Safeguarding Policy

1.1 The welfare of a child and vulnerable adult is paramount. All children and vulnerable adults whatever age, culture, disability, gender, ethnic origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse. All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

1.2 Results Consortium Limited (thereafter the College) is fully committed to providing a working and learning environment that is free from abuse and harm.

1.3 The College will strive to maintain a safe culture within all its work and learning environments by:

• clearly identifying and communicating the roles and responsibilities within the organization for safeguarding;
• having a clear auditable procedure in place;
• training staff in safeguarding procedures;
• allocating sufficient resources to safeguarding;
• applying a zero tolerance to any form of abuse and harm.

1.4 The purpose of this Policy is to set out the College’s approach to safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. This policy is also designed to protect staff against false allegations.

2. Definitions

2.1 The children act 1989 and 2004 defines a ‘child’ as a person under the age of 18

2.2 The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 defines a ‘vulnerable adult’ as a person aged 18 and over, and;

• receiving a social care service;
• receiving a health service;
• living a sheltered accommodation;
• detained in custody or under a probation order;
• requiring assistance in the conduct of his/her affairs
• receiving a service or participating in an activity targeted at older people;
• people with disabilities or with physical or mental health conditions.

2.1 Abuse is a term to describe ways in which children and vulnerable adults are
harmed, usually by adults and often by people they know and trust. It refers to the damage done to a child or vulnerable adult’s physical or mental health. Abuse can occur within or outside the family including a place of learning or training. New forms of abuse such as internet grooming, financial abuse of older people and the extreme difficulties faced by young asylum seekers,
mean our policies and procedures need to be continually reviewed to keep abreast of these developments.

3 Procedures Principles

3.1 Safeguarding must become the responsibility of everyone. All employees, directors, board members, partners and other stakeholders have a responsibility to actively make the environment a safe and secure place for all.

3.2 The College will clearly identify a Designated Person (DP), their location and contact details in formats that are easily accessible to all staff and learners. There will be a deputy in case of sickness, annual leave or in the event of an allegation made against the DP

3.3 The College is committed to a policy in which:

3.3.1 Recruitment procedures comply with safeguarding best practice and will be followed in the appointment of all staff. Where staff are required to have contact with children or vulnerable adults, the College will only recruit or appoint staff who are deemed suitable to work with children or vulnerable adults.

3.3.2 All new employees will be made aware of and issued with this policy as part of their induction, depending on their role

3.3.3 College staff working with children and vulnerable adults will be issued with a copy of this policy. Any member of staff found in breach of the guidance will be subject to disciplinary procedures.

3.3.4 All new members of staff and students who are under the age of 18 will have a Young Person’s Risk Assessment carried out as per the Health and Safety Policy.

3.3.5 As part of the initial advice and guidance session or induction session, all new students will be shown the Safeguarding Policy. This will be followed by a discussion and checking of understanding, and periodically reviewed.

3.3.6 All children and vulnerable adults within the organisation will be informed that their assessor or tutor will be their nominated contact point for any concerns they may have regarding safeguarding. In addition, they will be given details of the DP, and asked to report any concerns to their assessor or tutor, or DP

3.3.7 The assessors and tutors must liaise with the DP or any relevant partner organisations with any concerns to ensure safeguarding

3.3.8 Staff must keep a secure and up to date record of all children and vulnerable adults either working in or learning within theorganisation. They should monitor their progress on a regular basis to check they are safe from abuse and harm whilst on programme.

4 Roles and Responsibilities

4.1 The CEO is responsible to:

a) Allocate required resources and time to provide adequate safeguarding measures

b) Provide leadership in ensuring the safety of children and vulnerable adults

c) Review, update and approve policy and procedures

4.2 The HR Manager is responsible to put in place a comprehensive training programme to ensure all staff have a competent understanding of safeguarding that is relevant to their role. This will include relevant safeguarding training and refresher training, to be reviewed on a regular basis.

4.3 The Designated Person

4.3.1 The Principal of Results Consortium is the Designated Person; the Quality Assurance Manager will deputise in the Principal’s absence. Both should updertake Designated Safeguarding Lead Training.

4.3.2 The Designated Person (DP) will:

• Monitor the policy and communicate changes to all staff and students.
• Ensure all College’s internal meetings have Safeguarding as a standard agenda item, so there are regular opportunities for concerns to be raised and cases discussed
• Chair monthly meetings with key staff to provide updates and guidance, and to monitor any cases flagged up in internal meetings and/or cases directly reported to the DP
• With regard to communicating changes to student, liaise with Student Welfare team to ensure that key information on Safeguarding is reported to students via email, in Student Representative Committee meetings, in lessons and in the Student Newsletter.
• Ensure publicity of position statement supplied with up-to- date information
• Manage the application of safeguarding procedures
• Act as the focal point for safeguarding
• Ensure all staff are competent to undertake their safeguarding duties
• Clearly communicate the safeguarding policy to all staff
• Liaise with partner agencies as required, including Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), via the Essex Coalition of Disabled People
• Where necessary, inform relevant agencies of concerns over safeguarding issues.

4.4 Staff members will:

a) Be aware of any children and vulnerable adults within their portfolio

b) Comply with policy and procedures

c) Promote a safe learning environment

d) Ensure all students are aware of the safeguarding policy

e) Report any concerns to DP immediately.

5. Guidance
5.1 Good Practice Guidance

• Always work in an open environment avoiding private or unobserved situations, encourage open communication
• Treat all children and vulnerable adults equally with respect and dignity
• Maintain a safe and appropriate distance
• Be aware of the effect your words or actions may have.

5.2 Practices to be avoided

• Spending excessive amounts of time alone with children and vulnerable adults away from others
• Straying from the specified task or assignment
• Being unnecessarily inquisitive
• Saying anything that may make a child or vulnerable adult feel uncomfortable, or that could be interpreted as aggressive, hostile or impatient
• Being drawn into personal conversations
• Sitting or standing too close
• Meeting other than at the prearranged venue
• Exchanging personal details
• Making contact via social internet contact sites.

5.3 Practices never to be sanctioned

• You should never allow allegations made by a child or vulnerable adult to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon
• You should never promise a child or vulnerable adult that their confidences will be kept secret
• You should never allow children or vulnerable adults to use inappropriate language unchallenged
• You should never reduce a child or vulnerable adult to tears as a form of control
• You should never allow or engage in any form of touching or make suggestive comments to a child or vulnerable adult.

6 Support and Training

6.1 It is recognised that some disclosures might be upsetting and harrowing for some staff. The College will offer appropriate support and assistance as necessary to staff involved with safeguarding issues.

6.2 Staff will also:

• Need to undertake the LSIS safeguarding level 1 and 2 as necessary
• Attend regular training updates as deemed necessary by the DP
• Keep a record of their CPD – Continuing Professional Development.

7 Implementation of the Policy

7.1 Staff dealing with children and vulnerable adults are trained how to recognise and respond to a situation where abuse is reported and how to report this or any concerns. They should consider and act on 5 R’s: Recognition, Response, Reporting, Recording and Referral.

7.1.1 Recognition – signs and indicators of abuse may just cause concern, but it could be a direct disclosure from someone. A direct disclosure may be made to anyone within the organisation who is trusted by the individual.

7.1.2 Response – Appropriate response is vital. No report should ever be ignored. At this point the response is just to listen, stay calm, and not show shock or outrage at what is being disclosed. You may need to ask some questions, but these should never lead or probe, just gather enough information to ascertain if there is immediate danger or harm. Do not make any promises as to what will happen, and be clear that everything will be treated in confidence, but must be passed on to the appropriate DP.

7.1.3 Reporting – Immediately report your concerns or information to the DP. Once the report has been made, the responsibility will lie with the DP. You are within your rights to check that appropriate action has been taken, but confidentiality may mean that the DP may not be able to share this information with you. If for any reason you feel that the matter has not been taken forward, you can make a referral directly to the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

7.1.4 Recording – You should record precisely what has been alleged, using the key words and phrases used by the individual. You can also record your own observations of the individual, as well as your interpretation of the facts. This record should be passed on in person to the DP, who will store it securely, where it is only accessible to those staff with safeguarding responsibilities.

7.1.5 Referral – The DP should gather enough information to make a referral, if appropriate by talking to the appropriate people outside the organization

References

• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Children Act 1989 and 2004
• Education Act 2002
• Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007
• Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Additional guidance information sourced from:

• No Secrets
• Every Child Matters
• Independent Safeguarding Authority.