Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

The purpose of this policy is to: 

• protect all learners studying with us 
• enable staff to safeguard and promote the welfare of learners 
• encourage a culture which makes our company a safe place in which to learn. 

Who does this policy apply to? 

The policy applies to everyone working, studying, visiting or associated with our company. 

Definitions 

1. Children, this includes everyone under the age of 18. However, for the purpose of relating this definition to the company environment, throughout this policy we will refer to children as ‘young people’ 

2. Vulnerable Adults (or Adults at Risk) are people aged 18 years or over who are, or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who are, or may be unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation (Lord Chancellor’s Department: “Who Decides” 1997 and No Secrets 2000) 

3. Staff – for the purpose of this policy, ‘staff’ will include all company employees, volunteers, agency staff, contractors, consultants and those who are self-employed. 

Policy Statement for the Safeguarding of Young People and Vulnerable Adults 

The company: 

• recognises that young people and vulnerable adults have a fundamental right to be protected from harm, exploitation and discrimination, and that learners cannot learn effectively unless they feel safe 
• will provide an environment that promotes equality, self-confidence, a feeling of worth and the knowledge that learners’ concerns are listened to and acted upon 
• is committed to ensuring that best practice is adopted when working with all young people and vulnerable adults, offering them support and protection, and accepts that it has a legal and moral responsibility to implement procedures to fulfil its duty of care, to safeguard their wellbeing and to protect them from abuse 
• will ensure that all staff understand the importance of working in partnership with learners, their employers/ parents / carers and others in order to promote and safeguard the welfare of all learners 
• will follow the ‘Safeguarding Children Partnership’ (SCP), which replaced the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) inter-agency procedures and legislative and statutory guidance. 

Why do we need this policy? 

Background information 

What is Safeguarding? 

The two key principles of Safeguarding are: 

• Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility – for services to be effective, each profession and organisation should play their full part 
• A learner-centred approach – for services to be effective, they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of learners (Department for Education (DfE) (21028) Working Together to Safeguard Children – A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. Where a child is suffering significant harm, or is likely to do so, action should be taken to protect that child  

• Department for Education (DfE) (2018) Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (PDF). London: HM Government. 

We also recognise that we have a statutory and moral duty to promote and safeguard the welfare of vulnerable adults receiving education and training at the company. 

A whole organisation approach 

The company is committed to a whole-organisation approach to Safeguarding. Certain groups of people have key responsibilities, as outlined later in this document, but it is everyone’s responsibility to keep learners safe. 

There are three main elements to this Policy: 

• Prevention: providing safe physical and on-line environments, careful and vigilant teaching, accessible pastoral care, support for learners and good adult role models; raising e-safety awareness 
• Protection: providing training, support and clear procedures to enable staff to respond appropriately and sensitively to safeguarding and child protection concerns, and ensuring that our company’s IT infrastructure and network are safe and secure 
• Support: providing help and support to young people and vulnerable adults who do not feel safe or may have been abused. 

Aims 

• To raise staff awareness of the importance of safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults, and of their responsibilities for identifying and reporting actual or suspected abuse 
• To ensure that everyone knows that our company takes Safeguarding very seriously and will follow the appropriate procedures for identifying and reporting abuse, and for dealing with allegations against staff 
• To liaise effectively with employers, parents, carers and other agencies, working together to protect our learners 
• To address related issues such as bullying, behaviour and e-safety. 

Roles and responsibilities 

The company will: 

• provide Safeguarding, Prevent and e-Safety instruction to learners during induction, and ensure they know who to contact should they feel unsafe or are suffering abuse 
• ensure the continuance of a Safeguarding & Prevent Board with representation from the company 
• appoint a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)  
• provide appropriate Safeguarding training for all staff  
• ensure that all staff have completed DBS checks in accordance with our recruitment procedures 
• ensure that all recruitment of staff and volunteers follows our Recruitment Policy and procedures 
• ensure that all allegations are managed appropriately 
• ensure that all staffing agencies and contractors employed by the company have appropriate Safeguarding training in place 
• ensure all staff work to the agreed staff code of conduct, within professional boundaries and acceptable safer working practices 
• have in place appropriate supporting policies and guidance (e.g., Anti-Bullying and Harassment; e-Safety and IT Acceptable Use; Equality and Diversity, Whistle Blowing, Recruitment) and ensure that they are available to everyone working, studying at or visiting the company, including parents/carers 

• be aware of the needs of vulnerable groups 
• ensure work placements follow the agreed Safeguarding guidelines 
• comply with inter-agency working agreements and share relevant information with and from relevant local authorities and agencies, including receiving information from the police via Children’s Services relating to any instances of domestic abuse that have occurred within the household of one of our learners. 

The staff, managers at the company will: 

• ensure that we have effective policies and procedures in place, in accordance with legal requirements and published guidance, to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all learners 
• ensure that all staff working for the company are clear about its statutory obligations regarding Safeguarding, and monitors the steps it is taking to develop good practice beyond the statutory minimum requirement 
• nominate a Safeguarding & Prevent lead. 

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) will: 

• oversee our approach to Safeguarding, Prevent and Child Protection and its adherence to relevant legislation 
• promote the safeguarding and welfare needs of all learners 
• co-ordinate the safeguarding-related work undertaken by the different departments within our company and ensure its effectiveness 
• provide a means of liaison with the Safeguarding Children Partnership’ (SCP) 
• report on a regular basis to the advisory board and managers of the company 
• chair the Safeguarding & Prevent Board and be responsible for organising termly meetings 
• be responsible for the commissioning and/or provision of services designated to safeguarding 
• be responsible for the appointment and training of all designated Safeguarding and Prevent staff  
• be responsible for making the decision to make an inter-agency referral 
• be responsible for the collation and secure storage of all records relating to Safeguarding, Prevent or Child Protection incidents and concerns 
• act as a point of reference and support staff on matters of Safeguarding, Prevent and Child Protection 
• receive appropriate training and disseminate knowledge, attend relevant conferences, keep up to date with all matters relating to Safeguarding, Prevent and Child Protection and provide written reports as required 
• follow agreed reporting and monitoring procedures. 

Learner-facing staff will: 

• identify and meet the safeguarding needs of individual learners 
• ensure that learners feel safe and secure and are encouraged to talk and share their concerns, and that they are listened to 
• promote e-Safety to learners as an integral part of their course 
• recognise that learners with special educational needs or disabilities may be especially vulnerable to abuse and take extra care to interpret apparent signs of abuse or neglect. 

All staff will: 

• promote and apply our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and procedures. 

Liaison with external agencies 

We will promote effective liaison with other agencies in order to work together for the protection of all learners. 

Links to company values and other company policies 

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Safeguarding Handbooks for Learners and Staff which contain our Safeguarding procedures and associated guidance. 

Associated company policies include:

• Prevent
• Whistleblowing
• Staff Disciplinary 
• Learner Disciplinary
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement 
• IT Acceptable Use 
• Recruitment 
• Staff Code of Conduct 
• Health & Safety 

This list is not exhaustive. 

Who needs to understand this policy and how will they know about it? 

Everyone working, studying or visiting our company needs to understand this Policy. The following training and awareness will be put in place: 

Who?	How?
All staff (including volunteers).	Overview included in initial induction; mandatory on-line training on joining and refresher training every 3 years. Specific Safeguarding Handbook for Staff
Staff with specific Safeguarding responsibilities	Appropriate specialist external training
Agency staff and contractors	Arrangements in place to ensure that agencies and contractors provide the necessary training for their staff.
All learners	Reference made to the Policy throughout the learner induction process and included in the Learner Handbook.
Managers	Will undertake mandatory on-line training on joining and refresher training every 3 years, and receive regular updates from company Safeguarding Lead.