Prof Michelle Lefevre

A new independent evaluation of the implementation of a contextual safeguarding system in a London borough has been published by the Department for Education (DfE).

The evaluation, led by the University of Sussex in partnership with Research in Practice, was funded by the second round of the DfE’s Innovation Programme.

Contextual safeguarding theory provides a framework upon which to develop systems to address extra-familial risk and harm (EFRH) experienced by young people outside the family home, such as child sexual and criminal exploitation, peer-on-peer abuse, and gang affiliation.

Developed by Dr Carlene Firmin and her colleagues at the University of Bedfordshire, the contextual safeguarding framework extends assessment and intervention beyond its traditional safeguarding focus on the family towards friendship groups, communities, real world spaces and virtual environments which can be more influential for adolescents.

As part of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the DfE commissioned a research team led by Professor Michelle Lefevre from the University of Sussex, in collaboration with researchers from Research in Practice, to evaluate a pilot of this new approach to understanding and responding to young people’s experiences of risk and harm in the London Borough of Hackney.

The evaluation was conducted over two years and the conclusions were promising.

Prof Lefevre said: “Contextual Safeguarding was able to provide a workable framework on which a new system in Hackney to address extra-familial risk and harm could be built. There are also some early indications that it can influence practice positively – staff felt more confident and there was evidence of culture change.

"It is too soon to see whether the new system could result in improved experiences and outcomes for young people and their families. Innovation takes time, and more generous timescales need to be allowed for by planners and funders.”