This page provides a summary of how to use the South Tyneside Safeguarding Adults Board Adult Policies, Procedures and Practice (APPP) site.
Contents
- Finding your way around this Resource
- Accessibility Options
- Using the APPP Resource on Smartphones and Tablets
- Adding Shortcuts to the APPP
- Resources
- Amendments
- Date of Next Revision
- Search
- Register for APPP Update Notifications
- Copyright
Finding your way around this Resource
This site is structured into different sections.
This site is divided into different sections. On the home page there are four tiles:
- Safeguarding Adults Procedures – contains the Safeguarding Adults policies, procedures and practice guidance;
- Are you worried about someone? – information on how to share concerns about an adult.
- Useful Links – links to the most commonly used local web pages for South Tyneside staff;
- Forms, Leaflets and Posters – forms which can be used to access support and share information, as well as materials to raise awareness of safeguarding adults issues, including seven minute briefings.
When you are in the Safeguarding Adults Procedures section, there are a number of tabs on the left side of the screen when viewed on larger screens or by clicking on the lined box in the top right corner on smaller screens (such as phones or tablets):
- Using this APPP Resource gives information about using this site, and Register with Us to receive notification when this APPP is updated;
- Contents contains the policies, procedures and practice guidance chapters. These are divided into sections which can be viewed by clicking on the arrow on the right of ‘Contents’;
- Resources provides a range of relevant supporting information. The different sections can also be viewed by clicking on the arrow on the right of ‘Resources’;
- Contact has a contact form for you to send a message to the Safeguarding Adults Board if you have a comment or suggestion you wish to make.
Accessibility Options
This portal has a number of different options to aid online reading. Using the ‘Accessibility’ drop-down menu on the left-side of the screen, you can change to green, blue or pink backgrounds, yellow text on a black background or you can return to the default setting.
You can also resize the website by pressing CTRL and + together to make the site larger, you can keep pressing this to increase the zoom level. Pressing CTRL and – together makes the site smaller. This is a feature built into your web browser, known as in-browser zooming, and so depending on the browser you’re using the controls may be different.
In addition, the site is designed to be accessible for users of text only and screen reader software programs which allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. Our content is consistently structured, including headings, which makes using the software on our site easier. Also, when viewed through screen reader software, every page has a ‘Skip to main content’ link which allows software users to go straight to the main content of that page instead of receiving the full navigation options every time. Please share this information with blind or visually impaired colleagues.
Using the APPP Resource on Smartphones and Tablets
This resource works well on smartphones and tablets by typing in the weblink in the internet address bar. When used on a smartphone, the APPP will immediately convert into a mobile friendly version..
Adding Shortcuts to the APPP
You can easily access the APPP by installing a shortcut on your device, which will directly open up your internet browser to the APPP portal. You can do so using the following methods:
- on desktop / laptops: go to the homepage of the APPP portal website in your internet browser, then bookmark it using your browser’s bookmark feature. Open your browser’s list of bookmarked websites and drag the APPP bookmark onto the desktop of your device.
- on smartphones / tablets : go to the homepage of the APPP portal website in your internet browser, and do the following:
- On Android devices – click the three dots, and select ‘add to home screen‘.
- On iOS / Apple – click the share icon
, scroll down the page and select ‘add to home screen‘
Resources
The Resources section contains a number of links and documents to supplement the information in the chapters. It includes
- Briefings – written by the Policy Partners Project and our associates to reflect current issues or recently released research reports;
- Case Law and LGSCO Reports – information about recent significant court cases and key complaint investigation reports from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman;
- Case Studies – populated by case studies from the Care and Support Statutory Guidance;
- CQC Assessment Framework – information about the assessment framework which the CQC will use to inspect providers, local authorities and integrated care systems;
- Easy Reads – links to easy read information for people with care and support needs;
- Safeguarding Adults Forms, Leaflets and Posters – forms which can be used to access support and share information, as well as materials to raise awareness of safeguarding adults issues.
- Glossary – definitions and key terms used;
- Legislation – links to relevant legislation;
- National Guidance and Inquiries – links to national guidance, particularly from ADASS, LGA and SCIE and inquiry reports;
- Organisations – links to websites for relevant national organisations;
- Provider Resources – links to guidance and other information and national organisations who provide services and support to provider services;
- Safeguarding Adults Review Reports – links to significant SARs.
Amendments
If you want to make any changes to any chapters or write a new chapter, please Contact Us to discuss your ideas.
With each revised edition of this APPP, we indicate which chapters are new or have been updated. This information is available in the table below and at the top of each relevant chapter. Where chapters have had specific sections amended, this will be detailed. If there are a number of changes throughout the chapter, it will state that the chapter should be re-read.
May 2025
| Changes Made | Details |
| Safeguarding Adults Reviews / SARs | the North East SARs Quality Markers Checklist has been added. The Quality Markers are a benchmarking tool to support those who commission, conduct and quality assure SARs. They cover the whole process with the aim of providing a consistent approach to producing good high-quality SARs. |
April 2025
| Changes Made | Details |
| Types of Abuse and Neglect | Section 2.13, Organisational abuse has been updated to include information on closed communities, and Section 2.12 Neglect and acts of omission has been updated to cover best practice in supporting carers who are struggling / may unintentionally neglect the adult they are caring for. |
| Mental Capacity | A new Section 3.2 Who should carry out a mental capacity assessment? has been added, to provide information on which practitioners can carry out mental capacity assessments. |
| Stalking | This new chapter provides an overview of stalking behaviours and the Stalking Protection Orders Statutory guidance. |
| Working with Adults with Learning Disabilities | This new chapter contains best practice for working with adults with learning disabilities, including how to empower people they can recognise and understand any risks they may face and know what to do if they have concerns or are frightened about someone else. |
February 2025
| Changes Made | Details |
| Professional Curiosity | A link to the NEW Professional Curiosity Resource developed by the National SAB Business Manager Network has been added. The resource emphasises that professional curiosity is everyone’s business and includes practical examples of ways in which practitioners can build relationships with adults, by using communication skills, asking questions, listening and focusing on the person and their responses. |
| Safeguarding Adults Forms, Leaflets and Posters | An updated version of the Northumbria Police Partner Information / Intelligence Submission Form has been added. The form can be used by multi-agency practitioners to share intelligence with Northumbria Police that may help in the prevention and detection of crime. |
| Domestic Abuse | This practice guidance has been reviewed throughout and extensively updated. New sections on the impact of domestic abuse, how adults with care and support needs are affected and barriers to seeking help have been added. |
| Assessing and Managing Risk | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout. Information on positive risk taking and strengths-based approaches have been added. |
| Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards | Section 4, Restrictions and Restraint has been updated to reference the LGA and ADASS publication Promoting less restrictive practice: reducing restrictions tool for practitioners and reinforces the importance of ensuring that least restrictive practice principles are being followed. |
| Executive Function | This new guidance provides an overview of executive function and how it can impact mental capacity assessments. It also includes practice points to help support adults who have impaired executive function. |
January 2025
| New Content | Detail |
| Choking (Adults) -Learning Brief | This new learning brief summarises the risks of choking for elderly and disabled people. It then goes on to describe steps which carers can take to prevent the risk of choking, including how to assess risks and develop personalised care plans. |
December 2024
| New Content | Detail |
| Hypothermia: Recognition and Prevention | Hypothermia is a serious medical condition in which a person’s body temperature falls below the usual level (>35ºC) as a result of being in severe cold for a long time. This briefing note providers guidance for practitioners on: signs and symptoms; safeguarding considerations; immediate treatment; and tips for safety and prevention. |
November 2024
| Updated Chapter | Detail |
| Mental Capacity | A link to the South Tyneside Council Mental Capacity Assessment Form has been added. This form can be used by staff in any organisation when completing a capacity assessment, unless their organisation has an existing assessment form in place. |
October 2024
| Updated Chapters | Detail |
| Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) | New Best practice guidance on the Interface between SARs and Coronial Processes has been added to this chapter. The guidance has been developed by the National Safeguarding Adults Board Manager Network in response to feedback from Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) and learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) that the interface between SARs and Coronial Processes can be difficult to navigate. The guidance aims to help identify how, when, and why joint working might be requested and/or required and helpful. The aim is to minimise delays in respective statutory processes, as well as keeping one another informed regarding the decision-making process. |
September 2024
| Updated Chapters | Detail |
| Adults who go Missing | The Northumbria Missing Adults Protocol (2024) which provides guidance for police and partner agency staff about the joint response to adults at risk of, or who have gone missing, has been updated. |
| South Tyneside Multi Agency Information Sharing Agreement | The information sharing agreement, which supports lawful information sharing between agencies to protect adults at risk from abuse has been updated. |
| Escalation and Challenge Protocol | This protocol has been reviewed by the Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Partnership and updated as required. |
| Adults Vulnerable to Radicalisation and Violent Extremism | This guidance which contains information for practitioners on how to respond to concerns that an adult is being radicalised. |
| Delegation of Local Authority Functions | This chapter has been reviewed and updated to include information on the Health and Care Act 2022. |
August 2024
| New and Updated Chapters | Detail |
| Stage 1: Concerns | Section 5, Referral to the Local Authority has been updated to include two flowcharts: South Tyneside Safeguarding Adults Procedures, Summary of Stages and South Tyneside Safeguarding Adults Process Flowchart. |
| Forced Marriage | Section 4, Adults with Care and Support Needs has been updated to reference information produced by the Forced Marriage Unit and ADASS. Appendix 1, which is new and based on the finding in the case of AG (Welfare: FMPO), Re [2024] EWCOP 18, lists suggested questions which can be helpful for practitioners to use if they have concerns about proposed overseas travel plans: A link to a forced marriage easy read published by the Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also been added. |
| Disclosure and Barring | Section 3.4, If someone does not disclose their convictions as part of the application process, is new. |
| Working with People who have Lasting Power of Attorney | This new guidance covers why it is important to find out if there is a ‘lasting power of attorney’ (LPA) or ‘deputyship’ when working with an adult who does not have mental capacity. |
| Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court | This new chapter, explains the inherent jurisdiction and how it can be used to safeguard adults who the Courts describe as ‘capacitous but vulnerable’. |
| Serious Violence Duty | This new chapter provides an overview of the Serious Violence Duty and links to the Northumbria Serious Violence Response Strategy. |
July 2024
| Updated Chapter | Detail |
| Adults Vulnerable to Exposure to Extremist Ideology | An updated Prevent referral form – which should be used to share concerns and make a referral to the Prevent Team – has been added. |
June 2024
| New Chapters | Detail |
| Complex Adult Risk Management (CARM) Policy | The CARM Process has been developed to help safeguarding adults partners manage complex risks. Such risks may arise within specific circumstances when working with adults who have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, but who are at risk of serious harm or death through:
|
| Complex Adult Risk Management (CARM) Practice Guidance | The CARM practice guidance contains detailed information on the process for making a CARM Referral and the format which will be used during a CARM meeting, including how the meetings will be held and the way risk will be discussed, assessed and managed. |
| Safeguarding Adults Forms, Leaflets and Posters | Templates and other supporting documents for use throughout the CARM process have been added. |
| Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) | The South Tyneside Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) Protocol has replaced with an updated version. |
Date of Next Revision
This APPP is usually updated every six months, although there may be more frequent changes made as required. Please ensure you are Registered with Us to receive update notifications.
Search
Type in the word or phrase you are looking for in the ‘Search’ facility and press ‘Enter’. It will bring up a list of all the chapters where it appears. Click on the one you want. The word / phrase will remain highlighted in the chapter.
To make sure the search results more accurately reflect what you are looking for, you can add inverted commas (also known as speech marks) to the word or term you are looking for, for example “safeguarding” or “adult safeguarding”.
If you want to search for specific text within a chapter or a pdf document, you can also press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘f’ together. A box will appear in the top right of your screen. Type in the word / phrase you want to find and press ‘Enter’. The number of times it appears in the chapter will be displayed next to your word. Use the up and down arrows next to it to find all the references.
Register for APPP Update Notifications
We recommend you ‘Register with Us‘. This enables us to notify you that your APPP resource has been updated, which is usually every six months. By submitting this information, you will only receive email notifications from us in relation to APPP updates and your information will not be given to any third parties.
This resource has been designed to be used online. If you print a chapter, for example to take to a meeting, please note it is valid for 72 hours only from the date it was printed. Whilst APPP resources are usually updated every six months, there may be occasions when they are updated urgently as a result of a Safeguarding Adults Review or inspection recommendation, so it is important to be sure that you are using the most recent copy. This is why we recommend that if you have to print a chapter, you no longer refer to it after that time.
Please remember that the resource can be also accessed on smartphones and tablets (see Using the APPP Resource on Smartphones and Tablets).
Copyright
The chapter content in this resource can be accessed, downloaded and printed unchanged, on a temporary basis. Any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in part or in whole in any manner or format without the prior written permission of Policy Partners Project Ltd.
