Safeguarding
Keeping young people safe is central to everything we do — in education, pastoral support and work placements.
Our commitment
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility
Every young person we work with has the right to feel safe, be heard and be treated with respect. Safeguarding runs through everything we do — from referral and programme planning, through placements, to communication and review — rather than sitting apart as a separate policy.
As with all providers working with children and young people in England, our practice reflects statutory safeguarding guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Who to contact
Designated Safeguarding Leads
If you have a safeguarding concern about a young person GM supports, you can contact any of the leads below directly.
Safeguarding in practice
Clear responsibilities and consistent standards
Safeguarding responsibilities are clear at every level, from day-to-day practice to who to contact with a concern.
Staff DBS checks
All GM staff are required to hold an Enhanced DBS check. Employers GM works with for placements are also required to have Enhanced DBS checks in place.
Staff training
GM staff complete Level 3 safeguarding training annually.
Reporting a concern to GM
If you have a non-emergency safeguarding concern, you can raise it with a member of GM staff, who will escalate it to a Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy DSL. You can also contact a DSL or Deputy DSL directly — see the contact details above.
How concerns are managed
Safeguarding concerns are recorded and managed through GM's safeguarding procedures. Where a referral or notification is required, GM follows the safeguarding process of the relevant local authority, and informs relevant Inclusion Officers and other appropriate professionals where required. GM also works openly with parents and carers where appropriate, provided that doing so doesn't compromise the young person's safety or interfere with an ongoing safeguarding process.
Attendance & welfare monitoring
Attendance is considered alongside a young person's wider welfare and safeguarding needs. Patterns of absence, difficulties making contact, or other welfare concerns may lead to further action — including contacting parents or carers, liaising with the referring school or Education Welfare/Inclusion Officers, welfare checks, seeking advice from the school or local authority, or a safeguarding referral where appropriate. Relevant concerns, actions and follow-up are recorded on CPOMS.
Information sharing
GM uses CPOMS to securely record and monitor safeguarding, attendance and welfare information, including concerns, actions and follow-up. This creates a clear chronological record and supports appropriate information sharing with referring schools, local authorities, Inclusion Officers and other relevant professionals, in line with safeguarding requirements.
Professional boundaries
Professional boundaries are supported by GM policy and covered as part of staff induction. The contents of the policy will be published once approved — see Policies.
Policies & documents
Approved safeguarding and child protection documents will be made available through our Policies page.
Safeguarding in work placements
The same standard, in every setting
Safeguarding considerations apply just as much to a work placement as to a classroom. GM reviews every employer and opportunity before a young person is placed there, and support continues throughout the placement.
About work placementsQuestions about our safeguarding approach?
Schools, commissioners and families are welcome to ask us directly.