Care providers

In this section there is some specific information of use to care providers - some of this may be found elsewhere on the website but we thought it would help to gather it in one place, or help you to find the links to other useful places on our website.

There is also detailed information on the different types of abuse here.

If you are interested in knowing more about the various types of enquiry, we have set out our 'Top Ten' here.

For support on how to raise a concern, including a useful checklist of information that might be needed, and what happens next, visit our Raising a Concern section.

Concise safeguarding concerns framework

Through 2024-25 we have been carrying out a pilot project in acute health settings to trial the use of a simple framework for some of the most common concerns that are raised to the local authority - falls, medication errors, pressure areas and incidents between adults with care and support needs. These can be tricky to know what does, or does not, need reporting as a safeguarding issue.

While we do have some detailed guidance around medication and falls, and pressure areas come under the national safeguarding guidance, we thought it could be useful to bring all these together in a simple guide.

Because every person and their experience is unique, the final decisions will always be a matter of professional judgement, but hopefully this framework will help.

Safeguarding Concerns Framework

There is information on the Herbert Protocol (a tool to help if someone goes missing from your service).

Our training section also includes information on the national Bournemouth competencies.

We have a number of quick '7 minute' briefings on a range of subjects:

working with autistic people and mental health
safeguarding and informal carers
emollient fire safety
trauma informed approaches
self-neglect & hoarding
Safeguarding v safeguarding
Information sharing - 7 golden rules
what is communication?
transitional safeguarding
managing racist abuse when providing care
safeguarding adult reviews
domestic abuse
financial safeguarding
multi-agency review (RL)

Exploitation / modern slavery in the care sector

There have been significant concerns about exploitation of overseas care workers coming to the UK to work through sponsorship visas - a scheme which has since been ended (as of 22nd July 2025).

Video for international care workers

An education video has been launched to support international care workers in the UK and raise awareness of their rights following the closure of the Social Care Visa Route which has now come into effect. The video was produced by by Justice and Care and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

Between January and September 2023, over 117,000 health and care visas were granted, an increase of 133% on the previous year. While many employers follow the rules, there has been a rise in exploitation cases, including workers arriving in the UK burdened by excessive recruitment fees, often after selling property or taking on debt.

The video, available in four languages, features real-life accounts from care workers and urges prospective workers to avoid agencies that charge illegal recruitment fees or impose exploitative conditions. It provides clear, practical guidance on visa sponsorship, daily life in the UK, and how to spot signs of labour abuse.

There has been a lot of media coverage focused on exploitation within the care sector. The Modern Slavery Organised Immigration Crime Unit (or, MSOICU), in partnership with the Clewer Initiative, has developed a resource which is focused on the care sector. The primary aim of the resource is raising awareness to those commissioning care, owning and running residential care properties, or working in the care sector, on how to spot and report possible exploitation.

Resource structure and pilot

The resource is split into two parts: part one is a general overview of what modern slavery is and the different types of exploitation that can exist, and part two focuses on specific scenarios within the care sector that workers could observe, or are experiencing themselves.

The resource has been piloted in the south west region of the UK, to both domiciliary and residential care homes and to both care workers and management staff. The resource can be delivered as a train the trainer session, and is accompanied by facilitator notes.

The pack also includes flyers and further resources document.

Resource access

The resource documents are available to download on the MSOICU website, here

Communication materials

The Clewer Initiative has produced flyers downloadable again from the MSOICU website and the blog posts below for further information on how exploitation is impacting this sector:

The Clewer Initiative | The first ms investigation in the care sector

The Clewer Initiative | A shortage of care home workers drives modern slavery cases