeguarding partnership arrangements]

• Children and young people we assess or support
• Adults we assess or support, including adults at risk
• Parents, carers and family members involved in our work
• People taking part in coaching, mentoring and group sessions
• Pupils and staff we come into contact with during school observations and school work
• Everyone working with us, including associate practitioners, operational staff and partners

• The welfare of the child, young person or adult at risk comes first
• Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, not one person's job
• We listen to children, young people and adults, and we take what they tell us seriously
• We record concerns clearly, factually and promptly
• We work with families openly wherever it is safe to do so
• We work with other agencies where a concern needs to be shared
• We recognise that neurodivergent people can be at greater risk of harm, exclusion and being disbelieved

If a practitioner is worried about someone, they raise it with our safeguarding lead without delay. The concern is recorded, discussed, and a decision is made about the next step. That may include speaking with the family, contacting the person's GP or school, or making a referral to local children's or adult social care, or to the police.

Named safeguarding roles and the internal escalation route: Item to confirm before publication: [CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLICATION: the designated safeguarding lead, deputy lead, their contact route, and the internal timescales for recording and escalating a concern]

We would normally tell a family that we are sharing a concern, unless doing so would increase the risk to someone.

If you are worried about the safety or welfare of someone connected with our service, please tell us. You can reach us through our contact page. Please give us enough information for us to make contact with you, and do not include detailed personal or clinical information in a general online form. We will arrange a secure way to talk.

If your concern is about the conduct of someone working for Sensational Minds, it is still handled under our safeguarding procedure, not as an ordinary complaint. Our complaints policy covers other concerns about our service.

Sensational Minds is not an emergency service and our contact routes are not monitored around the clock. If someone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical help, contact the emergency services on 999.

If the situation is urgent but not an emergency, NHS 111 can help. Local social care contact routes for children and adults must be confirmed before publication: Item to confirm before publication: [CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLICATION: the correct local authority children's and adults' safeguarding contact routes to signpost to, including out-of-hours arrangements]

Safeguarding information is shared on a need-to-know basis. We share what is necessary and proportionate with the people or agencies who need it to keep someone safe. Confidentiality is important to us, but it does not override the safety of a child, young person or adult at risk.

Our privacy notice explains more about how personal information is handled.

We work with associate practitioners as well as our own team, and we expect the same safeguarding standards from everyone. Checks on identity, qualifications, professional registration, references and criminal records form part of how people join us.

The exact checks required for each role, and how they are recorded and refreshed: Item to confirm before publication: [CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLICATION: the recruitment checks required for each role, including DBS level, professional registration requirements, reference checks and how often each is refreshed]

This statement is reviewed regularly and after any significant safeguarding event or change in guidance. The version number and dates at the top of the page show when it was last reviewed.