Welcome to the Guardian Hub

Having a child getting started with their career journey can be a nerve-wracking time, not just for the child but also for you as the parent/guardian. At Swift, we want this experience to be clear and exciting for both parties!

That's where this hub comes in handy. We want to offer you all the information you need, to fully understand the journey your child is about to embark on. This includes the basics such as, What is an apprenticeship? And what does this entail? to the more finer details such as what work will they be completing and how you can support them from a parental perspective.

Swift’s Safeguarding Culture

Swift believes that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, whilst being fully aware that ‘it could happen here’.

It is essential that our Learners, their guardians, Employers and our Employees feel supported, valued, listened to and protected from harm, empowering them to be able to make positive choices and protect themselves.

To achieve this, Swift believes in promoting a culture of openness and acceptance.

Our Senior Leaders and Governor support all staff to promote the Organisation’s values and ‘whole approach’ which are reflected in The Swift Way, throughout the organisation, and at all levels.

Our Safeguarding Team is made up of staff members from all areas of the Organisation, with a range of specialism and experience. We have a group of Pastoral Safeguarding Officers, each providing contextual support to our Learners:

• Bereavement
• Attendance
• Sexual health
• LGBTQIA+
• Medical health and wellbeing
• Family relationships
• Workplace problems

Additional needs

Alongside these areas, Swift has a dedicated Team of qualified Mental Health First Aiders, who support and promote our ethos of positive wellbeing for both our Learners and Employees. Here at Swift, we feel that an effective safeguarding culture has a holistic, individual, person-centred approach at its core, that puts the welfare of the Learner at the heart of decision making and action planning. We firmly believe that ALL young people should have their voice heard, and opinions valued. Our approach to protecting Learners is robust and clearly outlined. We are not afraid to seek expert advice from outside influences when we need to and are vigilant in our approach to how and with who we share information. One of the ways in which we promote and maintain this culture is to ensure that our young people, their Guardians, and Employers, have access to a range of information, advice, and guidance, both in person, hard copy, poster form, signposting and through the Wellbeing Hub on our website. We involve our Learners in discussions, contributing and sharing their opinions and thoughts through healthy debates and we value their opinions and feedback. Our Learners say they feel safe at Swift, know who they can talk to if they are worried, and are confident in sharing their opinions, thoughts, and feelings around sensitive subjects. All Employees are clear in their understanding of reporting processes and are not afraid to share a concern, make a report or question decisions when needed. This is backed up by regular CPD sessions and IAG sheets, and an open-door approach by the Safeguarding Team. We have clear KPI’s and processes to ensure all concerns are actioned effectively and quickly.

There is no place for a blame culture at Swift, although there is a need for being accountable, and being held to account, we are receptive to challenge, and strongly believe in reflective practice, as a means of learning from past actions, to inform future interventions.

As a team, and as an Organisation, we openly discuss what we have learnt, what could have worked better, and how we will action that going forward.