Purpose and scope
All providers of adult, community and work-based learning in England are required by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to secure the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are their learners. As a provider of education, System People are committed to ensure all learners are kept safe so that they can learn and thrive. The drive for ‘Inclusive Learning’ has succeeded in bringing into the system learners with a wide range of needs, including many who can now be deemed ‘vulnerable’.
The term vulnerable is defined as a person ‘who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness: and who is or may be unable to care for him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation’ (Department of Health 2000).
The term vulnerable may also apply to people at increased risk of abuse or mistreatment due to some of the following factors:
At System People, this may apply to a colleague or a learner you work with.
A child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday, ‘Children’ therefore means ‘children and young people’ The fact that a child has reached 16 years of age, is living independently or is in further education does not change his or her status or entitlement to services or protection under the Children’s Act 1989.
Essential Annex documentation for safeguarding policy:
The essential appendices documentation is relevant to safeguarding policy covering children, young people and vulnerable adults and should be read in conjunction with this policy.
What is Safeguarding?
The term ‘Safeguarding’ describes the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures that are necessary to be in place to protect children and young people from any potential harm or damage.
Safeguarding is more than having background check policies and procedures in place. It means having a culture of vigilance where all staff know their responsibilities and act accordingly and all learners are aware of what they can expect and what to do if they have concerns. It is about providing a deep commitment to place the learner at the centre of our concerns and to build policies, practices and procedures around the learner for them to succeed.
Safeguarding must be the informed responsibility of all staff, senior management, volunteers and board members to ensure the learning environment is safe and secure for all. In order to do so they will need to consider and act on the 5 R’s:
Recognition
The ability to recognise behaviour that may indicate abuse is of fundamental importance. Whether the abuse may occur on System People premises, in the home or in any other setting in which the learner may find themselves, all those playing a role in meeting learners’ needs should be aware and informed so that possible abuse can be recognised, investigated and acted upon effectively. Signs and symptoms of abuse of young people and/or vulnerable adults may include direct disclosure. All staff should be trained to understand signs of possible abuse and know how, where and to whom to report concerns. Staff will be able to recognise signs of abuse, will know how to respond to students, how to use appropriate questioning and how to record information accurately. They will be aware of the Designated Person Flowchart and how to follow this procedure.
Response
Appropriate response by our staff is vital. No report of or concern about possible abuse should ever be ignored. Staff are trained how to determine the most appropriate response and to clarify precise details. They are aware of the correct protocol, i.e.:
Report
Report your concern or allegation within 24 hours to the company Safeguarding Officer or member of staff with specific designated responsibility for dealing with issues relating to safeguarding your centre. The Designated Safeguarding Officer will take responsibility from this point forward. The information must not under any circumstances be discussed with anyone apart from the designated Safeguarding Officer.
Recording
Staff are trained to ensure allegations are recorded precisely on the Safeguarding Children/Vulnerable Adult Incident Report form which can be found in Appendix 1 of this policy. Please use the words of the complainant and include accurate quotation. This can include observations about the physical and emotional state of the individual sharing their concerns. Information is recorded and stored securely, confidentially and only accessible to those who need to access it as part of the action taken to resolve the complaint or allegation.
Referral
The decision to refer a complaint or allegation lies with the Designated Safeguarding Officers, having gathered and examined all relevant information. No one else will investigate such a situation. Investigation will involve questioning colleagues, learners, carers, parents, learners, assessors and the complainant. Designated Safeguarding Officers will have access to organisations and websites in order to seek guidance and help for learners.
The safeguarding strategy sets out the strategic approach to strengthening our arrangements for safeguarding across the company.
System People are committed to maintaining the highest possible standards to meet its social, moral and legal responsibilities to safeguard the welfare of every child/young person or vulnerable adult (hereinafter referred to as learners).
The emphasis of our safeguarding strategy and action plan is to focus on all the people who use our services. This will be a further demonstration of our organisational vision and value base. In order to meet the company vision and values to treat people well and keep people safe we need to demonstrate our effectiveness in safeguarding adults and children from abuse or the potential of abuse of any kind to enable people and children to feel safe.
The Aims of the Safeguarding Strategy
Our aims are:
We shall achieve our objectives by carrying out the following strategic activities:
Strategic Planning
Leadership and Management
Safer Recruitment
Induction
Continuous Personal Development (CPD)
Child Protection
Since 2010, when the Government published the Prevent Strategy, there has been an awareness of the specific need to safeguard young people and families from violent extremism. There have been several occasions in which extreme groups have attempted to radicalise vulnerable young people to hold extreme views including views justifying political, religious, sexist or racist violence, or to steer them into a rigid and narrow ideology that is intolerant of diversity and leaves them vulnerable to future radicalisation.
When any member of staff has concerns that a pupil may be at risk of radicalization or involvement with terrorism, they should speak with one of the company designated safeguarding officers. Most young people do not become involved in extremism. For this reason, the appropriate interventions in any particular case may not have any specific connection to the threat of radicalization, for example, they may address mental health, relationship or drug/alcohol issues.
As part of the wider safeguarding responsibilities, staff at System People will be alert to use of extremist or ‘hate’ terms to exclude others or incite violence.
Risk Assessment
Communication
Quality Improvement
In summary, the key processes required to be in place are:
These key processes are dependent on:
CTP Prevent Team Contact Details:
If you require further assistance or advice on any non-urgent Prevent or CT related matter, please contact your local Prevent team:
Cheshire – 01606 362 147 ,Cumbria – 0300 124 0113 ,Greater Manchester – 0161 856 6345
Lancashire – 01282 472 320 , Merseyside – 0151 777 8506, London – 020 7601 2442
North East- 0800 789 321,
This is a website dedicated to counter terrorism
ACT Early | Prevent radicalisation
The following link contains help & advice around counter terrorism
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office
Communication of the Safeguarding Agenda
There are a wide range of meetings which address the implementation of this Safeguarding Strategy including, senior management team meetings, quality team meetings, and operational team meetings. Staff development sessions also enhance communication of the safeguarding agenda and focus on improving practice.
No one other than the Safeguarding Lead or Deputy should mount an investigation into complaints, allegations or suspicions of abuse. If actions are carried out by someone other than the Safeguarding Lead or Deputy it could be seen as unjustified interference which could jeopardise an investigation and any possible subsequent court case.
Lead Safeguarding Officer – Claire Prince (reporting to Tony Higgins – Managing Director)
Deputy Safeguarding Officers – Sarah Taylor and Sarah March
All allegations against people who work with children and that meet the specific criteria below should be reported by the employer within one working day to Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
If you need to contact your Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), please consult your Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSBC) or Local Authority.
System People have a dedicated email address for safeguarding issues which is as follows: safeguarding@sptraininguk.com" class="red bold">href="mailto:safeguarding@sptraininguk.com">safeguarding@sptraininguk.com and there is a designated safeguarding mobile phone to contact which is 07555792632.
The key guidance and legislation for the safeguarding of children responsibilities for System People are contained within:
Other forms of abuse can include, but are not limited to, and may pose a risk to children, learners and vulnerable adults; serious violent crime, risks linked to using technology and social media, substance misuse, issues that may be specific to local area or population e.g. gang activity and knife crime. It must be remembered that all forms of abuse will have a negative impact on mental health.
All concerns should be reported to the company Safeguarding lead or deputy
Learners
All Learners will be introduced to their rights and responsibilities with regards to Safeguarding through their induction and initial assessment. Learners will go through a thorough sign up procedure with a member of staff, where any special needs will be determined, logged and appropriately dealt with. All Learners in work-based learning will have their place of work vetted by a trained member of staff for Health and Safety purposes. Learners who work in places deemed medium or high risk will be revisited at regular intervals. Reviews with learners include specific safeguarding questions, covering areas including Health & Safety, Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding and British values; these reviews are carried out 12 weekly as a minimum.
Training
All new employees will be introduced to their rights and responsibilities with regards to Safeguarding at their initial induction. The relevant policies are available to all employees.
All staff in contact with learners who are under 18 or vulnerable adults will receive appropriate safeguarding training and regular safeguarding updates. Effective training is the key to carrying out our responsibilities of promoting and safeguarding children and young people. Staff will need to be trained on how to identify a learner in need, and what subsequent action to take. Training will take place on a variety of levels, and will depend upon the needs of the staff concerned. All staff will have a basic induction which will include how to report safeguarding concerns.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead will undertake regular inter-agency training and refresher training every 2 years.
ICT Training facilities
Cyber bullying is the act of communicating harmful, violent and/or malicious words and or pictures through the means of technology.
Cyber bullying is the term used to refer to bullying and harassment by use of electronic devices though means of e-mail, instant messaging, text messages, blogs, mobile phones, pagers and websites. No longer does bullying transpire only on school grounds. The cyber world has allowed for children and vulnerable adults to be vulnerable to bullying in the safe haven of their home. This new ability to socially network in the cyber world is rapidly expanding the harmful effects children suffer from being bullied. System People play an active role in protecting their learners from this rising trend by barring them from sites and all social networking sites. All our computers are audited regularly by qualified IT staff.
Important statutory duties in relation to vulnerable adults and children in need cannot be met without effective and appropriate sharing of information. For agencies to work together to the benefit of children, they must be able to share relevant information.
This includes a referral to Children’s Social Care, but could simply be sharing information between supporting agencies regarding a young person, for example, before a referral is made. However, sharing of information should take place according to the principles of good practice and on a need to know basis. When a request for information is made we need to be clear about why the information is needed and the way it is going to be used. Prior to information being shared with other agencies, or a referral being made, consent should normally be sought from the young person and/or from one parent/carer with agreed parental responsibility. However, there are certain important circumstances where consent should not be sought.
These are:
When delivering remote sessions on line the following rules apply:
Good practice ideas:
Practices to be avoided:
Please refer to the following policies for further guidance:
Our procedures for safeguarding learners will be in line with Government legislation and the Education& Skills Funding Agency guidelines. When this is changed our policy will be amended to reflect the changes. The implementation of this policy will be monitored by the Senior Management Team each year.
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