Nuneaton and Bedworth Healthy Living Network

Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

1. Policy Commitment1.1 Nuneaton & Bedworth Healthy Living Network (HLN) is committed to safeguarding all children, young people and vulnerable adults that come into contact with our work. We believe that all children, young people and vulnerable adults have an equal right to protection from abuse, regardless of their age, race, religion, ability, gender, language, background or sexual identity and consider the welfare of the child/young person/ vulnerable adult is paramount.1.2 HLN will take every reasonable step to ensure that all children, young people and vulnerable adults are protected, where our staff and partner organisations are involved in the delivery of our work. All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and investigations will be undertaken swiftly so that appropriate and required action is taken as soon as possible.1.3 HLN enables all our staff and those who work with us to make informed and confident decisions regarding safeguarding. We expect everyone (staff, board, partner organisations, volunteers and anyone working on behalf of HLN) to have read, understood and adhere to this policy and related procedure.1.4. HLN will ensure that all references are followed up and that all posts involved in working or coming into regular unsupervised contact with all children, young people and vulnerable adults are DBS cleared before their appointment is confirmed and they undertake unsupervised work.1.5 HLN, if abuse is suspected, will fully investigate the incident or allegations and will notify the police and other Statutory Authorities of the concerns/alleged allegations.1.6 When posts are advertised HLN will include a statement in any advertisements of HLN’s commitment to safeguarding and clearly identify in the person specification if Disclosure and Barring Service clearance is required for the job and the level of clearance required.

2. Context/Background of Policy2.1 HLN provides services to a wide range of individuals and organisations throughout Nuneaton & Bedworth and surrounding areas and while it is not currently involved in the direct care of children, some of our service users are children, young people and vulnerable adults.2.2 The HLN will take every reasonable step to ensure that all children, young people and vulnerable adults are protected where:-

Our own staff are directly involved in a project or programme of work. We broker the relationship between a partner organisation either in a HLN setting or a

community venue. We contract an associate/organisation/individual to work with children, young people and

vulnerable adults. We work in partnership with another organisation or agency.

2.3 We will endeavour to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults by: Valuing them, listening to and respecting them. Adopting this policy and adhering to our associated procedures and code of conduct for

staff. Recruiting all staff, volunteers and partner organisations safely by ensuring that all the

necessary checks are made.

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Sharing information about safeguarding and child protection with children, parents, community workers, carers, partner organisation and staff.

Sharing concerns with the appropriate agencies who need to know of any concerns By providing effective management and leadership to staff and partner organisations

through supervision, support and training.

3. Definitions3.1 An adult may be considered to be vulnerable if that person:

Receives personal care or nursing, or support to live independently in their own home, or a care home.

Receives any health or social services. Has a learning or physical disability, or a physical or mental illness, chronic or otherwise,

including addiction to alcohol or drugs, Has a reduced physical or mental capacity due to advanced age or to illness. Is a victim of domestic violence or a violent crime.

Regulated ActivityThe new definitions of regulated activities can be found by clicking on the following link:

Regulated activity Adults -https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/216900/Regulated-Activity-Adults-Dec-2012.pdf

Regulated activity children and young people – http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/r/regulated%20activity%20children%20full%20information%20ewni%20final%202012-06-01.pdf

3.2 Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. It may be a single act or repeated acts over time which may be physical, psychological, or an act of neglect or occur where a vulnerable or young person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which they have not or cannot consent to. Abuse may result in significant harm or exploitation of that individual or prevent them from reaching their full potential by restricting their personal and social development.3.3 The main forms of abuse are:

Physical : Failure to prevent physical injury or actual physical injury through hitting, shaking, squeezing, burning and biting. Giving children alcohol, inappropriate drugs or poison and attempted suffocation or drowning is also physical abuse.

Sexual: Inappropriate use of children, young people or vulnerable adults to meet an individual’s own sexual needs. This can range from full sexual intercourse, fondling or use of pornography.

Emotional: Persistent lack of love and affection, being constantly shouted at, threatened or taunted are just some examples.

Neglect: Inadequate diet, poor personal hygiene and clothing are examples. Children might be constantly left alone unsupervised.

Financial/Material: Fraud, theft, or using the vulnerable/young person’s property without permission.

Discriminatory: Biased treatment based on age, race, religion, ability, gender, language, background or sexual identity.

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Institutional: Repeated poor care of individuals through neglect or poor professional practice as a result of organisational structures, policies, processes and/or practices.

(This list is not exhaustive.)3.4 Recognising abuse is not easy. Most children will receive cuts, grazes and bruises from time to time and their behaviour may give reason for concern. Also, some ageing processes can cause changes which are hard to distinguish from some aspects of physical assault for example; skin bruising can occur very easily due to blood vessels becoming fragile. Any concerns should be immediately discussed with the individuals. Abuse can happen anywhere and can be carried out by anyone:

Informal carers, family, friends, neighbours Paid staff, volunteers Other service users, tenants Strangers

4. Roles and Responsibilities4.1 HLN will appoint a Designated Person who will be responsible on behalf HLN for Safeguarding and Child Protection , this will be the Finance & Office Manager and in their absence the role will be undertaken by the Manager.4.2 The role of the Designated Person is to:

Assume overall responsibility for safeguarding and child protection for HLN. Ensure this policy is communicated to all employees and is implemented accordingly. To ensure DBS clearance and compliance with checking that each individual or groups whose

work involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults have been assessed to be suitable to do so.

Ensure that all employees whose work involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults receive appropriate training, guidance and help to understand the key issues in relation to safeguarding.

Ensure all employees whose work involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults are trained to recognise signs of abuse and follow the referral procedure.

Help the rest of the organisation establish contact with the senior member of local authority responsible for safeguarding in the local area. Be a point of contact within the organisation for staff, board, partners and partner organisations in relation to safeguarding and child protection.

Be aware of local statutory safeguarding procedures and networks. Make decisions about safeguarding and child protection. Receive and assess information from staff and partner organisations that have a child

protection concern. Make a formal referral to a statutory child protection agency or the police without delay. Record the safeguarding concern and action taken on the organisation untoward incident

register.4.3 It is not the role of the Designated Person or HLN to decide whether abuse has taken place or not but report to the Manager or the Chair of HLN if they believe there has been abuse and on behalf of the Board share these concerns with the appropriate external agencies ensuring that appropriate action is taken and recorded.

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4.4 HLN employees have a responsibility to protect and report children, young people and vulnerable adults

from abuse. must be able to respond appropriately to a disclosure of abuse, ensuring the information

they receive is handled correctly. are not responsible for judging whether an allegation is true or for sorting it out.

5. Reporting Incidents5.1 All allegations or suspicions must be treated seriously and reported under HLN’s policy on how to raise matters of concern (whistle blowing policy). Abuse of any form is not acceptable. Depending on the abuse the abuser may well have committed a criminal offence and must be reported by the Manager to the Police immediately. The following should be considered:

Risk – does the individual understand the nature and consequences of any risk they may be subject to and do they willingly accept the risk?

Self-determination – is the individual able to make their own decisions and choices and do they wish to do so?

Seriousness determined by:- the perception by the individual and their vulnerability.- the extent of the abuse.- the length of time the abuse has been going on.- the impact on the individual.- the risk of repetition or escalation involving this individual and anyone else.- whether a criminal offence is being committed?

In a situation of immediate danger, the relevant emergency service should be called and leave the situation if it’s unsafe.5.2 It is not the responsibility of anyone working within HLN to decide whether or not abuse has taken place. It is therefore vital that employees raise all cases of suspected or alleged abuse in line with the procedures identified in this policy as there may already have been concerns expressed by other employees/volunteers and failure to report concerns may put children, young people and vulnerable adults at risk.5.3 Any disclosure or suspicion of abuse should be reported to the Office & Finance manager as soon as possible and logged accordingly (see Appendix 1). The matter should also be referred to the Manager as soon as possible who will ensure that it is reported to the Board of Trustees at the next meeting.5.4 The Office and Finance manager, in consultation with the Manager, will gather further information and details by interviewing the person making the report or the service user directly.5.5 The Manager (or employee so instructed by the Manager) will then devise an appropriate plan of action. The exact and nature of the action taken will be determined by the individual circumstances, but it may include the involvement of external authorities, such as services, referral organisations and the Police.5.6 In the case of a disclosure or suspicion of abuse concerning a young person aged under 18 years, HLN will always refer the matter to the appropriate external authorities, which in the first instance is MASH (Warwickshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub)

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5.7 The Office & Finance Manager will ensure that all HLN employees and volunteers are familiar with this policy and good practice guidelines on the immediate action to be taken following a report of abuse (see Appendix 2).5.8 Any allegation made against an employee should be reported to the Office & Finance Manager and the Manager informed immediately. The matter will be investigated and the appropriate action taken, including disciplinary action if the allegations are against an employee of HLN, which may result in suspension and dismissal. In the event of an allegation being made against the Manager, this should be reported to the Chair and the Board of Trustees. If made against theChair the issue should be reported to the Board of Trustees of HLN.5.9 If a disclosure of abuse is made by a service user, care should be taken to explain to them the procedure that will be followed and they should be told that it may not be possible for HLN to maintain confidentiality.5.10 If a HLN service user makes an allegation about another partner organisation this should be reported to the Manager who will investigate and take appropriate action.

6. Support for employees who report suspected abuse6.1 All staff, partner organisations and volunteers are assured that they can disclose confidential information relating to unacceptable behaviour by other members of staff/associate organisations. They will:-

Be taken seriously and in confidence, although if others are at serious risk their concerns could be shared.

Have immediate protection from the risk of reprisals or intimidation and employees will be covered by the Whistle Blowing Policy.

6.2 Children, young people and vulnerable adults have the right to make allegations of abuse and should be taken seriously and listened to if such allegations are made. Children, young people and vulnerable adults who access or who are involved in our services should :-

Be made aware of this policy. Have alleged incidents recognised and taken seriously. Receive fair and respectful treatment throughout. Be involved in any process as appropriate. Receive information and be advised on the outcome their complaint.

.7. Responding to allegations or suspicions7.1 If a member of staff has any reason to suspect that a child, young person or vulnerable adult is being subjected to physical, emotional or sexual abuse, then these steps must be followed:-

Report the matter to the Designated Officer. The Designated Officer will assess the nature of the suspicions or the disclosure. The Designated Officer will consult the relevant officer at the venue (ie. School, theatre,

community centre etc) involved, or MASH. HLN’S staff must not attempt to investigate the matter themselves. This is the responsibility

of the Local Authority and/or the police. If an allegation is made against a member of the HLN’s staff/or external organisations, HLN

will act swiftly immediately and there will either be a criminal investigation, a child protection investigation and/or a disciplinary or misconduct investigation.

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8. Images and Documentation8.1 The collection of images for promotional purposes by the company employees, or those authorised to do so on the company’s behalf, is acceptable providing permission has been granted by the individuals who will be photographed/videoed. A Photograph Permission form to be completed and signed and placed on file. Adults (including parents/guardians of children below the age of consent) and young people (over the age of consent) should be aware of:

The purpose for which the images will be used. The length of time that they will be used for or that the use may be for an indefinite period

(in the case of using the social network for event publicity). Good practice is that permission is not requested for any period longer than two years for

the storage of images.8.2 Images should not be stored on the hard drive of PCs or laptops beyond the duration of the project. 8.3 Once the project has been completed, then the images should be dated and archived. They should be stored in a locked cabinet or drawer. They should be erased / destroyed as soon as there is no further use for them.

9. Good Practice9.1 Recruitment and InductionHLN Recruitment Policy and Procedures should be followed both for employees and volunteers:-

Risk assessment of role to assess need for and level of DBS clearance required. Receipt of two satisfactory employment references.

9.2 Training Familiarisation with all HLN policies and procedures during induction. Further training dependent upon the role and the nature of specific projects that HLN may

host, such as:- Risk assessment.- Types of abuse and recognition of the signs.- Keeping appropriate records.- Listening skills.

9.3 Management and supervisionAll staff members will have regular supervision sessions with their line manager in which their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding will be regularly discussed and clarified. Employees and volunteers working directly with children, young people and vulnerable adults should maintain a register of any children, young people and vulnerable adults that they work with at any time in accordance with the Confidentiality Policy. Employees and volunteers should also comply with the HLN’s Employee and Volunteer Code of Conduct Policy. Any inappropriate action may invoke the disciplinary procedure.9.4 Record Keeping

Any concerns will be recorded in writing and kept in a locked drawer to comply with data protection legislation and HLN’s policy.

All incidents should be discussed in supervision with the appropriate line manager. Records should only include contacts and referrals made including date, time, and reason

and referral agency. If a specific project requires more detailed records, then these will be complied with.

9.5 Planning

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Staff members should avoid lone working with children, young people and vulnerable adults. Where this is not possible, this policy must be adhered to.

If it is necessary for a staff member to meet a service user outside of HLN’s offices, where possible, this meeting should be in a public place and the staff member’s line manager should always be notified of the planned meeting.

Visiting service users at their home is not encouraged, but it is recognised that in certain circumstances it may be unavoidable. In the event of a staff member visiting a service user at home they must ensure that another staff member knows where they are going and what time they are expected to be back.

Service users should never be given access to the home address or telephone number of any HLN staff members.

Service users’ contact details should never be disclosed to anyone outside of HLN without their explicit consent.

Staff should only work alone in the office or with a service user in line with HLN’s lone working policy. If a staff member is meeting a service user outside of normal office hours they must ensure that another employee will remain in the office until the meeting is finished.

10. Policy ReviewHLN is committed to reviewing these policies and procedures annually, updating the action plan as appropriate.

11. Attached AppendicesAppendix 1 LOGGING CONCERNS ABOUT A YOUNG PERSON’S/VULNERABLE ADULTS SAFETYAppendix 2 PROCEDURE WHEN ABUSE IS REPORTEDAppendix 3 PROCEDURE WHEN ABUSE IS SUSPECTEDAppendix 4 CONTACT NUMBERS

12 . Monitoring and Review

12.1 This policy and procedure will be kept under continuous review, and will be updated at periodic intervals of not less than 2 years.

As approved by the HLN Board 20th June 2017

Appendix 1

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LOGGING CONCERNS ABOUT A YOUNG PERSON’S/VULNERABLE ADULT’S SAFETY

Name of client: Date of birth:

Date form completed: Time completed:

Employee name:

Signature:

Position:

Concern (should include details concerning who, what, where and when and reasons for concern):

Action taken (should include the name of whom this information was passed to):

The completed form should be forwarded to the Office & Finance Manager to facilitate an annual review of logged incidents to enable a report to be submitted to the Board of Trustees.

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PROCEDURE WHEN ABUSE IS REPORTED React calmly so not to frighten or deter him/her. Reassure him/her that you are glad they have told you, and it is not their fault. Don’t promise to keep it to yourself. Explain that you need to make sure that they will be safe and may have to pass on the information to somebody trusted to deal with it appropriately. Listen carefully to what they say and take them seriously. Allow them to tell you what happened in their own words and at their own pace. Don’t pressure them to disclose anything that they don’t want to. It is important to clarify what you have heard, and to establish the basic facts. However avoid leading questions and do not ask them specific questions about explicit details. Don’t leave the individual until they are ready to be left alone. If possible make brief notes during the initial disclosure, explaining to them why you are doing this. If not possible to do at the time, make notes as soon as possible afterwards. All notes should be dated and signed by the employee taking them. The information recorded should include:

- The nature of the suspicion or allegation.- A description of any visible injury.- Dates and times and any other factual information.- The distinction between fact, opinion or hearsay.

The appropriate line management must be informed immediately and the appropriate documentation completed as soon as possible (see Appendix 1). Anyone dealing with a child that has disclosed information can be referred for professional help to enable them to deal with the experience. In situations of immediate danger, dial 999 and have regard for your own safety.

Appendix 3PROCEDURE WHEN ABUSE IS SUSPECTED

Talk to the individual sensitively to find out if there is anything worrying them. Keep questions to a minimum but make sure you are absolutely clear about what has been

said. Do not take sole responsibility; discuss your concerns with the appropriate line

management. Contact with parents/guardians/carers should be delayed until the Manager has sought

advice from the relevant Social Care Team.

Appendix 4

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CONTACT NUMBERSUseful Contact details:-Designated Officer - Lisa Pettifor – Office & Finance ManagerTelephone: 02476 322046 Email: lisa.pettifor@swft.nhs.uk

Warwickshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)Telephone: 01926 414144 www.warwickshireMASH.org.uk Outside of office hours for an immediate concern about a child in danger dial 999 and contact the Emergency Duty Team on 01926 886922

In the event of concerns for a vulnerable adult within Warwickshire, the matter should be reported to the Adult Social Care Team on 01926 412080.

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