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Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

 

Allstars recognises that, under the Children Act 1989 and 2004, it has a duty and responsibility for making arrangements to ensure all its functions are discharged having regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children/young people in their care – this includes all services directly provided and commissioned by the local authority. The organisation also recognises and meets its responsibilities under Working Together 2018 and The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 for safeguarding children.  A child is anyone up until their 18th birthday.

 

“Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children” is defined in Working Together 2018 as:

 

  • protecting children from maltreatment

  • preventing impairment of children’s health and development

  • ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

  • taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes


 

  1. Persons affected

  • All staff, paid and unpaid, this includes Trustees and other volunteers

  • All service users

  • All visitors and contractors

 

3. Safeguarding policy

Allstars is committed to the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It has:

 

  • a clear line of accountability for the commissioning and/or provision of services designed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;

  • a senior board level lead to take leadership responsibility for Allstars safeguarding arrangements;

  • a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, both in individual decisions and the development of services;

  • clear whistleblowing procedures and are suitably referenced in staff training and codes of conduct, and a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children to be addressed;

  • arrangements which set out clearly the processes for sharing information procedures with other professionals and with the Suffolk safeguarding Partnership;

  • a designated professional lead for safeguarding at Allstars. Their role is to support other professionals in their agencies to recognise the needs of children, including rescue from possible abuse or neglect. Designated professional roles should always be explicitly defined in job descriptions. Safeguarding leads should be given sufficient time, funding, supervision and support to fulfil their child welfare and safeguarding responsibilities effectively;

  • safe recruitment practices for individuals whom Allstars will permit to work regularly with children, including policies on when to obtain a DBS check;

  • appropriate supervision and support for staff, including undertaking safeguarding training

  • ensuring that staff are competent to carry out their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and creating an environment where staff feel able to raise concerns and feel supported in their safeguarding role;

  • staff are given a mandatory induction, which includes familiarisation with safeguarding responsibilities and procedures to be followed if anyone has any concerns about a child’s safety or welfare;

  • all staff should have regular reviews of their own practice to ensure they improve over time in their work with children, young people and families.

  • clear policies in line with those from the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership for dealing with allegations against people who work with children. Such policies should make a clear distinction between an allegation, a concern about the quality of care or practice or a complaint. An allegation may relate to a person who works with children who has:

  • behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child;

  • possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child; or

  • behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children.

 

Allstars will ensure that staff  understand;

  • What they need to do, and what they can expect of one another, to safeguard children.

  • Core legal requirements, making it clear what individuals and Allstars should do to keep children safe. In doing so, Allstars seeks to emphasise that effective safeguarding systems are those where:

  • The child’s needs are paramount, and the needs and wishes of each child, be they a baby or infant, or an older child, should be put first, so that every child receives the support they need before a problem escalates;

  • That all staff who come into contact with children and families are alert to their needs and any risks of harm that individual abusers, or potential abusers, may pose to children;

  • The requirement to share appropriate information in a timely way and can discuss any concerns about an individual child with colleagues and local authority children’s social care;

  • The necessity to use their expert judgement to put the child’s needs at the heart of the safeguarding system so that the right solution can be found for each individual child;

  • The necessity to contribute to whatever actions are needed to safeguard and promote a child’s welfare and take part in regularly reviewing the outcomes for the child against specific plans and outcomes;

 

 

  • Key principles will be communicated that;

  • safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility: for services to be effective each professional and organisation should play their full part; and

  • a child-centred approach: for services to be effective they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of children.

 

4. Revision history

 

This policy and related guidance will be monitored by the Director(s) on a regular basis for compliance and will be reviewed at least annually.

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