Information Regarding the Military Procedures for Safeguarding
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Army Secretariat Army Headquarters IDL 24 Blenheim Building Marlborough Lines Andover Hampshire, SP11 8HJ United Kingdom Ref: ArmySec/W/W/FOI2020/10418 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.army.mod.uk XXXXXXXXXXXXXX 22 September 2020 XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Dear XXXXXXXXXXX, Thank you for your email of 8 September requesting the following information: the Military Procedures for Safeguarding I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can confirm that information in scope of your request is held. A copy of Joint Service Publication 834 Safeguarding Service Children and Young People can be found attached below. If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office in the first instance. If you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content of this response, you can request an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail CIO-FOI- [email protected]). Please note that any request for an internal review should be made within 40 working days of the date of this response. If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website at https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely, XXXXXXXX Army Secretariat JSP 834 Safeguarding Service Children and Young People Part 1: Directive JSP 834 Pt 1 (V4.0 May 15) Foreword People lie at the heart of operational capability; attracting and retaining the right numbers of capable, motivated individuals to deliver Defence outputs is critical. This is dependent upon maintaining a credible and realistic offer that earns and retains the trust of people in Defence. In order to achieve this, all personnel must be confident that, not only will they be treated fairly, but also that their families will be treated properly and that Service veterans and their dependants will be respected and appropriately supported. The Safeguarding of our Service children and young people, which includes those Service personnel under the age of 18, is a priority for all MOD Services and agencies that work with or have contact with children and young people. These procedures are underpinned by Working Together to Safeguard Children (March 2013), which sets out what should happen in any local area when a child or young person is believed to be in need of support. Effective safeguarding arrangements should aim to meet two key principles; they should be child centred and they should recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. These procedures have been written so as to be part of the wider good of improving the wellbeing of children, and of achieving the above key principles. JSP 834 promulgates the policy requirements and comprehensive practical guidance for the safeguarding of Service children and young people. Lieutenant General Andrew Gregory Chief of Defence People Defence Authority for People i JSP 834 Pt 1 (V4.0 May 15) Preface How to use this JSP 1. JSP 834 is intended as a comprehensive framework for the safeguarding of Service children and young people. It is the intention that this JSP will be reviewed annually. 2. The JSP is structured in two parts: a. Part 1 - Directive, which provides the direction that must be followed in accordance with statute or policy mandated by Defence or on Defence by Central Government. b. Part 2 - Guidance, which provides advice, information and examples of best practice to assist the user to comply with the Directive(s) detailed in Part 1. 3. When reading this JSP it is important to note that the word ‘must’ is used to denote requirements mandated by law in England and Wales, the word ‘should’ is used to reflect requirements mandated by policy and the word ‘may’ provides discretion for the interpretation of policy. 4. Where the word ‘professional’ appears, it applies to all staff employed to implement safeguarding procedures and practices whether they are MOD Service and civilian personnel, single Service welfare staff, Unit Welfare Officers (UWO), organisations and agencies such as SSAFA, and the British Forces Social Work Services (BFSWS), Service Children’s Education (SCE) staff, Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) staff, Service police and health workers. 5. This document cannot be totally comprehensive and, if there is any doubt, advice should always be sought from the Director CYP, Single Service Specialist Welfare Services, and/or the MOD approved social care provider’s named lead for Social Care Services, Director Social Work SSAFA or departmental legal advisers. 6. Further guidance in all areas of safeguarding can be found in the DfE’s Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 (WTSC130 published by DCSF in 2013: https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children Coherence with other Defence Authority Policy and Guidance 7. Where applicable, this document contains links to other relevant JSPs, some of which may be published by different Defence Authorities. Where particular Defence dependencies exist, these other Defence Authorities have been consulted in the formulation of the policy and guidance detailed in this publication. This JSP also references wider Government policy. Related JSPs Title JSP 342 Education of Service Children JSP 464 Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations JSP 535 Cadet Training Safety Precautions JSP 770 Tri-Service Operational and Non Operational Welfare ii JSP 834 Pt 1 (V4.0 May 15) JSP 800 Defence Movements and Transport Regulations JSP 814 Policy & Regulations for MOD-Sponsored Cadet Forces JSP 820 Disability and Additional Needs Policy JSP 822 Governance and Management of Defence Individual Training and Protection JSP 830 Manual of Service Law (Vol 1, Chap 26) JSP 832 Guide to Service Inquiries JSP 893 Policy on Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups JSP 898 Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills JSP 913 Tri Service Policy on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Further Advice and Feedback – Contacts 8. The owner of this JSP is the Director Children and Young People (DCYP). For further information on any aspect of this guide, or questions not answered within the subsequent sections, or to provide feedback on the content, contact: Job Title/E-mail Project focus Phone DCYP-AD Safeguarding Safeguarding Policy and 01980 61 8711 Guidance 94344 8711 iii JSP 834 Pt 1 (V4.0 May 15) Contents Foreword......................................................................................................... i Preface ........................................................................................................... ii How to use this JSP...................................................................................... ii Coherence with other Defence Authority Policy and Guidance ............... ii Further Advice and Feedback – Contacts ................................................. iii Contents ....................................................................................................... iv 1 Safeguarding – General........................................................................... 1 Aim ................................................................................................................. 1 British Forces Community ........................................................................... 2 Introduction to Safeguarding....................................................................... 2 Duties, Responsibilities and Outcomes...................................................... 4 2 Safeguarding Roles and Responsibilities.............................................. 5 General Roles and Responsibilities............................................................ 5 Management of Registered Sex Offenders (Posted Overseas).. .............. 6 Serious Case Reviews (Overseas and UK)................................................. 6 Safeguarding Responsibilities for the Single Services............................. 6 3 Key Safeguarding Functions................................................................... 9 Child Protection Procedures........................................................................ 9 Actions for a Person Becoming Concerned about a Child ....................... 9 Confidentiality and Sharing Information................................................... 10 Safer Recruitment when Working with Children and Young People ..... 11 Allegations of Abuse made against a Person who Works with Children ...................................................................................................................... 11 Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation ........................................................... 12 Care Leaver (CL) Joining the Services ..................................................... 14 Child Death Review....................................................................................