Local Protocols
There are Berkshire Multi-agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures to ensure that staff respond consistently and appropriately to all concerns of abuse and neglect. Staff and managers should refer to these as well as to additional guidance documents produced by the Board and local partner agencies.
To support implementation of these policies and procedures. The partnership have also developed a number of Local Protocols that cover the West of Berkshire (Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham).
Launched in December 2023, the Missing People Multi-Agency Response Guidance has been created by the in response to learning from missing incidents in the West of Berkshire. It aims to provide more clarity on the circumstances that should trigger action by professionals to find and safeguard someone by including the context of risk.
In response from learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews the West of Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board have created a guide to support professionals in understanding the pathways for multi-agency planning when supporting people with care and support needs.
In response to learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews, the West of Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board have produced guidance to support best practice when conducting Multi-agency strategy discussions/meetings.
In response to learning from SAR’s the West of Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board have developed guidance to support potential referrers of safeguarding concerns in their decision making.
What do referrers need to consider before deciding to raise an adult safeguarding concern.
In May 2023 the Boards Performance and Quality Subgroup completed a review of the Quality Assurance Framework.
Practitioners, managers and providers should refer to the Berkshire Safeguarding Adult Policy and Procedures. Speak with your local Safeguarding Team for help and advice if you have a concern.
There is a form to help people raise a concern with the Safeguarding Team in the Council: Safeguarding Adults Concern Form.
Safeguarding concerns can also be raised directly with each Local Authority using an online form.
To report concerns about adults living in Reading, use Reading Borough Council’s web report form.
To report concerns about adults living in West Berkshire, use West Berkshire Council’s web report form.
To report concerns about adults living in Wokingham, use Wokingham Borough Council’s web report form.
South Central Ambulance have produced a helpful guide on remembering to use the S.A.F.E.G.U.A.R.D Acronym when completing a safeguarding concern
Is a document that has been developed by Reading Borough Council, West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council, to support a shared understanding of decision making for adult safeguarding. The document can be found here.
Supporting Agencies in the Management of Complex Multi Agency Enquiries.
In response to the learning from the Safeguarding Adult Review, Adam the partnership has introduced this protocol. Its objective is to help Local Authorities and the Police manage cases where there is a joint safeguarding enquiry and Complex Criminal Investigation.
The partnership acknowledges that when such investigations are running parallel there will be complex, competing demands, with agencies making decisions regarding information sharing, which significantly impact on the other parties involved. The overarching priority of all of those involved in the investigations must be to protect those whose circumstances triggered the concerns, and others subsequently identified during the enquiries from further harm.
This protocol has been developed so that once a complex joint investigation has been instigated, there is clear, identified, senior oversight, from staff within the respective organisations not directly involved with the investigations, who will be able to objectively support the operational teams regarding resourcing, information sharing protocols, and the management of the investigations.
Has been created to support professionals across the West of Berkshire in their decision making when considering if a safeguarding concern should be raised in response to concerns in regard to vulnerable adults that are or are at risk of self-neglecting and/or hoarding. On completion of the toolkit a total risk score will be obtained and advice on what action should be taken in regard to the total score is provided. There are two example toolkits based on fictious cases; Mr. Brown and Mrs. Red, please refer to for best practice examples of completed toolkits.
The Care Act 2014 requires the local authority, its relevant partners and those providing universal care and support services, to have clear policies for dealing with allegations against people in positions of trust i.e. anyone working in either a paid or unpaid capacity with adults with care and support needs. The people in position of trusts (PIPOTS) may be people who are employed and work with or voluntarily undertake activity with adults or children (for example where an employee/worker/volunteer has been accused of the abuse or neglect of an adult with care and support needs. The Framework can be found on our Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedure website here.
Thames Valley Police, have created a video to assist professionals to be mindful of those rare cases of where members of TVP abuse their positions by forming improper relationships. The video can be found here.
On the 22nd October 2020, Thames Valley Police, Counter Corruption Unit, hosted a virtual event on Abuse of Position the presentation can be found here.
In response to the learning identified in the Adam SAR the Board has developed a best practice guide for out of area reviews. The aim of this document is to provide clarity and best practice guidance to staff when they are carrying out reviews for people who are placed in out of area supported living, residential or nursing home care. The guide can be found here.
Effective working together depends on an open and honest approach to relationships between agencies. Problem resolution is an integral part of professional co-operation in a multi-agency approach to safeguard adults. Occasionally situations arise when an agency feel that the actions, inaction or decisions of another agency do not adequately safeguard an adult at risk of abuse or neglect. Such situations have been highlighted in several Safeguarding Adult Reviews. This multi-agency guidance defines the process for resolving such professional differences, when a case meets the statutory criteria for safeguarding adults , and should be read alongside Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures as well as relevant internal organisation policies on escalating matters in dispute.
Click here for the escalation policy.
A word version of the stage 4 referral form can be found here.
The Pan Berkshire Policies and Procedures Subgroup have produced a best practice guide for the partnership outlining the role of the Enquiry Officer and the ‘accountable person’ in a S42 enquiry. Please note that the ‘accountable person’ may be referred to as a Safeguarding Adults Manager or (SAM) Designated Safeguarding Managers (DSMs). The guide can be found here.
The Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group have produced a tool to aid practitioners to understand/establish the level of concern they may have following discussions with an individual. The document can be found here.
Good practice guide – checklist and links to support practitioners in working together.
This protocol sets out the recognition that when people present, or are presented, to the Police in a mental ill health crisis state, working together with health and social care partners is both a necessity and a priority. All professionals agree to ensure that the welfare and dignity of the patient is at the heart of any negotiation. The Protocol can be found here.
The Information Sharing Protocol covers all of the agencies that form the West of Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Board in the three local authority areas of Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham. It provides a framework for making decisions about sharing information in order to help protect vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse or neglect. The Protocol offers guidance to front-line staff in assessing possible risk to adults, and in balancing the risk against the rights to confidentiality and privacy.
Templates and guidance for staff to use when carrying out audits: Multi-agency Audit Framework Strategy, Audit Tool and Audit Outcomes Template.