Prime Years Care Agency Limited is committed to protecting the people we support from abuse, neglect, and avoidable harm. We take safeguarding seriously and ensure our staff understand their responsibility to recognise, respond to, and report concerns without delay.
Recognising safeguarding concerns
Safeguarding concerns may include abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, inappropriate treatment, or any situation where a person may be at risk of harm.
⚠️ You do not need to prove that abuse has occurred before raising a concern. A worry or suspicion is enough to report it.
What our staff must do
If a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they must:
- Take immediate action to protect the person from harm.
- Report the concern to the Registered Manager without delay.
- Record factually: Document what they have seen, heard, or been told accurately and objectively.
- Preserve evidence: Retain relevant records and physical evidence where appropriate.
- Do not confront: Never confront an alleged perpetrator or discuss the concern unnecessarily with others.
- Follow procedures: Follow Prime Years Care Agency safeguarding procedures and all relevant local safeguarding board arrangements.
Training and safeguarding responsibilities
Safeguarding is a core component of our staff induction, mandatory training, and ongoing professional development. Our staff are expected and supported to recognise warning signs and report concerns confidently.
Safeguarding audits, incident trends, lessons learned, and improvement actions are reviewed regularly through our internal clinical governance arrangements.
Working with safeguarding partners
Where a safeguarding concern meets the relevant criteria, Prime Years Care Agency Limited will make the appropriate referral to the Derbyshire County Council Adult Care Safeguarding Team and cooperate fully with all safeguarding enquiries.
The Local Authority retains statutory responsibility under the Care Act 2014 for leading or arranging a Section 42 safeguarding enquiry. Our role is to:
- Identify concerns and take immediate action to reduce risk.
- Preserve evidence where appropriate.
- Make timely statutory referrals to the Local Authority and CQC.
- Cooperate fully with multi-agency partners, social workers, and police.
- Implement agreed protection plans and remedial actions.
Our commitment to people we support
We will always seek to protect people's dignity, independence, rights, and choices while taking appropriate action to keep them safe.
Where a safeguarding concern is raised, we will respond promptly, sensitively, transparently, and without prejudice.
Our full Safeguarding Adults Policy
This web page provides an extract from our full Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures. Further information or the full policy document is available upon request to our Registered Manager.
Key Safeguarding Contacts
Prime Years Registered Manager: Debbie Charlesworth • debbie@primeyearscareagency.com
Prime Years Office Phone: 01246 380721
Derbyshire Adult Care Safeguarding: 01629 533 190 (Call Derbyshire)
Emergency (Immediate Danger): 999 | Non-Emergency Police: 101
Policy Approval & Governance
| Organisation: | Prime Years Care Agency Limited |
| Approved by: | Director |
| Date of Approval: | August 2026 |
| Review Frequency: | Reviewed annually or sooner where required. |