Clearly this is an area that dominates one of the core AMBIT stance elements, which is Managing Risk - often seen as the more active/interventionist/paternalistic "partner" of the other principle that Working with your CLIENT is guided by, Scaffolding existing relationships. Sometimes, in our enthusiasm to engage with the world and relationships that our clients live in - and to scaffold these in ways that are as strengths-focused as possible, we can find ourselves drawn unintentionally into ignoring, or decreasing the priority that should be given to the very real risks that exist. This, we argue, is at the heart of the many dilemmas that field working practitioners negotiate constantly in their work.

For Local Adaptation:

See Child Protection for more info on this area (which will need adaptation by local teams to reflect local practices).

This page is for local teams to add details of local CP/Safeguarding services, including contact details.

Supporting Other Models of Practice

If existing Safeguarding practices are already in place it is absolutely crucial that AMBIT is not seen, or used, as a "rival model" - this would be a serious mis-use of AMBIT, and seriously non-mentalizing. It would also directly contradict one of the Core Features of AMBIT which is the stance principle that workers must Respect local practice and expertise.

An example: Signs of Safety

For instance, an allied area of practice that is quite widely used in this area, and which we think AMBIT has a particularly good "fit" with, is the Signs of Safety program, which originated in Australia but has traveled internationally. Where this program is already implemented in an area it would be entirely in keeping with AMBIT that it should seek to scaffold the existing relationships that this prior training will have established AND NOT TO UNDERMINE THEM! In this case, the material under Managing Risk would be dominated by existing Signs of Safety practice and procedures and AMBIT would seek to enrich and augment the culture that this program helps to define.