Safeguarding Policy & Procedure

What is a safeguarding policy?

A safeguarding policy sets out how a care service prevents abuse and neglect, and what staff do when they suspect it. Regulation 13 says providers must have ways to stop abuse, and must look into any claim of abuse at once. Chapter 14 of the Care and Support Statutory Guidance says care organisations should have adult safeguarding policies and procedures.

This safeguarding policy template is written for adult social care in England: care homes, home care and supported living.

What a safeguarding policy should include

This one has a purpose, scope, definitions, who does what, a policy statement and a step-by-step procedure. The policy statement gives the six safeguarding principles and ten types of abuse and neglect to look out for. It also covers CQC's warning signs of a closed culture, mental capacity, and when staff can share information without consent.

The procedure runs in five stages:

1. What any member of staff does straight away, from calling 999 to writing a record the same day

2. The manager's response on the same day, including the referral to the local authority and the CQC notification

3. Working with the local authority's section 42 enquiry

4. After the enquiry: the safeguarding plan, DBS referral where the legal duty applies, and a learning review

5. Keeping the safeguarding log and records

The definitions near the start explain terms like "adult at risk" and "section 42 enquiry". New staff need those first.

Before you issue it

Add your local authority safeguarding contacts, including the out-of-hours route, and name your safeguarding lead and deputy. Insert the referral timescale from your local multi-agency procedures, then check each step against your Safeguarding Adults Board's own procedures. Delete the service-type lines that do not apply to you.

The template sets a review date 12 months after issue, but bring it forward if your local procedures change or a safeguarding case shows a gap in how staff responded.

Supported living services use the Safeguarding Policy & Procedure (Supported Living) alongside this one. Staff record marks and injuries on a Body Map Form, and concerns about colleagues can also go through the Whistleblowing & Speak Up Policy.