Transitional Safeguarding: presenting the case for developing Making Safeguarding Personal for young people in England

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to set out the similarities and differences between the legal frameworks for safeguarding children and adults. It presents the case for developing a Transitional Safeguarding approach to create an integrated paradigm for safeguarding young people that better meets their developmental needs and better reflects the nature of harms young people face. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the key principles of the Children Act 1989 and the Care Act 2014 and discusses their similarities and differences. It then introduces two approaches to safeguarding: Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP); and transitional safeguarding; that can inform safeguarding work with young people. Other legal frameworks that influence safeguarding practices, such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Human Rights Act 1998, are also discussed. Findings Safeguarding practice still operates within a child/adult binary; neither safeguarding system adequately meets the needs of young people. Transitional Safeguarding advocates an approach to working with young people that is relational, developmental and contextual. MSP focuses on the wishes of the person at risk from abuse or neglect and their desired outcomes. This is also central to a Transitional Safeguarding approach, which is participative, evidence informed and promotes equalities, diversity and inclusion. Practical implications Building a case for developing MSP for young people means that local partnerships could create the type of service that best meets local needs, whilst ensuring their services are participative and responsive to the specific safeguarding needs of individual young people. Originality/value This paper promotes applying the principles of MSP to safeguarding practice with young people. It argues that the differences between the children and adult legislative frameworks are not so great that they would inhibit this approach to safeguarding young people.

Learning from safeguarding adult reviews about Transitional Safeguarding: building an evidence base

“…It avoids reductive interpretation of these studies to define capabilities of adolescents (Moshman, 1999). It also recognises the inconsistencies in age in the legal, policy and service frameworks regarding young people’s transitions to adult services and seeks to resolve tensions in these (Cocker et al , 2021a).…”

“…Legal literacy Practice is legally literate, whereby there is less focus on eligibility and more on preventative work and well-being. Advice and support are sought to address the inconsistencies in age in the legal, policy and service frameworks regarding young people's transitions to adult services (Cocker et al, 2021a). Legal rules are used to prevent and disrupt sources of harm.…”

Shipping containers and speed boats: exploring the contexts and relational spaces professionals navigate to safeguard young people from criminal exploitation

“…Indeed, both CSE and CCE represent complex forms of extra-familial harm that move beyond “the parameters of traditional notions of vulnerability” (Moyle, 2019, p. 742) and challenge conventional approaches to risk assessment and child protection designed to address intra-familial harm. The shared complexities of these two forms of exploitation mean that much can be learned from the CSE research literature about how we might best approach safeguarding young people from CCE; for example, drawing upon principles of trauma-informed (Hickle, 2020; Firmin et al , 2022) and relationship-based practice (Gilligan, 2015; Lefevre et al , 2019), understanding adolescent development and the normative influence of peer relationships (Coleman, 2019; Firmin et al , 2016; Meschke et al , 2012), promoting young people’s participation in decision-making (Warrington, 2013; Warrington and Brodie, 2017), adopting principles of harm reduction (Hickle and Hallett, 2016) and ensuring continuity of care as young people make the transition to adulthood (Holmes and Smale, 2018; Cocker et al , 2021).…”