GWR wins accreditation under Safeguarding on Rail scheme

[whole diary]

[bobm]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has become the first train operating company to be accredited under the Department for Transport’s scheme to help vulnerable children and adults on or near the railway.

Staff have been trained to look out for those who are at risk and be “professionally curious” if they see someone who may need extra assistance.  According to British Transport Police in the last year GWR staff have reported an average of one person a day who might be vulnerable - more than two thirds of all the cases that get referred to them.

At a ceremony at Paddington today Rail Minister Wendy Morton presented GWR MD Mark Hopwood with a certificate to note the occasion and unveiled a vinyl on train 802 102 to highlight the work GWR does with the Railway Children charity.

[REVUpminster]

You would think staff would be doing all that already.

I did point out than when Barnstaple trains were terminated at St James Park to run empty to reverse that a child could be left alone on a platform at an unmanned station. it only lasted one timetable so that trains now terminate at Central. Terminus stations are different in that the train and crew are generally in the platform and can look out for people still there when they depart.


Safeguarding is a minefield. You could have a youth club with say a girl of 17, married with a child quite legally yet safeguarding rules would treat her as a child.

Also all rail staff, crew -station staff, that might approach a child or vulnerable adult shold they be DBS^» (Deutsch Bahn Schenker - UK^▸ (United Kingdom) website) checked.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Having stumbled across this topic while looking for something else, I'm giving it a boost here to raise awareness of the issue.

CfN.