Safeguarding Policy & Procedures - Glasbren CIC

(Updated 3rd June 2024)

Summary

Glasbren CIC takes its responsibility to children, young people and vulnerable adults with great seriousness and has set up a full range of measures to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from potential dangers and harm.

Through our volunteer programmes, ‘Little Stewards’ programmes for children, courses, workshops and events, Glasbren CIC supports and interacts with children, young people and vulnerable adults on a regular basis, of all ages and abilities. The following document details our safeguarding policies and procedures, and applies to anyone working on behalf of Glasbren CIC, including paid staff, service users, volunteers, agency staff and students.

We work in the conviction that keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe is the responsibility of all. We are resolute that:

All children, young people and vulnerable adults have an absolute right to a life free from abuse, neglect or exploitation
All children, young people and vulnerable adults should have access to relevant procedures and services for addressing issues of abuse, neglect and exploitation, including the civil and criminal justice system and victim support services
All staff including employees and volunteers have a responsibility to be mindful of issues related to young people’s safety and welfare.
All staff including employees and volunteers have a responsibility to be able to recognise instances of abuse and to address them effectively
All staff including employees and volunteers have a responsibility to report and refer any concerns about possible abuse, neglect or exploitation however minor they may appear to be.
Glasbren CIC will ensure that all staff who undertake regulated activity with children, young people and vulnerable adults will undergo Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS).
Glasbren CIC will create a safeguarding culture and environment where the opportunities for abuse, neglect or exploitation to occur are minimised.
Glasbren CIC will create a safeguarding culture and environment where children, young people and vulnerable adults have the confidence to voice any concerns or fears they may have about abuse, neglect or exploitation and where they feel able to disclose allegations of harm or abuse.
Glasbren CIC recognise that all children, young people and vulnerable adults regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

Purpose and scope:

The purpose of this policy statement is:

to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults who receive Glasbren CIC’s services from harm.
to provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to protection.

Legal Framework:

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England & Wales. A summary of the key legislation is available from www.nspcc.org.uk/learning.

Welfare of Children & Vulnerable Adults

Our Objective is to:

Provide an environment which is safe and welcoming for children, young adults and vulnerable adults and which protects them from all forms of harm.
Make sure that all staff, volunteers, seasonal workers, and students are aware of the need to protect children, young adults and vulnerable adults and know how to reduce the risks to them.
Respect the rights of all children, young adults and vulnerable adults.

‘Children and young people’ are defined as all persons under the age of 18. Adults aged 18 and over have the potential to be vulnerable for a variety of reasons which may be temporary or permanent. An adult may be vulnerable if he/she:

Has a learning or physical disability or a reduction in physical or mental capacity.
Has a physical or mental illness, including addiction to alcohol or drugs.
Is receiving community services or healthcare because of age, health or disability, or is living in sheltered or residential accommodation.
Is unable, for any other reason, to protect themself against harm or exploitation.

We will seek to keep children, young people and vulnerable adults safe by:

valuing them, listening to and respecting them
adopting procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers which minimise the opportunity for abuse and establish appropriate treatment of children and young vulnerable adults.
developing and implementing an effective e-safety policy and related procedures
providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training
recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
Ensuring any accompanying adults (parents, carers, support workers, school teachers, etc) are aware of their own responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
sharing concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
Developing and following a Safeguarding Action plan
Ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and

volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance.

Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
Reviewing our policy and good practice annually

Other:

● All key staff to undergo and clear Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS)

● At least one director/staff to hold Emergency First Aid qualification.

Record Keeping

Glasbren CIC will:

Keep clear, detailed, accurate, written records of concerns about children, young people or vulnerable adults, and all service users (noting the date, event and action taken)
Refer the matter to parents, caregivers or the relevant support services to enable them to deal with the person immediately to reduce any risk.
Ensure all paper records are kept securely and in a locked location.
Keep any record of follow up communication on any safeguarding matter

Confidentiality and managing information

Information will be gathered, recorded and stored in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

All colleagues must be aware that they have a professional duty to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults. The need to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults may override confidentiality interests. However, information will be shared on a need to know basis only, as judged by the Safeguarding Lead.

In any work with children and/or vulnerable adults it is important to be clear about confidentiality and about the limits of confidentiality. This should be discussed with children and/or vulnerable adults at the beginning of any piece of work and reminders and information given from time to time. All colleagues must be aware that they cannot promise service users or their families/carers that they will keep secrets.

While personal information held by professionals and agencies is subject to a legal duty of confidence and should not normally be disclosed without the subject’s consent, Glasbren CIC has a clear safeguarding responsibility. This means that, where necessary to protect welfare, it will breach confidentiality to raise concerns.

Records must be kept securely and access must be restricted. The Safeguarding Lead and directors have a particular responsibility in maintaining the confidentiality of these records and must ensure that the records, or any information they contain, are made available only to relevant parties. The transfer of information - verbally, through the mail or electronically should be managed in such a way that confidentiality is maintained.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Our designated Safeguarding Lead is Luisa Neumann. Glasbren CIC’s designated Safeguarding Lead undertakes additional training and gives support to ensure that the environment within Glasbren CIC is safe and supportive for the children, young people and vulnerable adults in our care.

Contact: Luisa Neumann, Glasbren Director, hello@glasbren.org.uk.

Responsibilities of the lead for safeguarding and child protection

The Safeguarding Lead is responsible for:

Providing support and advice to colleagues on safeguarding matters relating to children and vulnerable adults.
Ensuring that all colleagues have up to date training on child protection and safeguarding.
Managing any referrals/cases through to resolution.
Maintaining an overview of safeguarding issues and monitoring the implementation of this policy, in conjunction with the other directors.
Deciding whether to refer reported matters to the police or local authority social care services. Where possible, referrals should be made the same working day or within 24 hours. The Safeguarding Lead will decide whether parents/carers or support workers should be informed of the referral.
Following any serious safeguarding incident, the Safeguarding Lead and directors will review what happened and identify any learning to improve practice in future.

All colleagues have a responsibility to:

Ensure the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom they work.
Promote good practice, minimise and manage potential risks.
Follow the guidance in this policy and report any and all safeguarding concerns using the correct procedure.
Complete appropriate safeguarding training needed for their role.

If a colleague suspects that a child or vulnerable adult is being harmed by experiencing, or already has experienced, abuse or neglect and/or is likely to suffer harm in the future, they must report it to the Safeguarding Lead or Glasbren CIC director, at the earliest opportunity.

It is not the responsibility of Glasbren CIC to decide whether or not abuse or neglect has taken place. It is the responsibility of colleagues to act if there is cause for concern, so that the appropriate agencies can investigate and take any action necessary.

In an emergency

In an emergency situation where an individual is causing or threatening actual physical self-harm or harm to another, colleagues must seek immediate assistance from the emergency services – Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade. In all circumstances the colleague should seek to remove themselves from any form of danger to themselves and not attempt to resolve the incident.

Policy review

Glasbren CIC is committed to reviewing our policy and practice at our Director’s meetings on a monthly basis. This policy was last reviewed on 3rd June 2024.

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