Our work

Safeguarding Children

Safeguarding children and young people in Barking and Dagenham is the responsibility of all professionals. The joint chief inspectors report 2002 was the first to outline the duty to safeguard as “Arrangements to take all reasonable measures to ensure that risks of harm to children’s welfare are minimised”.

Working Together to Safeguard Children and Young People (2018) defines safeguarding as

protecting children from maltreatment
preventing impairment of children's health or development
ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Safeguarding children and your GP practice

Although safeguarding children is the responsibility of all, GP practices and their staff are required to identify and share concerns about the welfare and protection of children appropriately with other relevant agencies, and in the case of significant harm to refer those concerns to Children’s Social Care (NICE, 2009).

All practices have been provided with a safeguarding handbook which includes all the necessary safeguarding information and contacts that practice staff and GPs require. This is updated annually.