Safeguarding Policy & Procedures
Introduction
The Isbourne is a pioneering educational charity based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire that provides a diverse range of opportunities for wellbeing and spiritual development.
Our services include meeting the holistic needs of adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people through various activities such as:
Talks, Events and Workshops
Courses and Classes
Holistic Treatments and Therapies
Community Outreach Projects
We take seriously the welfare of adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people with whom we come into contact and we aim to ensure that they are welcomed into a safe and caring environment with a happy and friendly atmosphere.
In accordance with legislation and the requirements of the Charity Commission, we have put in place a safeguarding policy and a set of procedures to confirm our commitment to providing a safe and trusted environment for everyone associated with The Isbourne including staff and volunteers.
Legislation
The principal pieces of legislation governing our safeguarding policy are:
Safeguarding Adult in need of care and support Groups Act 2006
Mental Health Act 1983
Children Act 2004
Care Act 2014
Aims
The safeguarding of adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people encompasses the following types of harm:
Child Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional and neglect)
Adult in need of care and support adult abuse (physical, sexual abuse, psychological, financial, neglect and acts of omission, discriminatory, institutional abuse)
Domestic Abuse (including coercive control)
Stalking
Sexual Violence
Child Sexual Exploitation
Modern Slavery
Honour Based Violence
Forced Marriage
Female Genital Mutilation
Cybercrime including cyber bullying
Radicalisation
Self-neglect
To raise overall awareness of safeguarding, the signs of abuse and information on what to do if any form of abuse is identified or suspected.
Protect adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people from harm while using services that The Isbourne is responsible for (both directly provided, funded and commissioned) by ensuring services have safe working practices in place.
Ensure that all employees, volunteers, tutors, therapists, room renters, funders, referral partners and commissioning organisations associated with The Isbourne are able to report any safeguarding concerns appropriately.
Definitions and Types of Abuse
Adults in need of care and support
An adult in need of care and support is any person aged 18 or over, who:
Has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) and:
Is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and
As a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect A adult in need of care and support may be at risk of abuse in many ways:
There are a number of specific acts that constitute abuse which could affect both adults and children;
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
FGM is a collective term used for illegal procedures, such as female circumcision, which include the partial or total removal of the external female genital organs, or injury to the female genital organs for a cultural or non-therapeutic reason.
Honour Based Violence (HBV)
HBV is abuse in the name of honour, covering a variety of behaviours (including crimes), mainly but not exclusively against females, where the person is being punished by their family and/or community for a perceived transgression against the ‘honour’ of the family or community, or is required to undergo certain activities or procedures in ‘honour’ of the family.
It is a form of domestic abuse which relates to a victim who does not abide by the ‘rules’ of an honour code. This will have been set at the discretion of relatives or community; the victims are punished for bringing shame on the family or community.
Forced Marriage
In a forced marriage a person is coerced into marrying someone against their will. They may be physically threatened or emotionally blackmailed to do so. It is an abuse of human rights and cannot be justified on any religious or cultural basis. It is not the same as an arranged marriage where they have a choice as to whether to accept the arrangement or not. The tradition of arranged marriages has operated successfully within many communities and countries for a very long time.
Stalking
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 defines “stalking” as an offence. However, there is no legal definition, but examples include: following or spying on a person or forcing contact with the victim through any means including social media. Any of these examples carried out repeatedly or persistently can cause significant alarm or distress.
Radicalisation
Prevent is a government strategy which aims to raise awareness and resilience to radicalisation. It recognises that children and adults in need of care and support can be susceptible to extremist views and coerced into criminal behaviour.
Modern Slavery
There are many different characteristics that distinguish slavery from other human rights violations, however only one needs to be present for slavery to exist. It involves people being forced to work through mental or physical threat, owned or controlled by an ‘employer’ usually through mental or physical abuse or the threat of abuse, dehumanised and being treated as a commodity or bought and sold as ‘property’.
Human Trafficking
Takes place when a victim is moved from one place to another for the purpose of exploitation, this could be through sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, forced criminality or organ harvesting. The trafficker is able to control and exploit through violence, coercion or deception.
Cyber Crime
Cyber-crime is defined as criminal activity carried out by means of computers or the internet. Criminals are increasingly exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities without physical or virtual boarders. These crimes can cause serious harm and pose significant threats to adult in need of care and support adults and children. Cyber-crime may take the form of cyber bullying. Cyber-bullying is the process of using the Internet, mobile phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Victims of cyberbullying may not know the identity of their bully, or why the bully is targeting them. The harassment can have wide-reaching effects on the victim, as the content used to harass the victim can be spread and shared easily among many people and often remains accessible for a long time after the initial incident.
Children and Young People
In accordance with guidance provided by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 and based on the Children Act (1989) and (2004) the terms children, child, young person or young people shall for the purposes of this policy be deemed to mean:
“Anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. The fact that they have reached 16 years of age; are living independently or in further education; are a member of the armed forces; in hospital or in custody in the secure estate for children and young people, does not change his or her status or entitlement to services or protection under the Acts and this policy”
A child may be at risk of abuse in many ways:
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
‘Sexual exploitation of children and young people under 18 involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Child sexual exploitation can occur through the use of technology without the child’s immediate recognition; for example being persuaded to post sexual images on the Internet/mobile phones without immediate payment or gain.
In all cases, those exploiting the child/young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources. Violence, coercion and intimidation are common, involvement in exploitative relationships being characterised in the main by the child or young person’s limited availability of choice resulting from their social/economic and/or emotional vulnerability’
Responsibilities
Trustees The Isbourne foundation board of trustees has a Designated Safeguarding Officer to support and provide guidance and advice to aid implementation of this policy and support the General Manager and Administration Coordinator.
All staff (paid and unpaid) have a responsibility to comply with this and related policies in order to prevent the neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse of an adult in need of care and support and/or children and to report any abuse discovered or suspected. They are expected to promote good practice
by being an excellent role model, to contribute to discussions about safeguarding and to positively involve people in developing safe practices.
The General Manager is also responsible for ensuring that:
The safeguarding policy is fit for purpose, is accessible to staff, trustees, volunteers, affiliated outreach, services for business, tutors, therapists, room renters, funders, referral partners and commissioning bodies.
The best safeguarding practices are embedded across all services to ensure continuous improvement and compliance with national and local policies.
To provide guidance and advice to aid implementation of this policy and in making a referral.
All staff (paid and unpaid) will receive safeguarding information at induction.
Report any concerns as per the ‘reporting procedure’ and complete the reporting procedure form.
Implementation
The scope of this safeguarding policy is broad ranging and in practice, it will be implemented in parallel with other internal policies and procedures such as:
Data protection
Equality and Diversity
Grievance and disciplinary
Health and Safety
Safe Recruitment and Induction Training
Shortlisting is based on a formal application process.
Interviews are conducted according to equal opportunities and interview questions are based on the relevant job description/specification.
DBS checks are carried out - for all staff (paid and unpaid) who will be working with adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people and for all affiliated outreach, services for business, college tutors and therapists.
All staff (paid and unpaid) who will be working with adults in need of care and support and/or children and young people will be required to complete Learn Pro safeguarding e-learning modules at induction
Managing an allegation against a member of staff, tutor, therapist or volunteer
The Isbourne will ensure all allegations or complaints received against its staff (paid or unpaid) within the organisation or by a professional from another organisation will be discussed with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), according to the ISA referral guidance document isa-gov.org.uk for advice before action is taken.
If a crime has been witnessed, the police should be contacted immediately. The police should also be informed where there is evidence that a member of staff, tutor, therapist or volunteer may have committed a criminal offence.
The safety of the individual(s) concerned is paramount. A risk assessment must be undertaken immediately to assess the level of risk to all service users posed by the alleged perpetrator. This will include whether it is safe for them to continue in their role whilst the investigation is undertaken.
Safeguarding Procedures
Reporting Process
Allegation against staff member
Concern about an adult in need of care and support
Concern about a child or young person
Signed: __Joanna Hill______________________ Date: 16th September 2019
Joanna Hill
(Trustee)