Safeguarding Information
How PRC protects children, young people and adults at risk, what we do when we are worried about someone, and who you can contact.
Status of this page
Derived from PRC’s Safeguarding Adults and Children Policy. This is the public summary. Escalation routes, contacts and the remote-working checks below are taken from that approved policy; internal staff procedures are not reproduced here. PRC should confirm this public wording before the site goes live.
Note on in-person appointments. The approved policy was written for remote delivery. The in-person safeguarding arrangements set out below are marked as draft and must be approved by the Designated Safeguarding Lead, and reflected in the policy, before this page is published.
Our commitment
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. PRC is committed to protecting children, young people and adults at risk from abuse, neglect and harm. Every member of PRC staff is expected to recognise concerns, respond to them, record them accurately and refer them on.
It is not the role of PRC staff to investigate abuse. Our role is to recognise, respond, record and refer — promptly, and without waiting until we are certain.
Safeguarding during appointments
Online appointments. Because many PRC appointments take place remotely, clinicians apply additional checks during video and telephone appointments. You may notice some of these:
- Confirming your identity and current location at the start of a session, where clinically appropriate.
- For children and young people, confirming the responsible adult and emergency contact arrangements.
- Checking whether you are somewhere private and safe to talk.
- Staying alert to signs that someone else may be listening to, prompting or controlling the conversation.
- Explaining confidentiality and its limits, including safeguarding duties.
- Using secure, approved platforms. Sessions are not recorded unless there is clear clinical justification, informed consent and governance approval.
Where an immediate risk is identified during a session, PRC will contact 999 and provide your location where it is known.
[DRAFT — REQUIRES DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD APPROVAL. PRC’s Safeguarding Adults and Children Policy was written for remote delivery. The in-person arrangements below are not yet covered by that approved policy and must be reviewed, agreed and reflected in the policy before this section is published.]
In-person appointments. In-person appointments take place at PRC’s Northampton office, Unit F28, Moulton Park Business Centre, Redhouse Road, Northampton NN3 6AQ, and are by arrangement only. The following arrangements apply:
- Appointments take place in a private consulting room. Conversations cannot be overheard from shared or reception areas.
- A child or young person must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or other responsible adult, who remains on site for the whole appointment.
- You may ask for a chaperone to be present, and PRC will tell you if a chaperone or second member of staff will be present for any other reason.
- All PRC clinicians hold an enhanced DBS check appropriate to their role, and are checked against the barred lists relevant to the people they work with.
- Staff do not work unobserved with a child or an adult at risk on the premises.
- Appointments are not recorded, by PRC or by you, unless there is clear clinical justification, informed consent and governance approval.
- Where an immediate risk is identified during an appointment, PRC will call 999 and remain with you where it is safe to do so.
- The premises are covered by a fire evacuation procedure and a safeguarding and health-and-safety risk assessment, which are reviewed regularly.
The escalation routes, timescales and contacts set out below apply in the same way to online and in-person appointments.
Confidentiality has limits
PRC will usually seek your consent before sharing information. However, information may be shared without consent where it is necessary to protect someone from serious harm, where there is a legal obligation, or where a regulator requires it.
If we need to share information about you for safeguarding reasons, we will tell you what we are doing and why wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.
How quickly PRC acts
- Immediate risk to life or serious harm — 999 is called immediately.
- A safeguarding concern is identified — discussed with the Designated Safeguarding Lead the same working day, and within 2 hours where urgent.
- A concern needing external referral — referred to the relevant Children's MASH, Children's Social Care, or Local Authority Adult Safeguarding Team, and/or the police, without delay.
- An allegation against a member of staff involving a child — the Local Authority Designated Officer is contacted within one working day.
- A CQC-notifiable safeguarding incident — notification submitted in line with CQC requirements.
If you are worried about someone
You do not need to be certain before you raise a concern. If you are worried about a child or an adult at risk, use the routes below.
Call 999. Stay on the line if it is safe to do so.
NHS 111 — where urgent advice is needed but it is not a 999 emergency.
101 — to report a concern to the police where there is no immediate danger.
NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000
Childline (for children and young people): 0800 1111
You can also contact your local authority’s Children’s Social Care or MASH team. PRC works with service users across England, so the right team is the one for the area where the child lives.
Contact the Adult Safeguarding Team at the local authority for the area where the adult lives.
Contact PRC directly at manager@progressiverecoverycare.co.uk, or raise it through our Complaints Procedure. Allegations against people working with children are referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
You can also contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161.
Forced Marriage Unit: 020 7008 0151
Safer recruitment
PRC follows safer recruitment procedures, including checks appropriate to each role for people working with children and adults at risk. All staff complete safeguarding training and receive supervision and support.