Dr David Orr, Associate Professor in Social Work (Social Work and Social Care), University of Sussex (CONFIRMED)

• Recognising the warning signs of poor safeguarding practice and closed cultures in adult social care settings
• Promoting transparency and professional curiosity to support stronger safeguarding outcomes
• Learning from safeguarding reviews, inspections and incidents to improve practice across organisations
• Developing accountability and leadership approaches that create safer cultures for people drawing on care and support

Philip Boyce, Senior Specialist Advisor, Safeguarding & Closed Culture, Care Quality Commission (CONFIRMED)

• Understand the three different referral routes
• Understand when a DBS Barring referral should be made, including when the legal duty is met
• Have a clear understanding of the consequences of not making appropriate barring referrals and the consequences of being included in one or both Barred Lists

Joanne Wheatley, Regional Outreach Manager for the Midlands and South, DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) (CONFIRMED)

• Clarifying the statutory criteria and document how Board’s decide on the threshold for SAR
• Defining a clear scope for the review and setting realistic deadlines for staff
• Appointing independent reviewers who challenge narratives regarding cases
• Ensuring recommendations are specific and are effectively implemented, based on key recommendations from reviews

Alison Ridley, Safeguarding Audit and Review Team Manager, Social Care Institute for Excellence (CONFIRMED)

• Examining how self-neglect presents in different settings and why it is so often missed or normalised
• Exploring the barriers people face in accepting support, recognising that self-neglect is often shaped by trauma and that offers of help can feel intrusive or threatening
• Challenging professional assumptions about lifestyle when adults decline care, recognising that what may appear to be an informed decision can sit within a context of trauma or coercion
• Sharing practical approaches that focus on building trust and sustaining engagement over time, reflecting that progress in self-neglect work is often gradual

• Examining how Boards coordinate multi-agency safeguarding activity on a day-to-day basis
• Exploring how Boards oversee Safeguarding Adult Reviews, ensuring reviews are scrutinised and effectively implemented across the local authority
• Discussing how independent scrutiny operates in practice across statutory and non-statutory agencies
• Assessing how Boards use data and audit findings to maintain oversight of the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements

Seona Douglas, Independent Chair, East Sussex Adult Safeguarding Board (CONFIRMED)

• Exploring how safeguarding responsibilities operate in grassroots and elite settings, and where Boards and partners can add value
• Reflecting on how safer cultures shape behaviour, boundaries, and reporting confidence
• Considering steps clubs and governing bodies can take to strengthen everyday safeguarding practice
• Sharing learning from reviews and case examples to support oversight and continuous improvement

Samantha Carey, Senior Sport Welfare Manager DSL, London Sport (CONFIRMED)

This session will provide you with the opportunity to think ahead and share insights on how adult safeguarding must evolve to meet the needs of increasingly complex cases.

• Discussing digital exploitation, including the growing use of online platforms to perpetrate scams and other forms of abuse targeting adults at risk
• Recognising which adults may be particularly vulnerable online, including those experiencing cognitive impairment, learning disabilities, social isolation or limited digital literacy
• Identifying the warning signs of digital abuse, such as unexplained financial transactions or an abrupt withdrawal from usual services
• Applying safeguarding strategies that strengthen digital safety, focusing on equipping practitioners with confidence and tools needed to reduce risk and create safer online environments for vulnerable people

Senior Safeguarding Representative, Hourglass (invited)

• Discussing how gangs exploit vulnerable adults through cuckooing and county lines activity
• Identifying adults most at risk, including those with isolation, mental health needs or substance dependency
• Spotting warning signs by paying attention to shifts in behaviour, living conditions or finances that suggest exploitation may be taking hold
• Responding effectively by bringing agencies together around a clear plan, with defined roles and decisive action that protects the exploited adult

Dr Laura Bainbridge, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice, School of Law, University of Leeds (CONFIRMED)

Dr David Orr, Associate Professor in Social Work (Social Work and Social Care), University of Sussex (CONFIRMED)