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Vulnerable Person risk levels

Updated

A vulnerable person is someone who:

  • Makes credible threats of suicide or self-harm, or engages in suicidal ideation.
  • Uses or is involved with illegal drugs, substances, or alcohol.
  • Is at risk of non-sexual abuse.
  • Shows indications of an eating disorder.
  • Is severely distressed or appears at risk of some form of self-harm.
  • Shows signs of intending to take part in dangerous online challenges.
See: Examples of potential harm to a vulnerable person 

Alcohol

Blackmail

Dangerous challenges

Domestic abuse

Drugs/substance abuse

Eating disorders

Exposure to criminal activity

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Gambling

General health concerns

Honor-based violence

Mental health issues

Neglect

Self-harm

Smoking/vaping

Suicide

Risk levels

Level Description
1 The user has engaged in low-level negative self-talk (For example, writing ‘I hate the way I look’).
2 The user has recently made statements that conveyed hating life, or feeling low or depressed, without credible talk of being suicidal.
3

The user:

  • Talks credibly about feeling suicidal or of self-harm without making specific threats.
  • Conducted detailed research into preventative harm helplines or statistics unrelated to identifiable school research.
  • Talks about past drug taking or distribution.
4

The user:

  • Admits to, or discusses, being at significant risk of harm in the future.
  • Has recently suffered some form of harm.
  • Has recently talked about drug-taking or distribution.
5

The user admits to, or discusses, being at imminent risk of harm that needs immediate intervention. This includes self-harm, taking drugs or alcohol, or being harmed by another person. 

Note 

A Level 5 alert in this category will prompt phone calls to Safeguarding Contacts.