Bite-size Learning - Contextual Safeguarding

Gwent Safeguarding has collated some introductory information on Contextual Safeguarding, featuring videos, other resources, and sources of information. These details previously formed part of a ‘Bite-size’ Learning initiative run by Gwent Safeguarding in July 2021.

Contextual Safeguarding is an emerging approach (not an established model) that helps us to begin to understand and respond to, young people’s experience 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" (Contextual Safeguarding Network 2021)

Gwent Safeguarding Partnership is in discussion with Welsh Government and the other 5 Regional Safeguarding Board Partnerships in Wales and exploring potential merits and other implications of this emerging approach.

Extending the remit of traditional child/family protection models and responding to young people’s experience of harm outside of the home, has far reaching implications for child protection practice and processes, and adoption and implementation of a Contextual Safeguarding approach varies significantly across the UK. 

What is Contextual Safeguarding?

Source: Contextual Safeguarding Website

Dr Firmin, the founder of Contextual Safeguarding has shone a light on ‘harmful environments’ existing outside of the home and called for rewriting of current child protection rules:

"I'm going to talk to you about the stairwells, the bus terminals, the inline spaces, the housing estates and parks, and even the school toilets where these incidents occurred"

In the following TED talk (below), Dr Firmin considers alternative interventions and responses that may help to reduce the risk and/or prevent the harm and abuse some children are subject to. 

Source: Contextual Safeguarding Website

This next video points to potential links with 'Community Safety', 'Safer by Design' and 'Situational Crime Prevention', and identifies new targets for child protection interventions, new partnerships, changes to legislative framework, and considers contextual as opposed to individual outcomes.

Source: Contextual Safeguarding Website

The next 3 videos consider how Contextual Safeguarding might work in practice. It features areas within the UK that have embarked on implementing a contextual safeguarding approach.

Impacts of Contextual Safeguarding on Children’s Social Care

Peer Group Mapping

Sexting in schools, responses to abuse through image sharing

Source: Contextual Safeguarding Network Website