Purpose
We are working with schools in the Valley to extend our reach to young people.
The purpose of this policy statement is:
- to protect children and young people who receive HVCA’s services from harm.
- to provide staff and volunteers with the principles that guide our approach to child protection.
This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of HVCA, including 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 seek to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation is available from nspcc.org.uk/learning.
We believe that:
- children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind and that we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe.
We recognise that:
- the welfare of children is paramount in all our work and that all children have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
- some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.
Safeguarding policy statement
We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:
- valuing, listening to and respecting them
- adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice
- developing and implementing an effective safety policy and related procedures
- providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training
- ensuring all necessary checks of staff and volunteers are made
- sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with the schools we work with
- making sure that children and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
- share any concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
- using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately
- ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
- ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for children and young people
- building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.
Contact details
Lead for safeguarding and child protection
Rev Louise Petheram 01433 621918 rev.louise.p@gmail.com
This policy statement came into force on 14 April 2020. We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually. This policy statement and accompanying procedures were last reviewed on 20 April 2020
Stephen Platt steve@carltd.om . April 2020
