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Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults
Safeguarding is at the heart of all Khin Family Services activities and interventions.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. This policy applies to anyone working for or on behalf of Khin Family Services, including senior managers, board members, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff, students and consultants. All workers will be expected to adopt a child centred approach, considering at all times what is in the best interest of the child.
We will work together with the Local Authority, commissioning groups, police and health care professionals to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children, young people, and families.
Purpose
- To protect children, young people & vulnerable adults from maltreatment.
- To prevent impairment of children’s mental and physical health and/or development.
- To ensure children can grow up in an environment consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
- To enable children to have optimum opportunities to achieve best outcomes in adulthood. To provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to children protection and the protection of vulnerable adults.
This includes the children of adults who use our services.
We believe that:
- Children, young people and families should never experience abuse of any kind
- We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.
We recognise that:
- The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take.
- All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
- Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
- Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.
We will seek to keep children, young people and families safe by:
- Providing a safe environment in which children, young people and families can thrive.
- Recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely. This includes ensuring that all necessary verifications are made.
- Recognising that sharing information in a timely manner, particularly with safeguarding partner agencies and other professionals, is crucial in identifying and tackling all forms of abuse and neglect.
- Using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately.
- Understanding that fears about sharing information must not be allowed to supersede our duty to safeguard children and young people. The Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and GDPR do not prevent, or limit, the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe.
- Sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions
- Valuing, listening to and respecting children, young people and families.
- Ensuring that all staff are able to recognise physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect as well as safeguarding issues.
- Appointing designated safeguarding individuals for managing safeguarding concerns regarding children, young people and families.
- Ensuring that all workers are aware of the role of DSL, including how and when to contact them.
- Adopting child protection and safeguarding best practices through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers
- Developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures
- Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and codes of conduct confidently and competently. Also, so that staff may be adequately prepared to identify and respond to varying levels of need.
- Recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance
- Making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
- Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately
- Creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
- Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
- 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
- Building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.
Legal framework and good practice guidance
This policy is based on legislations, policies and guidance that seek to protect children in England, including:
- The Children Act 1989 (and 2004 amendment), which gives a broad framework for the care and protection of children and includes provision for Local Authority inquiries, care proceedings, and emergency provisions.
- The rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 which outlines provisions for when people with criminal convictions can work with children.
- The Education Act 2002.
It also incorporates the recommendations of “Freedom to Speak Up”, commissioned by the Secretary of State and chaired by Sir Roberts Francis QC.
Khin Family Services will ensure that all employees are made fully aware of Khin Family Services’s expectation that they will come forward, speak up and raise concerns, and also that they know how to do this outside the organisational structure.
This policy includes the recommendations and good practice defined in ‘working together to safeguard children’ :
- 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
This policy incorporates safeguarding vulnerable adults as defined in the Care and support statutory guidance issued under the Care Act 2014 including:
- 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
Supporting documents
This policy should be read alongside our organisational policies, procedures, guidance and other related documents.
- Role description for the designated safeguarding officer
- Dealing with disclosures and concerns about a child or young person
- Managing allegations against staff and volunteers
- Recording concerns and information sharing
- Child protection records retention and storage
- Code of conduct for staff and volunteers
- Behaviour codes for children and young people
- Photography and sharing images guidance
- Safer recruitment
- Online safety
- Anti-bullying
- Managing complaints
- Whistleblowing
- Health and safety
- Induction, training, supervision and support
- Adult to child supervision ratios
Additional contact details
NSPCC Helpline 0808 800 5000
Ofsted Ofsted National Business Unit, Piccadilly Gate, Store St, Manchester, M1 2WD.
Phone 0300 123 1231
Children’s Commissioner Children’s Commissioner, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith St, London, SW1P 3BT
Phone 0207 783 8330 Website www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/contact-us
Training
New staff members who join the organisation are provided with a thorough induction process and training before beginning work with our children and families. This ensures that they are updated on company policies and procedures, health and safety, first aid, whistleblowing, risk assessment and safeguarding.
This policy work with and aligns with other key safeguarding and organisational policies, procedures and standards.
We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.