Strand 2
Student conference 2027

Read presentation information for Strand 2, and view presenter biographies.

Safeguarding for your future profession

11.15 to 12.00pm

The session will cover essential safeguarding considerations in order to prepare students to work safely, legally and ethicaly with adult clients. Although adult focused, the session will include child safeguarding issues which arise when working with adult clients, such as with parents and carers.

The session will highlight key statutory obligations, an understanding of duty of care, what constitutes ‘significant risk of harm to self or others’, informed consent and when to break confidentiality.

Best paractice guidance documents will also be referenced in relation to safeguarding, including the principles of the Care Act (2014) and how this relates to practice.

This presentation is available online and in person.

Jo Holmes is BACP's Safeguarding Officer with extensive experience of working with children, young people and adults at risk of harm in a range of local authority and third sector service settings. Jo has a professionally trained background in youth work and in counselling.

Jo worked as the Designated Safeguarding Lead in an Academy school setting for 8 years, including attending Child in Need and Child Protection conferences as part of this work. She later worked in the same secondary school as an in-house school counsellor whilst also working on a sessional basis for a BACP accredited service.

In 2019 Jo joined BACP as the Children, Young People and Families lead which she led on for 6 years. Her policy work included involvement in the NSPCC Changemakers group linked to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, campaigning for the recommendations of the final report to be implemented.

Jo took on an additional role of Designated Safeguarding Lead at BACP in 2022, with the role becoming a fulltime officer role in September 2025.

12.10 to 12.55pm

This presentation is available online and in person.

1.55 to 2.40pm

This presentation is available online and in person.

3.00 to 3.45pm

This presentation is available online and in person.

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