When Jill was a manager in social care she used to dream about ways in which technology could support everyday work, especially with the most vulnerable children who use our services. We all share her delight in introducing this unique way in which tech can support your safeguarding practice.

Understanding risks

Young people are very good at understanding the risks that are present in their everyday lives and their views can be invaluable in helping you and your colleagues  assess risk effectively. Mind Of My Own apps can support your understanding of how individual children and the wider population of young people are feeling (see this previous post) but we have now added a very special feature which will provide real-time safeguarding information at the touch of a button. This is the new Safety Link, which will very shortly be part of the service portal available to all our customers.

Essential safeguarding information

The safety link uses essential safeguarding information drawn from a number of the different features contained within the One app.  Here are some examples showing which responses will be captured:

How do you feel right now (Unsafe, scared)
How do you feel about where you live? (Unsafe, unhappy)
How do you feel right now about school or college? (Unsafe, scared)
How do you feel most of the time? (Unsafe, scared)
How have things been going lately? (I’ve felt scared)
How do you get on with people at home? (I feel unsafe with them)
Where do you feel safe? (Nowhere)
How do you like your local area? (I feel scared)

Return from missing

Those in our community who are using the Return from missing scenario will be aware that there are a large number of risk indicators contained within the feature for the very good reason that those young people who go missing are often the most vulnerable, with at least ten percent experiencing abuse while missing. Their responses will also be used to highlight potential safeguarding concerns.

We hope this new feature will be incredibly helpful in highlighting exactly which children need support and intervention in real time. As with all new developments on our apps, we welcome your feedback so be sure to get in touch.