How we protect and safeguard vulnerable young people from exploitation and partner with transport communities to create a safer world.

Date: 28th November 2024 | Author: Hannah Gossett

How does safeguarding relate to child protection?

At Railway Children, we aim to create a safer world for vulnerable children and empower them to sustain positive change in their lives. Central to our work in India, Tanzania and the UK is identifying children who are experiencing or at risk of harm and taking action to keep them safe and supported long-term. 

Safeguarding and child protection are terms that often used interchangeably, but there are some key differences between them. While safeguarding has a broader and more preventative approach, child protection tends to focus on immediate responses to harm or abuse.

What is child safeguarding?

Safeguarding refers to the steps taken to ensure that children and young people are protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation. In relation to our work, this could involve making a train stations safer for young people. Safeguarding also focuses on promoting the wellbeing of children by ensuring they are healthy, happy and able to achieve their potential.

Safeguarding responsibilities can include:

• Preventing harm: taking measures to stop abuse, neglect or exploitation before it occurs, whether intentional or unintentional.
• Creating safe environments: Making spaces and places children spend time in safe, including family homes, care homes, schools, community venues and other public places.
• Addressing concerns: Responding quickly and effectively to any issues or signs of potential harm.
• Supporting wellbeing: Proactively promoting children’s physical and emotional health.

What are the similarities between safeguarding and child protection?

Safeguarding and child protection are intertwined in many ways and are both vital parts of children’s wellbeing.

Importantly, both share a common goal: to ensure children’s safety and wellbeing.

To do this, both approaches look at the wider context, circumstances, policies and specific environment of each scenario.

For example, if a child is at risk of exploitation, effective safeguarding and child protection approaches will look holistically at the child’s family situation, their school, what other risks they face, if any protection plans are in place and if any statutory services are involved.

In the UK, there are a set of laws and guidelines that outline the responsibilities of organisations and individuals in both safeguarding and child protection, helping to ensure a consistent approach across services.

Professionals such as our youth practitioners, social workers, teachers and health specialists, each have a duty of care to protect children and they will often work together to share knowledge and expertise to identify potential risks, raise any safeguarding concerns and ensue that preventive measures are in place.