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Safeguarding Policy & Procedure

Purpose & Scope

 

The purpose of this safeguarding policy is:

  • to protect children and young people who receive services from SENse Support Services Ltd from any form of harm;

  • to respond to any allegations and / or concerns relating to the welfare of a child or young person whom we provide services to;

  • to provide details of the steps taken by SENse Support Services Ltd to ensure all staff comply with, and implement, safeguarding policy and procedure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all.

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This policy applies to anyone working for or on behalf of SENse Support Services Ltd.

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This policy will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis, or earlier if there are any statutory updates to any relevant safeguarding legislation.

 

Responsibilities

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All responsibilities listed here are shared responsibilities that all professionals working for or on behalf of SENse Support Ltd uphold.

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SENse Support Ltd recognise our responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of all children, families and staff. These responsibilities include:

  • Ensuring all staff hold a current enhanced DBS certificate and have registered with the DBS Update Service

  • Ensuring all staff working on behalf of SENse Support Services Ltd have completed appropriate safeguarding training annually and are made aware of any changes to this policy

  • Endeavouring to remain up to date with new information about safeguarding and child protection, and update this policy accordingly to include any changes

  • Reporting safeguarding concerns promptly and correctly to the relevant bodies, following the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures. In the case of face to face tuition, the LSCB for the local authorities in the North East of England can be found at the end of this policy. In the case of online tuition, concerns will be reported to the Local Authority Safeguarding Lead for the appropriate county.

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Recruitment

 

All professionals working for or on behalf of SENse Support Ltd will be required to hold a current DBS certificate and produce 2 references prior to commencing work with young people and their families.

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SENse Support Ltd will verify all references provided by staff working for or on behalf of us. As part of staff induction, all staff will complete appropriate safeguarding training. Our current provider for safeguarding training is the NSPCC.

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Enhanced DBS checks will be performed via the Update Service for all staff on an annual basis and all staff will complete annual safeguarding training.

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Reporting Safeguarding Concerns

 

All staff must adhere to the following procedure in reporting safeguarding concerns:

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If a student discloses that they or another child is being harmed:

  • say that they have heard what the child has said and that their allegation is taken seriously

  • encourage the child to talk, without prompting or asking leading questions

  • do not interrupt when a child is recalling significant events and do not make the child repeat their account

  • reassure the child that they can talk about anything that is worrying them, but do not make any promise to keep any information disclosed confidential or ‘a secret’ because we have a duty to pass on any information that is a safeguarding concern in order to keep the child safe

  • explain what actions must be taken, in a way that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the child

  • complete a ‘Cause for Concern’ record urgently (and as soon as possible) using the exact words where possible, including date, time, place and people present during the disclosure and email this to safeguarding@sensesupport.org

  • contact with the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority will be made by the Designated Safeguarding Lead for SENse Support Services.

  • where any member of staff has concerns that a child is in immediate risk of danger/harm, they will contact the police immediately via 999.

 

If any member of staff has suspicions of a safeguarding or welfare concern in relation to any child, they will:

  • complete a ‘Cause for Concern’ record urgently (and as soon as possible), including all relevant information about the concern, including date, time and action taken and email this to safeguarding@sensesupport.org

  • contact with the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authoirty will be made by the Safeguarding Lead for SENse Support Services.

  • If a member of staff is concerned that a child is in immediate risk of danger/harm, they will contact the police immediately via 999.

  • It is not the responsibility of SENse Support Services Ltd to attempt to investigate any safeguarding situation or concern.

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Contact Information

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Childrens Hub (Stockton and Hartlepool residents)

01642 130080 Stockton

01429 284284 Hartlepool

MASH (Durham residents)

03000 267979

C.A.P. (Darlington residents)

01325 406222

Out of hours emergency duty team (Stockton/Hartlepool/Darlington residents)

01642 524552

Emergency

In an emergency contact the police on 999

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