Contextual Safeguarding Practice Guidance

Document status: Controlled policy document. The latest approved version must be held by Street Lights Collective CIC and circulated to all relevant personnel.

This policy sets out how Street Lights Collective CIC understands, identifies, responds to and manages contextual safeguarding risks affecting children and young people who take part in its programmes, events, mentoring, school based delivery, community outreach and NEET Futures activity.

Contextual safeguarding recognises that children and young people can experience harm beyond the family home. Harm may arise in peer groups, schools, estates, parks, online spaces, transport routes, local businesses, shopping areas, youth settings, music and social media spaces, and community locations affected by postcode conflict or serious youth violence.

Street Lights Collective CIC works with young people who may be affected by trauma, violence, exploitation, exclusion, low self worth, social media pressure, unsafe peer networks, school disengagement, family stress and community fear. This policy ensures that our response is structured, legally aware, trauma informed, culturally competent and child centred.

This document must be read alongside the Street Lights Collective CIC Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, Risk Assessment Policy, Incident Reporting Policy, Online Safety and Social Media Policy, Mentoring and Boundaries Policy, NEET Futures Placement Policy, Safer Recruitment Policy and Code of Conduct Policy.

Street Lights Collective CIC operates under the ethos of Presence. Power. Purpose.

Presence means showing up consistently and safely in the places where young people and families need trusted adults, relational support and visible hope.

Power means helping young people, families and communities recognise agency, responsibility and collective capacity to create safer environments.

Purpose means helping young people move beyond survival, postcode identity, harmful peer influence and fear into identity, values, leadership and future direction.

This ethos shapes our contextual safeguarding approach. We do not only ask what has happened to a young person. We also ask where risk is happening, who is influencing it, how the environment is shaping behaviour, what protective relationships are missing, and how the community can be supported to become safer.

Street Lights Collective CIC will have regard to relevant UK safeguarding law, statutory guidance and good practice when applying this policy. This includes, where applicable:

• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 where working with schools or colleges
• Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004
• Modern Slavery Act 2015
• Sexual Offences Act 2003
• Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and Prevent duty guidance where relevant
• Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR
• Local safeguarding children partnership procedures
• Relevant local authority, school and commissioning requirements
• Street Lights is not a statutory safeguarding agency. However, it has a clear duty to act when concerns arise, to share information appropriately, to record concerns accurately, to refer to statutory services when required, and to work with partners to reduce harm.

For the purposes of this policy, contextual safeguarding means understanding and responding to the risk of harm that children and young people may experience outside the family home, including harm created or increased by peer groups, online spaces, schools, neighbourhoods, transport routes, community locations and wider social environments.

Contextual safeguarding does not replace family safeguarding. It expands the safeguarding lens so that practitioners consider the young person’s full world. A young person may be safe at home but unsafe in the community. They may also be unsafe in multiple settings at the same time.

Street Lights will therefore consider both individual risk and environmental risk. The aim is not only to support the young person, but to help reduce the risk within the places, relationships and systems around them.

This policy applies to all Street Lights activity, including:

• Hood Lessons programmes
• TIPS, Theory Into Practical Solutions
• Street Lights Ambassador Programme
• NEET Futures Initiative
• The Unity Tour and Community Blast activity
• Mentoring and group work
• School based delivery
• Community events and festivals
• Youth voice and ambassador activity
• Online sessions, social media and digital communication
• Trips, visits, placements and work experience activity
• Professional training and consultancy where safeguarding information may be shared

Street Lights recognises that contextual safeguarding risks may include the following areas. This list is not exhaustive.

Indicators must be considered carefully and never used to stereotype, label or criminalise a young person. Indicators should be used to support curiosity, safeguarding judgement and early help.

Sudden change in behaviour, mood, attendance, peer group or online activity

Fear of travelling through certain areas or reluctance to attend sessions in specific locations

Possession of unexplained money, phones, clothing, gifts or transport access

Associating with older peers or adults where there is a power imbalance

Repeated injuries, threats, intimidation or unexplained conflict

Carrying weapons or talking about needing protection

Posting or sharing harmful content, threats, weapons, humiliation or postcode references online

Being missing from home, school, care, sessions or placements

Debt, fear, pressure to repay, or references to owing people

Sexualised language, coercive relationships or pressure to share images

Withdrawal from trusted adults or increased secrecy

Sudden disengagement from school, placement, mentoring or family support

Young person appears controlled, coached, fearful or unable to speak freely

Known tensions between areas, schools, estates or peer groups

A young person being described by others using blaming or minimising language

Street Lights will challenge language that minimises harm or blames young people for abuse, exploitation or risk. Language shapes safeguarding decisions. Weak language can lead to weak responses.

Practitioners must use accurate, safeguarding focused language. For example:

Professional curiosity means asking thoughtful questions, noticing patterns, checking assumptions and seeking the wider context before drawing conclusions. It must be respectful, non blaming and rooted in safeguarding concern.

Where concerns arise, Street Lights may use contextual risk mapping to understand where, how and why risk is occurring. This must be proportionate and must not become surveillance of young people.

Risk mapping may consider:

• Locations where the young person feels unsafe
• Travel routes to school, home, sessions, placements or community activities
• Peer groups and group dynamics
• Online platforms, group chats and social media triggers
• Known community tensions or postcode conflict
• Adults or older peers who may be influencing the young person
• Protective adults, safe spaces and trusted organisations
• Times of day when risk increases
• Recent incidents, threats, rumours or social media posts
• School, family and community protective factors
• Any risk map containing personal information must be treated as sensitive safeguarding information and stored securely.

All contextual safeguarding concerns must be reported to the DSL as soon as possible. If a child or young person is in immediate danger, emergency services must be contacted without delay.

Where contextual risk is identified, a safety plan may be required. The DSL, programme lead and relevant partners should agree the safety plan based on the level of risk.

A safety plan may include:

• Safe arrival and departure arrangements
• Changes to session location or timing
• Safe adults identified by the young person
• Transport or route planning
• Avoiding known flashpoints or conflict locations
• Clear contact arrangements with parents, carers or referrers
• Information sharing with school, social care, police or other partners where appropriate
• Online safety actions, such as blocking, reporting, privacy settings or screenshot preservation
• Reviewing whether attendance at a group session may increase risk
• Increasing supervision at events or activities
• Referral to specialist support or statutory safeguarding services
• Safety plans must be reviewed regularly and immediately after any significant incident or change in risk.

Street Lights must consider contextual safeguarding when planning group membership, session locations, timing and supervision. Bringing young people together can be powerful, but it can also increase risk where there are existing conflicts, exploitation concerns or unsafe peer dynamics.

Assess whether any young people should not be placed in the same group

Consider postcode conflict, school conflict, peer harm or online disputes

Ensure clear behaviour and safety expectations are set

Use trauma informed engagement without allowing unsafe behaviour to continue

Ensure adults know how to respond to disclosures or escalation

Have clear arrival, break time and departure arrangements

Record concerns and patterns after sessions

Ensure mentoring does not become an unstructured private relationship

Online environments are real contexts in young people’s lives. Harm online can escalate into offline harm, and offline conflict can be amplified online.

Street Lights will treat online concerns as safeguarding concerns where they involve threat, exploitation, harassment, grooming, coercion, humiliation, sexual images, violence, weapons, bullying, doxxing, postcode conflict or pressure from peers.

Staff and volunteers must not use personal social media accounts for mentoring or youth contact unless formally agreed and risk assessed

Direct messaging with young people must follow the Online Safety and Social Media Policy

Screenshots of concerns should be preserved where safe and appropriate

Online threats must be assessed for possible real world risk

Youth generated content must never be shared, reposted or used for engagement if it may increase risk

Young people must be supported to understand digital reputation, privacy, grooming and group pressure

Community events, outreach, the Unity Tour, Community Blast activity and public programmes require contextual safeguarding planning before delivery. Positive public engagement can build trust, but it must be planned carefully when operating in areas affected by serious youth violence or community tensions.

Event planning must consider:

• Known local tensions, postcode conflict and recent incidents
• Venue safety and exit routes
• Stewarding and adult supervision
• Arrival and dispersal arrangements
• Social media promotion and whether it could attract conflict
• Police, local authority or community safety liaison where appropriate
• Safeguarding roles and escalation process on the day
• First aid and emergency arrangements
• Photography, filming and consent risks
• Support for children and young people who may disclose harm during the event

Young people who are at risk of becoming, or who are already, not in education, employment or training may face increased contextual risk through isolation, low confidence, unsafe adults, financial pressure, exploitation, unsuitable workplaces or lack of supervision.

Before any placement or pathway activity, Street Lights must consider:

• Employer suitability and due diligence
• Health and safety arrangements
• Safeguarding arrangements and named contact at the placement
• Travel arrangements and unsafe routes
• Reasonable adjustments and support needs
• The young person’s readiness and consent
• Parent or carer consent where required
• Risk of exploitation, unpaid labour or unsafe adult behaviour
• Clear reporting route if the young person feels unsafe
• Review meetings and feedback from the young person

Parents and carers are often key protective adults. Street Lights will seek to work with parents and carers where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

However, the Organisation recognises that some young people may be at risk within the home, or may fear consequences if information is shared with parents or carers. Decisions about information sharing must therefore be based on safeguarding judgement, the young person’s welfare, legal duties and advice from the DSL.

Street Lights will seek to strengthen family understanding of contextual risk, including social media harm, postcode conflict, exploitation, peer pressure, trauma responses, emotional regulation and safe support strategies.

Contextual safeguarding requires partnership. Street Lights may need to work with:

• Parents and carers
• Schools and colleges
• Children’s social care
• Police and community safety teams
• Youth offending or youth justice services
• Local safeguarding partners
• Health and mental health services
• Housing providers
• Employers and placement providers
• Faith groups and community organisations
• Specialist exploitation, violence reduction or domestic abuse services
• Partnership working must be purposeful and proportionate. Information should be shared on a need to know basis when it supports safeguarding, safety planning or risk reduction.

Information sharing must follow the Street Lights Data Protection Policy and Safeguarding Policy. Data protection law does not prevent safeguarding information from being shared where sharing is necessary, proportionate and in the interests of protecting a child or young person from harm.

Street Lights will share information when:

• There is risk of significant harm
• A young person may be subject to exploitation or abuse
• There is risk to others
• Emergency services or statutory safeguarding services need information to protect life or prevent harm
• A school, placement provider or partner needs information to manage an immediate safeguarding risk
• The DSL has determined that sharing is necessary and proportionate
• Where safe and appropriate, young people and parents or carers should be informed about information sharing. However, they should not be informed where doing so may increase risk, compromise an investigation, or place anyone in danger.

All relevant Street Lights personnel must receive safeguarding induction and be introduced to contextual safeguarding expectations. Those working directly with children and young people must receive role appropriate training and supervision.

Training should include:

• Recognising contextual safeguarding risks
• Serious youth violence, exploitation and county lines
• Online harm and social media escalation
• Peer on peer harm and sexual harassment
• Trauma informed practice and professional boundaries
• Recording concerns and using accurate language
• Referral routes and DSL escalation
• Dynamic risk assessment in community settings
• Cultural competence and anti discriminatory practice
• Supervision must give practitioners space to reflect on risk, bias, emotional impact, boundaries, professional curiosity and safeguarding decisions.

Contextual risk can change quickly. Staff, practitioners and volunteers must use dynamic risk assessment during sessions, events and outreach.

Dynamic risk assessment means noticing changes in the environment and responding immediately. This may include:

• A group arriving unexpectedly
• A young person becoming fearful or agitated
• Online threats emerging during an activity
• Local tension or police activity nearby
• A disclosure of weapon carrying or planned retaliation
• A young person leaving suddenly or being followed
• A parent, peer or adult creating a concern at the venue
• An unsafe travel or dispersal situation
• If risk increases, staff must prioritise safety, seek support, contact emergency services if needed, inform the DSL, and record the incident.

Street Lights personnel must apply the following practice standards:

• See the child or young person as more than their risk
• Listen carefully and take concerns seriously
• Use language that protects rather than blames
• Consider the places, people and online spaces influencing the young person
• Do not make promises of secrecy
• Do not investigate or confront alleged perpetrators
• Do not share unnecessary personal information
• Do not glamorise, normalise or platform violence
• Do not use social media engagement in a way that creates risk
• Do not allow community trust to override safeguarding duties
• Act early rather than waiting for crisis
• Record, report and review concerns

Street Lights will review contextual safeguarding practice through safeguarding reports, incident reviews, supervision, programme evaluations, risk assessments and Board oversight.

The DSL and Board should consider patterns such as:

• Repeat locations of concern
• Repeat peer group risks
• Online escalation patterns
• Events or activities where risk increased
• Transport or route concerns
• Barriers to young people reporting harm
• Concerns around partners, placements or venues
• Training needs for staff, volunteers or practitioners
• Learning must be used to strengthen policy, training, supervision, partnerships, risk assessment and programme design.

Failure to follow this policy may result in action under the Code of Conduct Policy, Volunteer Policy, Safer Recruitment Policy, Complaints and Whistleblowing Policy, or relevant contractual arrangements.

Where a breach creates safeguarding risk, the matter must be escalated immediately to the DSL or a Director. Where the concern relates to the DSL, it must be reported to a Director. Where the concern relates to a Director, it must be reported to another Director or appropriate external authority.

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors and the Designated Safeguarding Lead. It will also be reviewed sooner where there is a serious safeguarding incident, legal update, new statutory guidance, significant programme change, new delivery context or identified learning from practice.

Approved by Street Lights Collective CIC.