Personal safety guidelines for volunteers and clients

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Personal safety guidelines for volunteers and
clients

• 22nd May 2008
• Val Barritt
• MBF National Conference, Manchester

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Outline of workshop

• What is personal safety and how does it relate to
  your project?
• Rationale and introduction to 10 key guidelines
• Using the resources
• Next steps?

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Setting the scene

• What do we mean by the term Personal Safety?
• What personal safety issues may be faced by your
  volunteers and your clients?
• How does your project manage the issue of
  personal safety?

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Personal Safety

• Personal safety refers to behaviour that
  produces damaging or hurtful effects, physically
  or emotionally, on people.
• Managing personal safety is a key issue for all
• Projects have responsibility to assess risks
• responsibility to avoid or manage the risks
• Volunteers also have responsibility for
  themselves and their mentees/befriendees
• Legal considerations

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Background

• Requests for guidance and resources
• Consultation and focus group
• Developed with Suzy Lamplugh Trust
• Initially for Projects working with children and
  young people
• Key issues applicable to all projects

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The Resources

• Personal safety guidelines booklet for projects
• Scenario
• Question to aid discussion
• Examples of how projects have tackled this issue
• Risk assessment issues to consider
• Legal information
• Signposting
• Pocket sized leaflet Keeping safe-10 key
  personal guidelines for mentors and befrienders
• Poster -10 key personal safety guidelines for
• mentors and befrienders

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The guide example
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Activity

• Guideline 1 Make sure the project knows of
  your whereabouts
• Read the scenario on the handout
• Discuss the questions relating to the scenario

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Good practice for projects

• Risk assessment of potential situation
• Remove or manage risk
• Named contact out of hours emergency
• Provide emergency info to volunteers next of
  kin
• Set up a buddy system
• Set procedures outlining steps to be taken
• Compliance with legislation
• Test the systems in place!

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Activity

• How are you going to ensure that
• the guidelines are enforced?
• How are you going to use these
• resources?

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Next steps

• Download the resources/order supplies
• Review personal safety policy and procedures
• Implement and communicate
• Further training?
• One day personal safety course
• Effective Risk Management

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Finally

• Thank you!