NHS safeguarding assurance

The purpose of the Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework is to set out clearly the safeguarding roles and responsibilities of all individuals working in providers of NHS funded care settings and NHS commissioning organisations. The Framework aims to:

• identify and clarify how relationships between health and other systems work at both strategic and operational levels to safeguard children, young people and adults under the care of the NHS at risk of abuse or neglect
• clearly set out the legal framework for safeguarding children and adults as it relates to the various NHS organisations, in order to support them in discharging their statutory requirements to safeguard children and adults
• outline principles, attitudes, expectations and ways of working that recognise that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and that the safety and well-being of those in vulnerable circumstances are at the forefront of our business
• identify how NHS England regional and national teams work with the integrated care board (ICB) accountable leadership and ICB place-based leadership to support partnerships
• identify clear arrangements and processes to be used to support evidence based practice and provide assurance at all levels, including NHS England Board, that safeguarding arrangements are in place;
• promote equality by ensuring that health inequalities are addressed and are at the heart of NHS England values

This framework aims to provide guidance and minimum standards but should not be seen as constraining the development of effective local safeguarding practice and arrangements in line with the underlying legal duties. The responsibilities for safeguarding form part of the statutory functions for each organisation and its executive board must therefore ensure effective discharge within agreed baseline funding.

The safeguarding commissioning assurance toolkit

In August 2019, the National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG) tasked NHS Safeguarding to co-create a Clinical Commissioning Group/Integrated Care System assurance process relating to the statutory and mandated functions of safeguarding across the NHS commissioning landscape. It was agreed by regional safeguarding leads that the commissioning assurance process needs a single toolkit which might act as a catalyst for commissioning conversations and quality improvement plans.

Supported by the pledge of digitally enabled services in the NHS Long Term Plan, the safeguarding commissioning assurance toolkit is digitally enabled to improve safeguarding outcomes. It provides assurance on 11 indicators that are aligned to the Safeguarding Accountability Assurance Framework (SAAF) on key areas:

• leadership and organisational accountability
• training
• safer recruitment/HR
• interagency working
• implementation (sharing and learning good practice)
• patient engagement and supervision