Standard Safeguarding Referral Procedures

1. If a Sensing Friends member of staff or volunteer receives a disclosure from a service user that raises safeguarding concerns it is important that where possible this is discussed in a sympathetic way, in more detail with the service user. The aim in doing this is firstly to highlight to the service user that the member of staff or volunteer has recognised the disclosure as raising a safeguarding issue. Secondly further discussion will enable the member of staff to gather further important information that may need to be passed onto the Front Doors For Families team.

2. With general safeguarding concerns, after consulting the DSSM and seeking their advice, the member of staff will speak to the service user and inform them that they are going to make a referral to the front doors for families team. This needs to be done sensitively after supervision has been received in relation to discussing this with the service user.

*Where disclosure about the pending Front Doors For Families referral might cause more risk in relation to the safeguarding issue it might be advised by the supervisor or DSSM that the Front Doors For Families referral needs to happen before discussing it with the service user. These type of referrals will only happen if it’s deemed that vulnerable individuals may be at risk of more harm if the disclosure of the pending Front Doors For Families referral was disclosed to the service user.

3. After carrying out the above steps the member of staff or volunteer will contact the Front Doors For Families team and pass on the information to the team.

4. After the referral is made the member of staff or volunteer must record the incident in the Sensing Friends incident book

5. When the service user is next contacted or spoken to the member of staff or volunteer needs to inform the service user that the referral has been made and that someone from the Front Doors For Families team will be contacting them.

6. Any further disclosures relating to the safeguarding issue need to be discussed in supervision and either also reported to the Front Doors For Families team but also recorded in the incident book as they may be relevant and needed by the Front Doors For Families team.

7. The service user will need support and reassurance in relation to the referral and it is important that the member of staff or volunteer facilitates this by talking it through individually with the service user. This process needs to be supported for the member of staff or volunteer with the aid and advice of the DSSM or supervisor.

This Policy was reviewed on
Date 07/02/2019
Signed by Penny Wright (Chairperson)

This Policy will be reviewed again on
Date 07/02/20