One of the best ways of learning and bringing about change is reviewing past mistakes, near misses and blind spots in relation to safeguarding.

You will learn more about carrying out impartial safeguarding investigations into alleged misconduct in unit 3. Such investigations not only address the misconduct but can serve to eliminate further risk. Investigations can be carried out even if the survivor or victim wishes to remain anonymous, since it is the action/behaviour that is being investigated and not the Subject(s) of the Complaint personally.

Investigations into near misses allow an organisation to understand how the policies and practices worked, ‘just’, but also to identify the weaknesses and breaking points that could lead to a very different outcome next time. Blind spots are where signs of risk are missed, or data is not collected or analysed effectively.