OSCAR Safeguarding is a joint initiative of OSCN and Holistic Safeguarding
You’ll see from the video discussion that OSCAR Safeguarding gives the our sector a broader and more comprehensive approach to child safety and wellbeing. It will also bring us much closer to international best practice.
OSCN hopes to see safeguarding embedded as standard practice across the whole OSCAR sector and that collectively, we achieve a higher level of organisational safety:
- the whole organisation practices safeguarding systematically, transparently and in an integrated way, connecting through all parts of the organisation: in policy, in training, in recruitment and in programme delivery
- these practices extend to all levels: management, staff, children and whānau, ‘holistically’ and as a shared responsibility
- individuals staff are supported by the organisational structures when applying safeguarding practices and expectations in their everyday role.
A safeguarding approach will help our programmes make a broad, positive impact on the well-being of all the children we work with, while also having robust processes to respond to concerns about individual children.
"The training gave us the ability to deal with a child protection situation that occurred in our centre.
Although these moments are difficult to deal with, having background knowledge, and participating in scenarios during the training,
we felt confident writing reports, and using the correct terminology to capture all the information required to assist with the case.
We are also able to put future safeguards in place to ensure incidents similar to this do not occur again."
Getting started with safeguarding
While this might sound like a lot for to take on, we want to make safeguarding knowledge and expertise accessible. We are mindful that the majority of OSCAR services are small entities and across the whole sector budgets are very tight. So keep your process in proportion to your organisation.
Even small steps can help make a shift in programme culture. Start by building your knowledge about safeguarding - we have options for professional development for both frontline staff and for people in more senior roles (see below). These are OSCAR-focused courses and most are delivered by experienced OSCAR practitioners.
We also have resources accessible on-line, many of which are freely available (see below) and some that require an OSCN membership. A membership ($90 annually) also gives your organisation access to discounted course fees, our growing eLearning library and a friendly and supportive social media community. More information on membership
You don't have to be a member to get our help. We are happy to provide expert professional advice on all things OSCAR, including getting a programme started. We've been doing this for over thirty years and we know our stuff! All your questions are answered promptly, with no obligation to take up membership. Email OSCN
