Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) & Advocacy in Practice
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🤝 Blog 4 of 7 in our Expanded Safeguarding Series
Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) & Advocacy in Practice
Links to all 7 blogs in this series are at the bottom of this post.
🌍 Why Safeguarding Must Be Personal
Safeguarding is not just about protecting people from harm — it is about empowering people to live the lives they want. The principle of Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) recognises that safeguarding is only effective when it reflects the individual’s wishes, feelings, and desired outcomes.
Commissioners and inspectors no longer accept safeguarding as a one-size-fits-all process. They expect to see providers embedding MSP in practice, ensuring that safeguarding is not done to people but with them.
📜 The Principles of MSP
MSP is about changing the conversation. Instead of asking “What’s the matter with you?” staff are trained to ask “What matters to you?” This shift requires:
- Choice — people are involved in decisions about safeguarding actions.
- Control — outcomes are led by the individual’s goals, not only by professionals’ views.
- Proportionality — interventions match the level of risk without being overbearing.
- Partnership — working collaboratively with the person, their family, and advocacy services.
Embedding MSP can be demonstrated in safeguarding method statements and strategies, where commissioners want to see how individual voices guide safeguarding practice.
🗣️ The Role of Advocacy
Advocacy is central to MSP, especially for people who may lack capacity or face barriers to being heard. Providers must show that they:
- Know when to refer to independent advocacy under the Care Act 2014.
- Support self-advocacy where possible, empowering people to speak for themselves.
- Use advocacy proactively in complex safeguarding cases — not only reactively when required by law.
- Work in partnership with advocacy services to ensure continuity and trust.
For example, in a learning disability tender, providers can evidence how advocacy supports people with communication needs. In a domiciliary care bid, advocacy may focus on ensuring older adults are heard when family opinions conflict with their own wishes.
💡 Practical Example
Case Study: A man with early dementia faces financial exploitation. Instead of rushing to impose restrictions, staff involve him in decisions, ask what he wants, and arrange advocacy support. The outcome is a tailored safeguarding plan that protects him while respecting his independence.
Commissioners value this kind of detail in tenders, as it shows real-world application of MSP principles and how advocacy is used to uphold dignity, rights, and choice.
📊 Evidencing MSP & Advocacy in Tenders
To score highly in tenders and inspections, providers should evidence:
- Training staff on MSP principles and advocacy roles.
- Examples of how people’s wishes have shaped safeguarding outcomes.
- Data showing advocacy referrals and outcomes.
- Integration of MSP into governance and QA reporting cycles.
Embedding these elements into bid strategy training ensures providers can demonstrate both compliance and person-centred practice.
📚 Catch up on the full Expanded Safeguarding Series:
- 📘 Why Safeguarding Matters in Social Care
- 🧭 Recognising Abuse, Neglect & Self-Neglect (Including Modern Slavery & Domestic Abuse)
- 🔔 Thresholds, Referrals & Section 42: Getting the Response Right
- 🤝 Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) & Advocacy in Practice
- 🧩 Multi-Agency Working, Information-Sharing & Record-Keeping
- 🧯 Building a Speak-Up Culture: Whistleblowing, Supervision & Debriefs
- 📄 Evidencing Safeguarding in Tenders & Inspections