Relationship of trust and surveillance in the first national piloting of Contextual Safeguarding in England and Wales

Abstract

This article analyses data collected as part of a three-year study supporting the implementation of Contextual Safeguarding across nine children’s social care teams in England and Wales as an approach to safeguarding adolescents at risk of harm in ‘extra-familial’ contexts. The article asks to what extent the first national testing of Contextual Safeguarding features relationships of trust or relationships of surveillance with young people, families and communities. Data collected for the National Scale Up study are analysed against the Watching Over Working With framework. Findings indicate that further guidance is required to support an uptake of Contextual Safeguarding that aligns with the framework’s values and with children’s rights.