I have been delivering quite a bit of Safeguarding Training in the last few weeks to a wide variety of audiences…teachers…childminders…volunteers…. Again and again we look at the challenge that safeguarding is rarely black and white. I often challenge the group with the question above. One school of thought would say that children learn by their mistakes. If they don’t want to wear a coat despite the rain, they will get wet and learn for another time. This is good parenting…to let children learn from their mistakes. The opposing school would say that for a child to get really wet on the way to school, then have to walk round all day uncomfortable in wet clothes is not appropriate and that this is not the way to teach children…
As with so many real life situations, we cannot make a judgement on this without thinking about the context, the maturity of the child and a host of other factors.
This is just one of a number of different situations we have discussed. What has been noticeable with all the groups I have worked with is their willingness to learn, to share experiences and to really take part in some challenging discussions. Surely all these are hallmarks of professionals who want to exceed in their roles.
This has been complemented by working in my volunteer role with the great staff in the Safeguarding Team at Girlguiding HQ last weekend. We were proud to be helping to pilot some specific training for our Commissioners – those within volunteer manager roles. Again, we looked at some very challenging situations which volunteers can face in their role, and strategies for managing these. Several very different groups, but all with the same commitment to get it right for the young people and vulnerable adults we work with.