Safeguarding Policy 

If you think a child or young person is experiencing significant harm and is at immediate risk, you need to call the police on 999 immediately. You will also need to make a children's social care referral to the relevant local authority area where the child or young person lives.

Purpose

This policy sets out Safeguarding Supervision’s approach to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. It applies to all aspects of our work and to everyone working for and with Safeguarding Supervision.

Everything we do should be in the interests of children and young people. This includes ensuring that the organisations we support have effective procedures for keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Definitions

Safeguarding Supervision uses definitions of the term ‘safeguarding’ from statutory guidance.

Safeguarding children is defined in Working together to safeguard children 2018 as:

·       protecting children from maltreatment

·       preventing impairment of children’s health or development

·       ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

·       taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Safeguarding vulnerable adults is defined in the Care and support statutory guidance issued under the Care Act 2014 as:

·       protecting the rights of adults to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect

·       people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect

·       people and organisations making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, taking fully into account their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action

·       recognising that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances and therefore potential risks to their safety or well-being

Recruitment

Anyone working for Safeguarding Supervision will require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and references as standard procedure.

Safeguarding training

Safeguarding Supervision is committed to ensuring that everyone who works for us understands their safeguarding responsibilities and keeps their knowledge up to date. All staff must take part in regular safeguarding training.

Acting on safeguarding concerns

No one working for Safeguarding Supervision should investigate concerns about individual children or vulnerable adults who are, or may be, being abused or who are at risk. However, this does not mean that we should do nothing when we learn of a concern. We all have a responsibility to make sure that concerns about children and vulnerable adults are passed to the agency that can help them without delay.

If anyone is concerned that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of being abused or neglected, they should not ignore their suspicions and should not assume that someone else will take action to protect that person.

Concerns about children should be referred to the children’s social care department of the local authority where the child lives. Similarly, concerns about vulnerable adults should be referred to local authority adult services.

Your response

If a child or young person tells you something that suggests that they are, or another child or young person is, being harmed or are at risk of harm, you should:

·       stop other activity so that you can focus on what the child or young person is telling you

·       let them make the disclosure at their own pace and in their own way

·       avoid interrupting, asking leading questions or probing for more information than the child or young person wants to give you

Do not promise to keep the information confidential. Explain to the child or young person that you are not able to investigate what they have told you, but that you will need to discuss the issue with someone in authority in the setting. Be aware that this may cause them some distress and/or anxiety.

Do not leave the child or young person alone. Make sure that a member of staff (not implicated in the disclosure) stays with them while you go to speak to the designated safeguarding lead for the setting, the headteacher or the relevant senior manager.

Referring safeguarding concerns

Safeguarding Supervision is not a statutory agency and does not hold any decision making authority or responsibility relating to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our role is to support you to safeguard children and young people in your setting through reflective supervision and confidential consultation. The responsibly for the protection of children and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements remains with the designated safeguarding lead and senior leadership team within your organisation.

With this in mind, we are also clear that safeguarding children and young people is everyone's responsibly. If Safeguarding Supervision has been passed information to suggest a child is experiencing or likely to experience significant harm, or is at immediate risk, a recommendation to contact the police and refer to local authority children's services will be made. If this is not actioned in an appropriate or timely manner, and the child and young person remains at risk, Safeguarding Supervision will consider whether to contact the relevant police force and local authority children's services on your organisation's behalf, and refer the matter to the relevant regulatory body overseeing your organisation.