This policy applies to all staff, including managers and the board of trustees, paid coaches, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, students or anyone working on behalf of Lancashire TAAG.
The purpose of this policy:
- To protect children and young people who receive Lancashire TAAG services. This includes the children of adults who use our services.
- To provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding and child protection.
Lancashire TAAG believes that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. We are committed to practise in a way that protects them.
Lancashire TAAG have a Safeguarding policy and procedures in place, as follows:
- Safe recruitment for all coaches/volunteers, DBS checked, and Induction and safeguarding training through the NSPCC.
- Keep up to date with all training required as a Charity.
- Code of conduct for children, young people, coaches, volunteers.
- Two designated Safeguarding officers.
- Recording and information sharing.
- Health & Safety.
- Risk Assessments.
- Follow Lancashire TAAG Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.
We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:
- Valuing them, listening to and respecting them.
- Appointing a designated safeguarding officer for children and young people, a deputy and a lead board member for safeguarding.
- Adopting child protection and safeguarding practices through procedures and a code of conduct for all coaches and volunteers.
- Developing and implementing an effective e-safety policy and related procedures.
- Providing effective management for coaches and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures.
- Recruiting coaches and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.
- Recording and storing information professionally and securely and sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children, their families, coaches and volunteers via leaflets, posters, one-to-one discussions.
- Using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately.
- Using our procedures to manage any allegations against coaches 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/ challenging behaviours 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, parents, coaches and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance.
If you are approached by a child, young person or vulnerable adult, with a disclosure that s/he is being, or has been harmed or abused, or you are informed of such a disclosure by a member of our group, parent, coach or member of the public.
Do:
Stay calm.
Provide a listening ear and an open mind.
Be reassuring, particularly that the individual is doing the right thing by telling you
Record the information you are provided with and report as quickly as possible to your Safeguarding Officer who will decide what further action will need to be taken. This information is likely to be passed to the Safeguarding Officer and/or an external agency and should include a record of the time, date and persons present.
Don’t:
Promise to keep the information secret. Make it clear that you have a duty to refer the matter on.
Stop the individual who is freely recalling significant events.
Make the individual tell anyone else. S/he may have to be formally interviewed later and it is important to minimise the number of times information is repeated.
Make any suggestions to the individual about how the incident may have happened.
Question the individual, except to clarify what they are saying.
Discuss the information with anyone other than your Safeguarding Officer or an appropriate external agency.
If you are worried that a child may be being abused or neglected, then please take action. In an emergency call 999 or call the following:
Agencies contact numbers
During the day call LCC from 8am until 8pm 0845 053 0009
Out of hours – Open all weekend & bank holidays from 8pm until 8am 0845 602 1043
DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD OFFICER:
COLETTE REID BSc (Hons), MA Social Work