Coercive control is a pattern of isolating, monitoring, controlling and threatening someone until they lose their freedom. This guide explains the examples and signs, how it affects older people and adults with care needs, the law in England and Wales (section 76 and the April 2023 change), Scotland and Northern Ireland, and what care workers, colleagues and employers should do.
Making Safeguarding Personal means adult safeguarding is person-led and outcome-focused: done with the person, not to them. This guide explains the Care Act 2014 guidance wording, what it looks like in practice, how it works with mental capacity and advocacy, when staff must still act if the person says no, and four worked examples.
Market stalls and food vans follow the same food hygiene law as any food business, plus specific rules for movable and temporary premises: hand washing, clean water, cleanable surfaces, waste, temperature control and protected food. Register with your council at least 28 days before trading; street trading permission is separate.
A deputy designated safeguarding lead shares the day-to-day safeguarding work in a school or college and covers when the DSL is unavailable. This guide explains what KCSIE 2026 says about deputies, whether every school needs one, what a deputy does day to day, the difference between a DSL and a deputy, what cannot be delegated, who should be a deputy, training every two years with an annual refresh, handover and record keeping, working with local safeguarding partners, support and wellbeing, early years, colleges and out-of-school settings, and a checklist for new deputies.
Child-on-child abuse is abuse of a child by another child, in or outside school or online. This guide explains the forms listed in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and what changed, why it should never be dismissed as banter, why it is under-reported, the signs to look for, nudes and online abuse, the upskirting offence, how staff should respond to a report, the designated safeguarding lead’s role, when to involve children’s social care or the police, supporting both children involved, and what a whole-school approach looks like.
Use podium steps when a job needs both hands, takes more than a few minutes or means climbing up and down repeatedly; use a stepladder for light, short, low-risk jobs where you can keep a handhold. Podium steps have guardrails and a gate, so under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 it is the stepladder that has to be justified.
Organisational abuse is neglect and poor care practice that comes from the way a care service is run, whether in a care home, a hospital or someone’s own home. It featured in 11,295 safeguarding enquiries concluded in England in 2024 to 2025. This guide covers the legal definition, examples, CQC’s closed-culture warning signs, Winterbourne View and Whorlton Hall, and who to report to.
EN 131 is the British and European standard for portable ladders. The revised version, in force from January 2019 according to the Ladder Association, replaced Class 1, the older EN 131 trade rating and Class 3 with two classes: EN 131 Professional and Non-Professional. Both carry a 150 kg maximum total load, but Professional ladders pass tougher strength and durability tests and are the ones to buy for work.
Financial abuse of an adult at risk is theft, fraud, pressure or misuse involving the money, property or benefits of an adult with care and support needs. It featured in nearly 1 in 5 statutory safeguarding enquiries concluded in England in 2024 to 2025, and is usually committed by someone the person knows. This guide covers the signs, scams, misuse of powers of attorney, gifts to carers, and who to report to.
Early help means supporting a child and family as soon as a problem emerges, before it becomes a child protection concern. In England it is a statutory expectation under Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and KCSIE 2026, which now call the targeted level Family Help. This guide explains who may benefit, the signs to look for, consent, early help assessments, local thresholds, the difference between early help, child in need and child protection, the designated safeguarding lead’s role, the new information sharing duty, what to record, and how Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ.
