Home / Professionals / Guidance and Resources

Guidance and Resources

This section contains a range of resources, guidance and toolkits to inform and support good practice in adult safeguarding.

All adult safeguarding work is underpinned by the London Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures which sets out the approach to adult safeguarding across the London Boroughs and is informed by the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

Please also refer to the Information and Guidance section of our website for other resources including our learning briefings.  

Quick Links

Social Care Institute for Excellence – Safeguarding Adults

Research in Practice for Adults

Skills for Care

LGA Must Know Adults: Safeguarding

Safeguarding Adults Handbook

The resources below are designed to raise awareness about domestic abuse and to support practitioners in providing consistent and effective responses to this complex area of safeguarding practice. No single agency can address all the needs of people affected by or perpetrating domestic abuse. For intervention to be effective, it is important for agencies to work in partnership to take timely action and adopt a shared responsibility for assessing and managing risk.

Within the Bi-Borough the Angelou Partnership provides the specialist domestic abuse service.

The Escalation Policy provides a framework and practical guidance for resolving professional disagreements in relation to adult safeguarding matters.

A fall can be a safeguarding adults issue when there are concerns that the fall occurred due to abuse or neglect, or that care or treatment following a fall was abusive or neglectful. A fall does not automatically indicate neglect and each individual case should be considered to determine whether there is a safeguarding concern.

The SAEB is committed to work in partnership with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and other partner agencies to raise awareness of fire risks and the importance of prevention in fire safety.  It is everyone’s business to ‘Think Fire’ and practitioners should be particularly mindful of additional vulnerabilities adults with care and support needs may face around mitigating fire risks in their homes.

One of the most effective prevention activities is to use LFB’s Home Fire Safety Checker which provides tailored advice to improve fire safety measures within a person’s home. The Home Fire Safety Checker can also be accessed via the following QR code:

The Safeguarding Ambassadors in conjunction with LFB have produced a SAEB Bulletin with a focus on fire safety which uses the moto ‘Think Fire’ to promote the message that fire safety is everyone’s business, and to raise awareness of the need to be mindful of the additional vulnerabilities adults with care and support needs may face around mitigating fire risks in their homes.

SAEB Multi-Agency Fire Safety Framework

This Framework has been developed to provide guidance for the effective management of fire risks within people’s own home and residential settings. This document can be used for all front-line staff and operational managers who are responsible for all adults at risk in the Bi-borough.

How can the Fire Safety Framework help you?

This tool will help to provide an awareness of:

·       The key risk factors for individuals who have an increased vulnerability towards fire

·       An understanding of the impact this vulnerability to fire can have on the individual, neighbouring occupants, or other residents

·       The early interventions and control measures available to ensure such risks can be managed in the most effective way

Vulnerability Risk Factors include:

·       The person (an individual’s physical abilities / cognitive impairments)

·       Their behaviours

·       Their living environment

This document also includes the SAEB Multi Agency Fire Safety Competency Framework. It is the responsibility of all SAEB organisations to develop detailed training and workplace guidance around its implementation.

SAEB Multi-agency Fire Safety Framework

SAEB Fire Competency Training Webinar 05.11.24

This webinar led by Alan Taylor, Westminster Borough Commander, London Fire Brigade, will support all SAEB organisations to develop detailed training and workplace guidance around its implementation.

Adults who are homeless with care and support needs may be vulnerable to abuse whether they are rough sleeping, sofa surfing or in temporary accommodation. The resources below contain a range of toolkits, guidance and briefings to support best practice in this complex area of practice

Sharing the right information at the right time, with the right people is fundamental to good practice in safeguarding adults, but is often highlighted as a difficult area of practice. The guidance listed below from SCIE sets out how information should be shared for the purposes of safeguarding adults.

Please visit our dedicated page on Making Safeguarding Personal to access a range of resources and toolkits.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 empowers and protects people who are not able to make their own decisions. The MCA applies to anyone aged 16 or over and sets out a framework for assessing whether a person lacks the mental capacity to make a specific decision – for example in relation to their financial affairs, health and welfare or where they live.

Since April 2009 the MCA has allowed for the Deprivation of Liberty for people who lack capacity to consent to their care and treatment arrangements, if the person is in a care home or hospital.

The resources listed below raise awareness of modern slavery and supports practitioners and agencies to identify the signs and indicators of these forms of exploitation and how to report concerns.

Please also refer to the Modern Slavery council website pages:

National SAB Guidance on the Interface between SARs And Coronial Processes (September 2024) – This guidance has been developed by the National Safeguarding Adults Board Manager Network in response to feedback from Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) and learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) that the interface between SARs and Coronial Processes can be difficult to navigate

This checklist has been developed to provide a clear process to support staff in managing situations where a person known to services does not attend a planned appointment or the staff member fails to gain access on a home visit.

The Pan-London Response to Expected and Unexpected Deaths in the Community has been produced jointly by the NHS, London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police Service to provide a clear pathway for agencies to follow when responding to deaths of adults and children outside of hospital settings.

Whilst the guidance is primarily aimed at staff working in health settings it is useful at a partnership level in offering clarity around how expected and unexpected deaths should be managed.

Pressure ulcers are primarily a clinical issue and should be referred to an appropriate health professional in the first instance. However, if there are concerns that a pressure ulcer has developed through neglect and / or omission of care, consideration should be given to raising a safeguarding concern.

Please note that from 26/06/2023 the Department of Health and Social Care’s Pressure Ulcers: Safeguarding Adults Protocol has been withdrawn pending future updates and as such the link to this document has been removed from this site. Practitioners and managers should refer to local procedures around the prevention of pressure ulcers.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and the Hillingdon Confederation have produced a Pressure Ulcer Advice webinar aimed to raise awareness amongst practitioners and our communities regarding pressure ulcers, so that people are better informed to recognise pressure ulcers, know how to prevent them and take action to seek medical intervention to treat them.

What is Professional Curiosity? 

Professional curiosity is being able to look beyond the surface of a situation. The ability and willingness to explore and understand what is happening in a person’s life. Using a bit of empathy rather than making assumptions or accepting things at face value. It involves looking, listening, asking direct questions, and being able to hold difficult conversations. It is a skill which is crucial in helping to identify less obvious signs of abuse and neglect, ensuring that the right questions are asked in order to obtain information to support the adult at risk with what they want to happen as a result of the suspected abuse or neglect. 

Developing Skills in Professional Curiosity

To nurture professional curiosity, practitioners need to develop specific skills:

Look: Observe how the adult at risk interacts with their family or friends. Are there any signs that make you feel uneasy or just don’t seem right. Do you see behaviours indicating abuse or neglect, including coercion and control. What is the immediate impact of that behaviour?                                                                                                                

Listen: Pay attention to what is being said, how it is being said. Observe what is not being said. Are there any statements that need further clarification? Is someone trying to tell you something but finding it difficult to express themselves?                                                                                                         

Ask: Try asking open questions which don’t require a yes or no answer. Direct questions can help uncover hidden issues but be smarter and ask questions which will give you more. For example a direct question “Do you feel safe living here?” Could be ” How do you feel about living here? “. These questions invite more detailed responses and encourage the person to share their feelings and experiences.                                                                                             

Clarify: Ensure that you have all the necessary information by checking with other professionals involved. Are they seeing the same things as you? Are there any discrepancies in the information being shared?

Holding Difficult Conversations: Tackling disagreements or hostility, raising concerns, and giving information that may not be well received are incredibly challenging tasks. Here are some tips to support practitioners in holding difficult conversations:

  • Plan in advance to ensure there is enough time to cover essential elements of the conversation.                                                                                                                                                           
  • Keep the agenda focused on the topics that need to be discussed.                                                                               
  • Be clear and unambiguous in your communication.                                                                                               
  • Show empathy, consideration, and compassion throughout the conversation.

Professional curiosity is not just a skill, but a mindset that requires continuous development and practice. By being curious, practitioners can better understand the situations and risks faced by adults, ultimately helping to keep them safe from harm.

Professionals should use professional judgment alongside visible risk and demonstrate curiosity to understand family dynamics. The National SAB Managers Network have published a new national set of “principles” around creating an ethos where Professional Curiosity is Everyone’s Business. It does not take the place of any locally agreed toolkits / guidance and should be used in accordance with organisations’ own policies, procedures and guidance.

The SAEB has produced Referring a Safeguarding Adults Concern Practice Guidance to support consistent multi-agency practice and responses in relation to under understanding, reporting and recording of safeguarding concerns to the local authority when it is appropriate to do so in line with the Care Act 2014. The guidance is in line with the Local Government Association (LGA) frameworks listed below:

Understanding Self-Neglect, Hoarding, and Safeguarding Adults

Self-neglect is a complex issue that covers a wide range of behaviours, including neglecting personal hygiene, health, safety, or surroundings. It can also include hoarding behaviours, which can involve hoarding specific items.

Causes of Self-Neglect

The reasons for self-neglect are often complicated and can vary from person to person. Sometimes, a change in circumstances, such as a bereavement, developing dementia or a new disability, can lead to self-neglect.

Safeguarding Adults

While self-neglect may not always be taken forward as a safeguarding adults enquiry, supporting someone who self-neglects or hoards often requires agencies to work together closely in line with safeguarding adult processes. Safeguarding duties apply when the adult has care and support needs, is at risk of self-neglect, and is unable to protect themselves because of their care and support needs.

Organisations involved must work together with the person to understand the underlying cause of the self-neglect or hoarding issues and address any concerns raised to them under their existing duties and responsibilities under the law.

Supporting Individuals

Supporting individuals who self-neglect or hoard often requires longer-term involvement to build relationships, identify and work on any past trauma, and support the person to understand and manage any specific risks where possible. It is important for workers to understand that people have the right to choose their lifestyle, balanced with their mental health or their capacity to understand the consequences of their actions.

In some cases, it may be a care or risk management issue rather than a safeguarding concern and may require a social care assessment. However, it is not always appropriate to refer to the local authority straight away, as there may be initial support that other agencies can provide.

During National Safeguarding Adults Week, the SAEB hosted a Self-Neglect and Hoarding Event which focuses in on Self-Neglect, how you can spot the signs and to learn about when self-neglect becomes a safeguarding issue. You can view the recording via the link below:

National Safeguarding Awareness Week Webinar – Safeguarding and Self Neglect – YouTube

To find out more about Self Neglect Resources and Policy research for Community front-line Practitioners and Managers please see links below

Self-neglect at a glance – SCIE

Self-neglect: Research messages for practitioners – SCIE

Self-neglect: Research messages for managers – SCIE

Self-neglect: Building an evidence base for adult social care – SCIE

Self-neglect policy and practice: Key research messages – SCIE

What do we mean by transitional safeguarding?

Transitional safeguarding is an approach that involves children and adult services working together in recognising that the needs of young people do not change or stop when they reach 18, although the legislation, thresholds, and services supporting them often do. It aims to prevent this ‘cliff edge’ effect and reduce the risks of abuse, neglect or exploitation as they transition to adulthood.

It begins with recognising that chronological age is not always an indicator of functional ability and there are developmental stages, with adulthood seen as a stage that will be achieved at different times by everyone. It requires a professionally curious approach in considering the impact previous experiences may have had and the type of support that a young person will need during their transition.

Transitional safeguarding requires a more fluid approach across all services, enabling underpinning principles and approaches to be applied at the right time to ensure a more tailored approach, albeit still within the relevant age-related legal framework. The type of support that a young person will need during their transition to adulthood depends on a whole range of factors and is not determine by whether they have care and support needs.

Why is it important?

There are a number of reasons why a transitional safeguarding approach is important.

  • It is recognised young people may experience distinct risks and harms that do not stop at the age of 18, and factors that increase a child’s vulnerability often continue into adulthood, potentially resulting in unmet needs and costly later interventions.
  • It is acknowledged that Children and Adult safeguarding systems are conceptually and procedurally different, and are governed by different statutory frameworks, which can make the transition to adulthood difficult for young people facing ongoing risk.
  • This can be exacerbated by the notable differences between thresholds and the eligibility criteria of Children’s and Adults’ safeguarding. There needs to be a common culture and understanding across children’s and adults, which includes the use of language.  Waltham Forest Council have produced a short video about victim blaming language.
  • Learning has highlighted how ineffective transitional planning can contribute to young adults ‘slipping through the net’, often with tragic consequences. It is vital to share information between services in a proportionate and timely way so that young people approaching 18 receive access to guidance, information and advice they will need as adults.
  • The importance of transitions, and transitional safeguarding, has been identified in a number of Safeguarding Adult Reviews.  Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board has produced a briefing which provides a summary of the key areas of learning notes in SARs nationally that have been completed in relation to transitional safeguarding. https://www.saeb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Learning-from-Regional-and-National-SARs-Transition-1-2.pdf

The resources below help increase knowledge and understanding of transitional safeguarding and support approaches to transitional safeguarding in practice.

Partners in Care and Health (LGA and ADASS) have developed a webpage with a range of transitional safeguarding resources to support professionals in supporting young people to transition into adulthood and safeguard them from harm and exploitation.