C20242217 Colleague Safeguarding and support services

Description

Ofcom has a requirement for a package of support for colleagues working with Distressing Content and Material. The current key principles of this approach are:

1.	Risk Assess the Role - Directors will assess the relevant role to understand the risk presented by the work and assign a role risk tier (high or low).
2.	Understand the Individual - We recognise that what could cause distress or negatively affect people varies from person to person and that individuals have different needs when it comes to managing working with DCM safely.  
o	Where colleagues are in High Tier roles, their individual needs are assessed through an annual psychological screening and assessment with an external provider, along with any specific needs they self-identify. 
o	For Low Tier roles, individual needs are only self-identified. 
3.	Provide tailored support - Support will include in-role support, expert assessment and clinical support provided by our external provider as appropriate.
4.	Monitor and review - Relevant roles will be monitored to understand changes in the nature of the risk that might require roles to be reassessed. We also recognise that the needs of colleagues may change over time, and the support available will be adjusted accordingly.
Enhanced support:
Colleagues may be identified as requiring enhanced support for them to conduct their roles safely and will be offered biannual psychological screening.  Examples of when a colleague may access enhanced support include:
-	Our external provider (as identified through this tender process) recommends enhanced support after a psychological screening and assessment.  
-	The colleague identifies that they require more support to complete the work safely. 
-	The need for more support is identified by a line manager during a safeguarding conversation or wellbeing conversation during a 1:1 
-	Managers may pre-emptively request Enhanced Support an individual colleague or whole team to if a role or piece of work is felt to be very high risk This should be done with the approval of a Director. 
-	If a colleague notifies their managers that they are pregnant, that they have given birth, or their partner has given birth in the last 6 months.

Ofcom requires a package of external specialist support to accompany this strategy and policy by providing psychological screening and assessment for colleagues, to identify the tailored support that they need to do their role safely, trauma therapy for those identified as requiring clinical support and training to support Line Managers to successfully deliver this policy.