You are here: Home 
Manchester Leaving Care
Info for young people Safeguarding
Safeguarding
for young people using our service
Barnardo's Manchester Leaving Care Service works closely with Manchester’s Children Services - MCS (perviously known as Social Services). Both organisations are equally committed to ensuring young people's safety and well-being and together they believe children and young people should not suffer any form of abuse.
Abuse can mean a number of different things. It can involve not being looked after properly, being physically harmed or hit, being sexually abused in any way, or being neglected and put down over a long period of time. Any of these different forms of abuse can end up causing long-term problems or unhappiness for the child or young person concerned.
Because of this, Barnardo's staff will always take issues of abuse very seriously. If a young person using our Service tells a member of staff or a volunteer that they have been abused, we will help and support that young person all we can and we will also pass that information on to MCS who have the main responsibility for looking into issues to do with abuse. Similarly if Leaving Care staff see a young person abusing their child or baby, they will take action to safeguard the safety of that child or baby and pass information on to the MCS. All this will be done both to ensure the safety of the child, baby or young person concerned, and to protect any other children or young people who may be at risk.
Action must be taken:
- when a young person tells us that they have suffered any sort of abuse
- when other children or young people connected to that young person has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, any sort of abuse
What action needs to be taken:
If something happens that day and is an emergency:
The first priority will be the immediate safety of the child or young person. Medical help will be sought if it is required. Senior staff from the Leaving Care Service and MCS will be informed so that any necessary immediate action can be taken.
In a non-emergency:
Staff or volunteers will listen carefully to what the young person has to say. They will be supportive and sympathetic. Senior staff from the Leaving Care Service and MCS will then be informed so that any necessary action can be taken. If this involves further discussion of the abuse, or any issues relating to it, this will be done by staff from Manchester Childrens Services.
In both emergency and non-emergency situations, the overriding priority will be the well-being of the young person and the safety of other children or young people who may be at risk.
