Report

The fourth step in responding well is to report any concerns or disclosures to the right people so that the right action can be taken.

It is everyone’s responsibility to report any safeguarding concerns or disclosures to the right people so that the right action can be taken. 

All concerns or suspicions, however small they seem, should be reported confidentially in line with your organisation's safeguarding policy.

Who you need to report concerns to will depend on the role you have. 

A worker, or any member of the community, should: 

Report any concerns to their organisation's Safeguarding Lead as soon as possible. 

If the Safeguarding Lead can't be contacted and the issue needs urgent action, report any concerns to the Police or Duty Social Worker e.g. If it is unsafe for a person to go home. 

The Safeguarding Lead should: 

Report any concerns at an early stage to the police or other relevant safeguarding professionals to get advice (see nation specific information below). 

If concerns are about a child, get advice from statutory services BEFORE you tell the child's parents/carers. 

If an incident involves a worker:

Anyone working with children, young people, or adults at risk holds a position of trust, as their role places them in a position of power or influence over those individuals. This is called ‘Position of Trust' (or in Northern Ireland, ‘Abuse of Position of Trust Offences’).

There are very specific reporting procedures for allegations against those in positions of trust.  

Other reports your organisation may need to make aware:  

Depending on the nature of a concern, there may be other reporting requirements. Some of these reports will be made by the Safeguarding Lead, others may be made by the Designated Trustee for Safeguarding. 

• Report all serious incidents / concerns to the Charity Regulator 
• If your organisation runs activities regulated or inspected by other agencies e.g. OFSTED or the Care Quality Commission, report any incident to them. 
• If concerns involve online abuse of children, make a report to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP). 
• You may need to report a safeguarding incident to your insurance company if someone has been harmed and your organisation could be liable. 
• If incidents involve a worker who holds a non-UK Passport you may need to follow reporting protocols for the country where the alleged perpetrator holds a passport. 

Things to consider

Knowing who not to share concerns with is also really important. Confidentiality means only telling the people who need to know at the time they need to know it. If you are concerned about a child or an adult at risk, talk to your Safeguarding Lead or the appropriate safeguarding professionals, not other members of your community. Inappropriate reporting can increase risk to a person experiencing harm and abuse and may be harmful in itself.  

Sometimes there is a legal duty to refer concerns. For example, in Wales under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, anyone with knowledge, concerns or suspicions that a child or adult at risk is being harmed has a responsibility to refer this to statutory services. In Northern Ireland, it is a crime not to report relevant offences to the police. Legal responsibility for undertaking safeguarding investigations sits with statutory agencies so an organisation or worker should not try to investigate any concerns themselves. 

Harm and abuse between children must be reported, just as abuse when the perpetrator is an adult.