London Safeguarding Children Board

Members Login Area

Olympics

Safeguarding children at London 2012

In August 2011, the London Safeguarding Children Board and London Councils commissioned a report to consider whether the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will raise specific safeguarding children issues and, if so, the extent to which this will place an additional burden on London’s local authority children’s services.

The report (Safeguarding children during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Scoping Study) has now been circulated to all London LSCBs, and makes a number of recommendations aimed towards mitigating any safeguarding children risks that may arise.

Representatives from the Olympic host boroughs met recently with senior officers from the Metropolitan Police to begin planning the more detailed operational response that will be put in place in response to these recommendations, with particular reference to children identified within the wider Olympic footprint. A full proposal will be circulated to all London LSCBs and partner agencies towards the end of November / early December 2011, and an information pack for LSCBs will follow in early 2012.

Members of the London Board’s Safe Games for Children training subgroup, led by Bernadette Boland (Ealing LSCB) and made up of four London LSCB training co-ordinators and volunteers from the Met Police, NSPCC, the Red Cross and Children and Families Across Borders (formerly International Social Services UK) have also now developed a training pack for volunteers. The pack has been developed to assist trainers when training POD managers, mentors and volunteers.

Four “train the trainer” sessions have also been arranged for those with responsibility for training, to be delivered free of charge at the Red Cross headquarters in Moorgate. These will take place on Monday 28 November 2011 and Friday 17 February 2012 (morning and afternoon), and can be booked through bolandb@ealing.gov.uk (subject to availability).

Finally, the London Board are continuing to speak to the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) and have spent time providing expert input to their own internal safeguarding policies.

London Board Olympics Subgroup

This group is chaired by Philip Ishola from the Harrow Council. Membership comprises the Olympic LSCBs, other interested LSCBs, the Metropolitan Police Service (SCD5 and SCD9) and representatives from the voluntary and community sector (ECPAT UK, Refugee Council, Children’s Society, Stop the Traffik).

The group is in place to ensure that London LSCBs and partner agencies are prepared for the potential challenges around safeguarding children at the 2012 Games and to influence the Olympics delivery agencies in relation to prioritising the safeguarding children in planning and delivering the Games.

The group last met on 22 March and has now identified a range of key safeguarding issues to be taken into account by all agencies in preparing for the Olympics. This includes the need for child protection rapid response capacity at the Olympic Park and other venues and transport hubs and appropriate safeguarding training for volunteers and their managers. The group has also make links with the City Operations programme (GLA) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Human Trafficking in relation to the 2012 Games network. The network had asked that the London Board Olympics Subgroup act as its children and young people’s subgroup.

Future meeting dates are as follows (all at London Councils, 59½ Southwark Street, 10.00 - 12.00):