Safeguarding Policy and Procedures - Unmask Your Potential

Introduction

nmask Your Potential makes a positive contribution to a strong and safe community and recognises the right of every individual to stay safe.

Unmask Your Potential comes into contact with children and/or vulnerable adults through the following activities: delivery of service including coaching and mentoring, mediation, the unmasked hangout, the unmasked supper. General contact with children and adults.

The types of contact with children and/or vulnerable adults will be one to one, small group, virtual via Zoom. This will be frequent contact (once a month or more) or intensive contact (3 days or more within a 30-day period).

This policy seeks to ensure that Unmask Your Potential undertakes its responsibilities with regard to protection of children and / or vulnerable adults and will respond to concerns appropriately. The policy establishes a framework to support paid and unpaid staff in their practices and clarifies the organisation’s expectations.

Legislation

The principal pieces of legislation governing this policy are:

Legislation	Purpose / Relevance
Children Act 1989	Defines parental responsibility and local authority duties to safeguard children.
Children Act 2004	Introduced the duty to cooperate and established Local Safeguarding Children Boards.
Children and Families Act 2014	Strengthens support for children with SEND and introduces EHC plans.
Children and Social Work Act 2017	Reforms safeguarding partnerships and child death reviews.
Education Act 2002	Places a duty on schools to safeguard and promote welfare.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) (DfE, updated annually)	Statutory guidance for schools and colleges. All staff must read Part 1.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE, 2023)	Multi-agency guidance for safeguarding and promoting welfare.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006	Establishes the DBS and vetting procedures.
Care Standards Act 2000	Regulates care services and sets safeguarding standards.
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000	Supports young people transitioning out of care.
Children and Young Persons Act 2008	Improves outcomes for looked-after children.
Equality Act 2010	Protects children from discrimination and promotes inclusive safeguarding.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021	Recognises children as victims in households with domestic abuse.
Data Protection Act 2018 & UK GDPR	Governs handling of safeguarding records and disclosures.
Childcare Act 2006	Sets duties for local authorities to improve outcomes for young children.
Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998	Protects whistleblowers reporting safeguarding concerns.
Police Act 1997	Enables criminal record checks for safeguarding roles.
Mental Health Act 1983	Relevant for safeguarding individuals with mental health needs.
NHS and Community Care Act 1990	Supports vulnerable adults and community-based care.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974	Governs disclosure of criminal records in safeguarding contexts.
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012	Includes youth justice provisions.
Housing Act 1996 & Homelessness Reduction Act 2017	Relevant for safeguarding children at risk of homelessness.

Sources: NSPCC Learning, GOV.UK statutory framework, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 PDF

Definitions

Safeguarding is about embedding practices throughout the organisation to ensure the protection of children and / or vulnerable adults wherever possible. In contrast, child and adult protection is about responding to circumstances that arise.

Abuse is a selfish act of oppression and injustice, exploitation and manipulation of power by those in a position of authority. This can be caused by those inflicting harm or those who fail to act to prevent harm. Abuse is not restricted to any socio-economic group, gender or culture.

It can take a number of forms, including the following:

Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Emotional abuse
Bullying
Neglect
Financial (or material) abuse

Definition of a child
A child is under the age of 18 (as defined in the United Nations convention on the Rights of a Child).

Definition of Vulnerable Adults
A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from harm or from being exploited.

This may include a person who:

Is elderly and frail
Has a mental illness including dementia
Has a physical or sensory disability
Has a learning disability
Has a severe physical illness
Is a substance misuser
Is homeless

Responsibilities

All staff (paid or unpaid) have responsibility to follow the guidance provided in this policy and related policies, and to pass on any welfare concerns using the required procedures.

We expect all staff (paid or unpaid) to promote good practice by being an excellent role model, contribute to discussions about safeguarding and to positively involve people in developing safe practices.

Additional specific responsibilities

Trustees have responsibility to ensure:

The policy is in place and appropriate.
Liaison with and monitoring the Designated Senior Manager work.
Sufficient resources (time and money) are allocated to ensure that the policy can be effectively implemented.
Receive staff concerns about safeguarding and respond to all seriously, swiftly and appropriately.

SMT have the responsibility to ensure:

The policy is accessible.
The policy is monitored and reviewed.
The policy is implemented

The Designated Senior Manager/Lead officer is Helen Kent. This person’s responsibilities are:

Promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.
Ensure staff (paid and unpaid) have access to appropriate training/information.
Receive staff concerns about safeguarding and respond to all seriously, swiftly and appropriately.
Keep up to date with local arrangements for safeguarding and DBS.
Develop and maintain effective links with relevant agencies. e.g.
Take forward concerns about responses.

Implementation Stages

The scope of this Safeguarding Policy is broad ranging and in practice, it will be implemented via a range of policies and procedures within the organisation. These include:

Whistleblowing – ability to inform on other staff/ practices within the organisation
Grievance and disciplinary procedures – to address breaches of procedures/policies
Health and Safety policy, including lone working procedures, mitigating risk to staff and clients
Equal Opportunities policy – ensuring safeguarding procedures are in line with this policy, in particular around discriminatory abuse and ensuring that the safeguarding policy and procedures are not discriminatory
Data protection (how records are stored, processed and access to those records)
Confidentiality (or limited confidentiality policy) ensuring that service users are aware of your duty to disclose
Staff induction
Staff training

Safer recruitment
Unmask Your Potential ensures safe recruitment through the following processes:

Providing a safeguarding statement in recruitment adverts or application details – ‘recruitment is done in line with safe recruitment practices.’
Job or role descriptions for all roles involving contact with children and / or vulnerable adults will contain reference to safeguarding responsibilities.
There are person specifications for roles which contain a statement on core competency with regard to child/ vulnerable adult protection/ safeguarding
Shortlisting is based on formal application processes/forms and not on provision of CVs
Interviews are conducted according to equal opportunity principles and interview questions are based on the relevant job description and person specification
DBS checks will be conducted for specific roles for all staff (paid or unpaid) working with children and vulnerable adults. Portable/ carry over DBS checks from another employer will not be deemed to be sufficient. It is a criminal offence for individuals barred by the ISA to work or apply to work with children or vulnerable adults in a wide range of posts.
No formal job offers are made until after checks for suitability are completed (including DBS and 2 references).

Disclosure and Barring Service Gap Management
The organisation commits resources to providing Disclosure and barring service checks on staff (paid or unpaid) whose roles involve contact with children and /or vulnerable adults.

To avoid DBS gaps, the organisation will maintain and review a list of roles across the organisation which involves contact with children/ vulnerable adults.

In addition to checks on recruitment for roles involving contact with children/ vulnerable adults, for established staff the following processes are in place:

A 3-year rolling programme of re-checking DBS’s is in place for holders of all identified posts.
Existing staff (paid or unpaid) who transfer from a role which does not require a DBS check to one which involves contact with children / vulnerable adults will be subject to a DBS check.

Service delivery contracting and sub-contracting
There will be systematic checking of safeguarding arrangements of partner organisations.

Safeguarding will be a fixed agenda item on any partnership reporting meetings.
Contracts and memorandums of agreement for partnership delivery work will include clear minimum requirements, arrangements for safeguarding and non-compliance procedures.

Communication Training andSupport for Staff

Unmask Your Potential commits resources for induction, training of staff (paid and unpaid), effective communications and support mechanisms in relation to Safeguarding

Induction will include:

Discussion of the Safeguarding Policy (and confirmation of understanding)
Discussion of other relevant policies
Ensure familiarity with reporting processes, the roles of line manager and Designated Senior Manager (and who acts in their absence)
Initial training on safeguarding including safer working practices, safer recruitment, understanding child protection and the alerter guide for adult safeguarding

Training
All staff who, through their role, are in contact with children and /or vulnerable adults will have access to safeguarding training at an appropriate level. Sources and types of training will include: Yearly Safeguarding Updates

Communications and discussion of safeguarding issues
Commitment to the following communication methods will ensure effective communication of safeguarding issues and practice:

Team meetings
SMT meetings
Board meetings
One to one meeting (formal or informal)
Clinical supervision (if required)

Provision of a clear and effective reporting procedure which encourages reporting of concerns.

Encouraging open discussion (e.g. during supervision and team meetings) to identify and barriers to reporting so that they can be addressed.

Inclusion of safeguarding as a discussion prompt during supervision meetings/ appraisals to encourage reflection.

Staff are reminded about policies and procedures during refresher sessions and newsletters.

Support
We recognise that involvement in situations where there is risk or actual harm can be stressful for staff concerned. The mechanisms in place to support staff include:

Debriefing support for paid and unpaid staff so that they can reflect on the issues they have dealt with.
Seeking further support as appropriate e.g. access to counselling.
Staff who has initiated protection concerns will be contacted by line manager /DSM within a certain timescale e.g. 1 week).

Professional Boundaries

Professional boundaries are what define the limits of a relationship between a support worker and a client. They are a set of standards we agree to uphold that allows this necessary and often close relationship to exist while ensuring the correct detachment is kept in place.

Unmask Your Potential expects staff to protect the professional integrity of themselves and the organisation.

The following professional boundaries must be adhered to:

Giving and receiving gifts from clients: Unmask Your Potential does not allow paid or unpaid staff to give gifts to or receive gifts from clients. However, gifts may be provided by the organisation as part of a planned activity.

Staff contact with user groups. ‘Personal relationships between a member of staff (paid or unpaid) and a client who is a current service user is prohibited. This includes relationships through social networking site such as Facebook.

It is also prohibited to enter into a personal relationship with a person who has been a service user over the past 12 months.

Other professional boundaries:

Use of abusive language
Response to inappropriate behaviour/language
Use of punishment or chastisement
Passing on service users’ personal contact details
Degree of accessibility to service users (e.g. not providing personal contact details)
Taking family members to a client’s home
Selling to or buying items from a service user
Accepting responsibility for any valuables on behalf of a client
Accepting money as a gift/borrowing money from or lending money to service users
Personal relationships with a third party related to or known to service users
Accepting gifts/ rewards or hospitality from organisation as an inducement for either doing/ not doing something in their official capacity
Cautious or avoidance of personal contact with clients

The following policies also contain guidance on staff (paid or unpaid) conduct:

Code of conduct, E-safety, and computer misuse.

If the professional boundaries and/or policies are breached this could result in disciplinary procedures or enactment of the allegation management procedures.

Reporting

The process outlined below details the stages involved in raising and reporting safeguarding concerns at Unmask Your Potential.

Communicate your concerns with your immediate manager

Seek medical attention for the vulnerable person if needed

Discuss with parents of child.

Or with vulnerable person.

Obtain permission to make referral if safe and appropriate

If needed seek advice from Safeguarding Adult Framework or Children’s Threshold Matrix, or contact MASH Professional

Complete the Local Authority Safeguarding Form if required and submit to the local authority within 24 hours of making a contact

Ensure that feedback from the Local Authority is received and their response recorded

Unmask Your Potential will complete the correct local authorities initial contact form when informing them of a concern about a child/vulnerable adult.

If the immediate manager is implicated, then refer to their line manager/Trustee.

Allegations Management

Unmask Your Potential recognises its duty to report concerns or allegations against its staff (paid or unpaid) within the organisation or by a professional from another organisation.

The process for raising and dealing with allegations is as follows:

Any member of staff (paid or unpaid) from Unmask Your Potential required to report any concerns in the first instance to their line manager/ safeguarding manager/ peer. A written record of the concern will be completed by the individual, line manager, safeguarding manager.
Contact local authority for advice.
Follow the advice provided.

Unmask Your Potential recognises its legal duty to report any concerns about unsafe practice by any of its paid or unpaid staff to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), according to the ISA referral guidance document.

Monitoring

The organisation will monitor the following Safeguarding aspects:

Safer recruitment practices
DBS checks undertaken
References applied for new staff
Records made and kept of supervision sessions
Training – register/ record of staff training on child/ vulnerable adult protection
Monitoring whether concerns are being reported and actioned
Checking that policies are up to date and relevant
Reviewing the current reporting procedure in place
Presence and action of Designated senior manager responsible for Safeguarding is in post

Managing Information

Information will be gathered, recorded and stored in accordance with the following policies: Privacy Policy

All staff must be aware that they have a professional duty to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children and vulnerable adults. The public interest in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults may override confidentiality interests. However, information will be shared on a need-to-know basis only, as judged by the Designated Senior Manager.

All staff must be aware that they cannot promise service users or their families/ carers that they will keep secrets.

Conflict Resolution and Complaints

Unmask Your Potential is aware of the Complaints policy/procedures on resolution of professional disagreements in work relating to the safety of children/Escalation policy and if necessary this will be taken forward by Mrs Helen Kent.

Conflicts in respect of safety of vulnerable adults will be taken forward by Mrs Helen Kent.

Communicating and reviewing the policy

Unmask Your Potential will make clients aware of the Safeguarding Policy through the following means: www.unmaskyourpotential.com

This policy will be reviewed by Mrs Helen Kent every 1 year and when there are changes in legislation.