Safeguarding Q&A 2025 - Ask your questions here!

Joe

Another one that come through the form.

Why do we have to do safeguarding training for volunteering in retail?

Unfortunately without specifics it is hard to comment on this. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and something that everyone should be aware of. In order to understand the reasoning of why this needs to be done in your retail volunteering role I would recommend reaching out to the employer who should be able to give you an informed answer as to the reasoning it is required for the role.

independent_

Re that response about young carers (and this is more for the @TheMix team) the info in the confidentiality post really needs to be updated if that response is accurate. The example there implies that young carers will be reported in all cases where the person is not in contact with an authority, and I know I am not the only person to have concerns about this specifically.

So I’m gonna phrase this other question as a story so I can word it properly. Say So John Smith is a young carer, and isn’t getting any suppport. He is 17 and finding his exams really difficult but he is just about juggling everything. It is reported and social services get in touch with him. He doesn’t want any further involvement. Surely in situations like this, the person’s input is actually needed? If they don’t want support and make that clear, the referral can’t go anywhere? Could apply to other situations as well not just young carers.

Joe

independent_ wrote: »

Re that response about young carers (and this is more for the @TheMix team) the info in the confidentiality post really needs to be updated if that response is accurate. The example there implies that young carers will be reported in all cases where the person is not in contact with an authority, and I know I am not the only person to have concerns about this specifically.

So I’m gonna phrase this other question as a story so I can word it properly. Say So John Smith is a young carer, and isn’t getting any suppport. He is 17 and finding his exams really difficult but he is just about juggling everything. It is reported and social services get in touch with him. He doesn’t want any further involvement. Surely in situations like this, the person’s input is actually needed? If they don’t want support and make that clear, the referral can’t go anywhere? Could apply to other situations as well not just young carers.

Thank for this @independent_ . It's a good point you make about the original post about changes to confidentially. I have updated it to be more accurate.

Social Services, The Police and other services (including The Mix) will consider the thoughts and wishes of the child when making a decision but this will just be one of many factors that will decide what happens next. They will ultimately make a decision that they think is in the best interest of the of everyone involved (the child, their parents/guardians, other family members and anyone else involved) and depending on the situation the wider public. This may at time go against the wishes of the child or parts of their wishes. Ideally they would try to find compromises and agreements.

So in the case you set out, John Smith may not want support but that support could be offered is vast and varied. It could be resources, access to a support group, funding for something, access to a tutor for exam help, or extra hands on deck to help with caring. Sometimes people say they don't want help/involvement because they have a specific idea of what that "help" will look like, i.e John may think that with social services involved the person they care for may be moved into a residential facility - however the call from social services could help highlight the varying levels of support available. It maybe still be the case John doesn't want any of this support, while social services would take into account what John Smith said, they may go against it if they thought it was in the best interest of everyone involved