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Safeguarding

Statements and Resources

Enter CIC aims to work safely with children and young people. We aim to put the welfare of children and young people at the heart of our daily practice, our aims and values and our aspirations. We have safeguarding procedures in place to support our policies.

THE PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS POLICY STATEMENT

The purpose of this policy statement is:

  • to protect children and young people who receive Enter CIC’s services from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services
  • to provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Enter CIC, including senior managers and the board of directors, 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 seeks to protect children in England.

WE BELIEVE THAT:

  • children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
  • we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them.

WE RECOGNISE THAT:

  • the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
  • working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
  • all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, orsexual orientation 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
  • extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.

WE SEEK TO KEEP CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE BY:

  • valuing, listening to and respecting them
  • appointing a nominated child protection lead for children and young people, a deputy and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding
  • adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers
  • developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures
  • providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
  • recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
  • recording and storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance
  • sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions
  • making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
  • using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share 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
  • creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policyand procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
  • ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
  • ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
  • 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

SAFEGUARDING LEAD: A FLYNN. 01740 655437

This policy was reviewed as part of our annual review and was published on 30th November, 2023.

Enter CIC works with children and families as part of its activities. These include: performing arts, fine arts, heritage, culture and community initiatives. Our activities are designed to be safe, inclusive and engaging.

The purpose of this policy statement is:

  • to prevent bullying from happening between children and young people who are a part of our organisation or take part in our activities
  • to make sure bullying is stopped as soon as possible if it does happen and that those involved receive the support they need
  • to provide information to all staff, volunteers, children and their families about what we should all do to prevent and deal with bullying.

This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of Enter CIC, including senior managers and the board of directors, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.

What is bullying?

Bullying includes a range of abusive behaviour that is

  • repeated
  • intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in the UK.

We believe that:

  • children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
  • we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and operate in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

  • bullying causes real distress and affects a person’s health and development
  • in some instances, bullying can cause significant harm
  • all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
  • everyone has a role to play in preventing all forms of bullying (including online) and putting a stop to bullying.

We will seek to prevent bullying by:

  • developing a code of behaviour that sets out how everyone involved in our organisation is expected to behave, in face-to-face contact and online, and within and outside of our activities
  • holding regular discussions with staff, volunteers, children, young people and families who use our organisation about bullying and how to prevent it
  • providing support and training for all staff and volunteers on dealing with all forms of bullying, including racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic and sexual bullying
  • putting clear and robust anti-bullying procedures in place.

Our regular discussions with staff, volunteers, children, young people and families will focus on:

  • group members’ responsibilities to look after one another and uphold the behaviour code
  • practising skills such as listening to each other
  • respecting the fact that we are all different
  • making sure that no one is without friends
  • dealing with problems in a positive way
  • checking that our anti-bullying measures are working well.
  • responding to bullying

We will make sure our response to incidents of bullying takes into account:

  • the needs of the person being bullied
  • the needs of the person displaying bullying behaviour
  • needs of any bystanders
  • our organisation as a whole.

We will review the plan we have developed to address any incidents of bullying at regular intervals, in order to ensure that the problem has been resolved in the long term.

Diversity and inclusion

We recognise that bullying is closely related to how we respect and recognise the value of diversity.

We will be proactive about:

  • seeking opportunities to learn about and celebrate difference
  • increasing diversity within our staff, volunteers, children and young people
  • welcoming new members to our organisation.

Contact details

Nominated anti-bullying lead

Name: A Flynn. 01740 655437

We are committed to reviewing our policy and practice at least once a year.

This policy was last reviewed on 30th November, 2023

Enter CIC works with children and families as part of its activities. These include: performing arts, fine arts, heritage, culture and community initiatives. Our activities are designed to be safe, inclusive and engaging.

The purpose and scope of this policy statement is to:

  • ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is paramount when adults, young people or children are using the internet, social media or mobile devices
  • provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to online safety
  • ensure that, as an organisation, we operate in line with our values and within the law in terms of how we use online devices.

The policy statement applies to all staff, volunteers, children and young people and anyone involved in Enter CIC’s activities.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England.

We believe that:

  • children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
  • children should be able to use the internet for education and personal development, but safeguards need to be in place to ensure they are kept safe at all times.

We recognise that:

  • the online world provides everyone with many opportunities; however it can also present risks and challenges
  • we have a duty to ensure that all children, young people and adults involved in our organisation are protected from potential harm online
  • we have a responsibility to help keep children and young people safe online, whether or not they are using Enter CIC’s network and devices
  • working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare and in helping young people to be responsible in their approach to online safety
  • all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

We aim to keep children and young people safe by:

    • appointing an online safety coordinator
    • providing clear and specific directions to staff and volunteers on how to behave online through our behaviour code for adults
    • supporting and encouraging the young people using our service to use the internet, social media and mobile phones in a way that keeps them safe and shows respect for others
    • supporting and encouraging parents and carers to do what they can to keep their children safe online
    • developing an online safety agreement for use with young people and their parents or carers
    • developing clear and robust procedures to enable us to respond appropriately to any incidents of inappropriate online behaviour, whether by an adult or a child or young person
    • reviewing and updating the security of our information systems regularly
    • ensuring that user names, logins, email accounts and passwords are used effectively
    • ensuring personal information about the adults and children who are involved in our organisation is held securely and shared only as appropriate
    • ensuring that images of children, young people and families are used only after their written permission has been obtained, and only for the purpose for which consent has been given
    • providing supervision, support and training for staff and volunteers about online safety
    • examining and risk assessing any social media platforms and new technologies before they are used within the organisation.

If online abuse occurs, we will respond to it by:

  • having clear and robust safeguarding procedures in place for responding to abuse (including online abuse)
  • providing support and training for all staff and volunteers on dealing with all forms of abuse, including bullying or cyberbullying, emotional abuse, sexting, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
  • making sure our response takes the needs of the person experiencing abuse, any bystanders and our organisation as a whole into account
  • reviewing the plan developed to address online abuse at regular intervals, in order to ensure that any problems have been resolved in the long term.

Contact details

Online safety co-ordinator

Name: P Flynn. 01740 655437

This policy was last reviewed on: 30th November 2023

This is not an exhaustive list of available resources, but it will help those looking for immediate support, ongoing advice or research information. If you’re in immediate danger, ring 999.

Childline

Free posters and wallet cards

Advice – Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships

Advice – Asking an adult for help

Advice – Bullying, Abuse, Safety and the Law

Advice – You and your body

Advice – Your feelings

Advice – Getting through a tough time

Advice – School, College and Work

Advice – How to deal with exam stress

Need help?

Childline.org.uk    0800 1111

Worried about a nude or sexual image of you that’s been shared or someone’s threatening to share online? Childline can help you report it via the Report Remove tool. Visit https://www.childline.org.uk/remove to make a confidential report to the IWF.

NSPCC

For Children: Building Connections

For Parents: Look, Say, Sing, Play

For Professionals: Research and Statistics

Safeguarding in Faith Communities

CEOP

Safety Centre

ThinkuKnow – For professionals

ThinkuKnow – For parents / carers

ThinkuKnow – For 4 – 7 year olds

ThinkuKnow – For 8 – 10 year olds

ThinkuKnow – For 11 – 18 year olds

Need help?

Contact the NCA Control Centre on 0370 4967 622, or you can email ceopsafetycentre@nca.gov.uk. They will make sure your message reaches the CEOP Child Protection team.

Other Organisations and Agency Resources

Safeguarding Network

Local Government Association

Ann Craft Trust

Safeguarding Support Hub

NCVO

Mencap