6 Safeguarding Principles To Be Aware Of For Protecting Children

Keeping children safe is the responsibility of adults. Childhood is an uncertain period of life for young
people to navigate. And not protecting them from the different dangers that they are vulnerable to
as a child can lead to serious long-term impacts on their life. Working with children and young
people involves responsibility. Whether you are part of an organization or individually come into
contact with children frequently, you should be aware of the safeguarding policies and procedures.

This blog post centres around the 6 main principles of child protection:

1. Empowerment

Teachers need to create an environment that empowers young people to have
autonomy over the decisions they make, allowing them to say no or speak their minds when
faced with uncomfortable positions. Empowerment is a strong tool for children to protect
themselves. Authority is at times used to exploit a child’s vulnerability, however, by allowing
them to speak up, you can become clearer about how they are feeling, and allow you to
help them.

2. Protection

Children, who have been victims of abuse, must be provided with the support they need to
prevent further harm. These must be fundamental measures like access to healthcare,
provision of social workers, and other paramount child protection services.

3. Prevention

Teachers must ensure that they prevent abuse or harm of all sorts from happening to
children in their care. This may be implemented through training staff, raising awareness of
abuse and ensuring that there is abundant information, and is easily accessible. Every child
is unique, and hence each protection case is unique. Having said that any prevention
measures should factor in the unique circumstances of each child in your care.

4. Proportionality

Just like risk assessment, proportionality ensures that every individual in the organization is
considered when handling abuse and protection issues. Different individuals may face different levels of risk. And that must be understood and assuaged to the maximum to help create a safe environment and stop further abuse.

5. Partnerships

Safeguarding children and ensuring effective child protection involves more front-line deck.
By forging partnerships with key stakeholders, local communities, and other relevant entities
such as NGOs, social workers, and health care among others, abuse, and those found guilty of it
can be quickly identified; assisting in the prevention of further abuse. Partnerships give
everyone a chance to work together to create a safe environment within and beyond the
organization.

6. Accountability

Partnerships furthermore foster that everyone is accountable for the safety of the children
around them. Everyone plays a role in ensuring the protection of the most vulnerable
members of the community. Accountability means taking responsibility for your actions and
ensuring that you stay aware of abusive behaviours; not only to pinpoint them but also to
avoid inflicting the same violent behaviour on those around you.

To Conclude

Safeguarding is focused on staving off the harm being caused to children and young people. On the
other hand child protection is the response made whenever a child is being harmed.