Office: 01267 238410
24 hour helpline: 01267 234725
Safeguarding
Our Safeguarding Policy Statement
Our Safeguarding Policy Statement
The purpose of this policy statement is:
• to protect adults, children and young people who receive CarmDAS’s services from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services.
• to provide staff and volunteers, as well as, adults, children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.
This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of CarmDAS, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.
Legal framework
This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect adults and children in Wales.
Supporting documents
We believe that:
We will seek to keep adults, children and young people safe by:
• adults, children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
• we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all adults, children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.
We recognise that:
• the welfare of adults, children and young people is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
• working in partnership with adults, children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting their welfare
• all adults, children and young people, 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 adults, children and young people are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• extra safeguards may be needed to keep adults, children and young people who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.
This policy statement 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.
:
• valuing, listening to and respecting them
• appointing a nominated protection lead for adults, children and young people, a deputy and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding
• adopting adult, children and young people protection and safeguarding best practice 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 behaviour codes confidently and competently recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
• recording and storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance. More information about this is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations
• sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with adults, children, young people and their families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions
• making sure that adults, children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
• using our safeguarding and protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving adults, children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
• 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 adults, 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, adults, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.