Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults
Vibe believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, young people and adults who access our services, through a commitment to always protect them.
The aims of our safeguarding policy are:
To ensure every child, young person and adult who we work with are kept safe.
To inform and support Vibe staff and volunteers in making sure that the safety and welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults who access services, is paramount
To raise the awareness of staff and volunteers of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse.
To provide a systematic means of monitoring children/young people/vulnerable adults who are known, or thought, to be at risk of harm.
To emphasise the need for good levels of communication between all members of staff.
To develop and promote effective working relationships with other agencies, especially the Police and Children’s Social Care
To ensure safer recruitment and that all employees and volunteers within Vibe, who have access to children/young people, have had the relevant background and employment checks.
We commit to:
The welfare of children and young people being paramount
All children, regardless of age, ability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
Working in partnership with children, young people, and parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
Regularly reviewing the safeguarding arrangements and procedures that are in operation
Safeguarding Responsibilities
Every member of staff and volunteer working for Vibe has a responsibility to safeguard children. Key members of staff (outlined in our policy) take a lead in this area. We all have a duty to report concerns wherever they arise for instance through our work in support of families, with regards to the behaviour or practice of staff, volunteers, other organisations or individuals.
Every member of staff and volunteer will read and attend training on our full safeguarding policy and procedures.
Key areas covered in our policy include:
Importance of taking any concerns or allegations seriously and raising them via the correct channels and without delay. Always with the child or young persons safety and best interests in mind.
Types of abuse and the signs to look for
Clear outline of roles and responsibilities for safeguarding
The need to discuss, report and record concerns as appropriate (The 5 R’s)
Safeguarding procedure and process flowcharts on how concerns should be progressed
Whistleblowing policies and procedures to deal with concerns about staff or volunteers
Notes on how to record concerns on the system and sharing of information
As part of our safeguarding policy, Vibe will:
promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people
Monitoring and review
Our policy will be reviewed annually or in response to changes in legislation and/or government guidance or significant internal changes.
Diversity
We are committed to valuing diversity by promoting and implementing equality of opportunity across the whole spectrum of our interventions to reduce and support any group who experience oppression, discrimination, and disadvantage. We are an organisation, which recognises, celebrates and values diversity and intends to be a leading-edge example of good practice. We work together, with young people, with our team and with our partners. We believe in collaboration and as a result we are continuously looking to develop and create effective partnerships.
A founding principle within our offer, is to develop essential skills for young people as they journey to adulthood. Providing young people with an understanding of the meaning behind words or action, along with other essential elements needed to help remove stigmas and barriers. This could be as simple as challenging flippant comments or actions, to creating a dialogue designed to develop respect and understanding of those backgrounds or lifestyles different from their ‘known’ or ‘norm’. This could also of course be through signposting to a specific targeted provision, to ensure the individual needs of young people are explored and embraced.