Members and partners update
A letter to our members and partners
Together, we are facing a truly unprecedented situation. The global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting all of our families, our organisations, our communities and our way of life. This is why we want to reach out and update you on how we’re approaching the situation here at Keeping Children Safe.
Firstly and most importantly, our hearts go out to anyone who has been impacted by the virus. Either directly or indirectly. Our thoughts are with those who have been caught out by the virus, to whom we extend our heartfelt wishes and wish you a full recovery.
At Keeping Children Safe, as at your organisation, we are fully focused on the health and safety of our employees, families and communities. That is why our team members around the world will now be only working from home. This of course means that, for the foreseeable future, there will be no more face-to-face meetings and workshops. But, as our team is already used to working remotely, this will not require much of a shift in how we work.
We’re online
Simply put, for us it is ‘business as usual’.
We will continue to deliver our usual dedicated service to members and partners: always being available for advice, audits, case reviews, investigations and of course, training. But now we will be delivering all our services through digital channels, the only exception being Level 2 certification.
This sadly means we will be postponing our person-to-person networking events, such as the planned September conference at the University of Brunel, while turning others events into virtual workshops and seminars.
To expand our online service, we will also be producing an extended online course programme for later in the year. This will enable us to increase our training reach for member and partner organisations.
We will also continue to offer free safeguarding advice and resources to organisations who need our support.
Children are counting on us
Even as the pandemic rolls on, there is one thing we probably cannot emphasise enough: remain vigilant and ensure robust safeguarding is at the heart of all emergency planning. An emergency such as this crisis offers abusers many more opportunities to abuse their power in organisations, when attention is being drawn into dealing with the spread of the virus – at the expense of safeguarding practices.
If you are part of crisis planning in government, the private sector, civil society or in your own community, we urge you to ensure robust safeguarding measures are in place to prevent abuse, and to take urgent action if it occurs. Children and adults in vulnerable circumstances are counting on us to get this right.
While all our members and partners are in uncharted territory, we remain as focused as ever on our mission: to help your organisation in keeping children and other people in vulnerable circumstances safe from harm.
Contact our team today for safeguarding help and advice.
Never forget that we, the Keeping Children Safe team, are here to help you. We are committed to being your partner and to working together with you in the years ahead. As we go forward, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. Please know that we always value your questions, ideas and feedback.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Blakemore
CEO, Keeping Children Safe
