We have developed a model for understanding the reasons that organisations fail in their duty of care to protect children and young people from abuse and exploitation. In this diagram, we have set out a summary of the factors that lead to failure to protect.

Failure to protect children starts with an ineffective organisational culture where safeguarding children is not well understood and/or resourced by the leadership of the organisation. Often, effective Safeguarding children governance structures and protocols are absent. Weak or ineffective policies and procedures complicate and confuse decision-making processes for staff, volunteers and service users. These factors then lead to a lack of knowledge and a lack of confidence by staff to know how to respond to the risks that may occur in relation to children and young people.