Safeguarding Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to protect children and vulnerable adults for any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with Ripples of Compassion. In addition we are committed to protecting all clients, employees and volunteers from harm. This includes harm arising from:

• physical, emotional, sexual and/or financial abuse;

• the conduct of staff or volunteers associated with Ripples of Compassion;

• the design and implementation of Ripples of Compassions support and activities.

This policy does not cover:

Storing of personal and/or sensitive information – this is dealt with under rules and guidance laid down by The Data Protection Act and GDPR.

• Safeguarding concerns in the wider community not perpetrated by Ripples of Compassion or associated staff/volunteers.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding I everyone’s responsibility. Safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and vulnerable adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff, volunteers or activities and services.

Definitions

Vulnerable Adult is a person who for any reason is unable to take care of him or herself or is unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.

Children and Young People are anyone up to the age of 18 years old.

Harm refers to damage that may be psychological or physical and any other infringement of an individual’s rights.

Physical Abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child.

Emotional Abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of an individual such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on their emotional development. It may involve conveying to an individual that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may involve seeing or hearing the illtreatment of another. It may involve serious bullying causing individuals frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or exploitation or corruption.

For children this may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment, though it may occur alone.

Sexual Abuse involves forcing or enticing an individual to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not they aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (eg: rape, or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts.

They may include non-contact activities, such as involving individuals looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging individuals to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet an individual’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of their health. Neglect may involve a carer failing to provide adequate food and clothing, shelter including exclusion from home or abandonment, failing to protect an individual from physical and emotional harm or danger, failure to ensure adequate supervision including the use of inadequate care-takers, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, an individuals basic emotional needs.

Financial Abuse may involve limiting an individuals access to money or resources or using an individual’s finances for your own personal gain. It can involve taking money away from an individual, not allowing them access to shared money, taking out loans for yourself in an individual’s name etc.

Scope

All staff and volunteers working for Ripples of Compassion.

Associated staff and volunteers whilst engaged with work or visits relating to Ripples of Compassion, including but not limited to individuals and businesses contracted by Ripples of Compassion.

Policy Statement

Ripples of Compassion is committed to protecting the health and well-being of everyone that is works with. We recognise that parents that come into contact with our service have fluctuating needs, particularly if they are grieving the death of their child and there may be times that they meet our definition of vulnerable adult.

We believe everyone has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them from harm.

We will make sure that all children, young people and vulnerable adults have the same protection regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Prevention

Ripples of Compassion Responsibilities

Ripples of Compassion will:

✓ Ensure all staff and volunteers have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy;

✓ Design and undertake all its services and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with Ripples of Compassion. This includes the way in which information about individuals in our programmes is gathered and communicated;

✓ Ensure that all trustees undergo relevant checks as outlined by the Charities Commission for England and Wales;

✓ Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying staff and volunteers, including DBS checks where indicated;

✓ Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process.

Staff and Volunteer Responsibilities

Ripples of Compassion staff and volunteers are obliged to:

✓ Treat all individuals with dignity, compassion and respect;

✓ Be alert to potential indicators of abuse or neglect;

✓ Be alert to the risks which individual abusers, or potential abusers may post to vulnerable adults

✓ Contribute to whatever actions are needed to safeguard and promote the individual’s welfare

✓ Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that protects children, young people and vulnerable adults from harm and promotes the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy;

✓ Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations to the relevant authorities and where required to a Ripples of Compassion trustee;

✓ Work so-operatively with all organisations to ensure individual’s safety.

✓ Adhere to all Ripples of Compassion Policies and Procedures, including but not limited to safeguarding, code of behavior, bullying and equal opportunities.

Reporting a Concern

You may have concerns about an individual because of something you have seen or heard, or they choose to disclose to you. If an individual discloses information to you relating to a safeguarding concern, you should:

✓ Do not promise confidentiality, you have a duty to share this information and refer to Social Care (or emergency) services where there is a risk to the individual or others.

✓ Listen to what is being said, without displaying shock or disbelief.

✓ Accept what is said.

✓ Reassure the individual, but only as far as is honest, don’t make promises you may not be able to keep eg: ‘Everything will be alright now’, ‘You’ll never have to see that person again’.

✓ Do reassure and alleviate guilt, if the individual refers to it. For example, you could say, ‘You’re not to blame’.

✓ Do NOT interrogate the individual; it is not your responsibility to investigate.

✓ Do NOT ask leading questions (eg: Did he touch your private parts?), ask open questions such as ‘Anything else to tell me?’

✓ Do NOT ask the individual to repeat the information for another member of staff.

✓ Explain to the individual what you have to do next and who you have to talk to.

✓ Take notes if possible or write up your conversation as soon as possible afterwards.

✓ Record the date, time, place any non-verbal behaviour and the words used by the individual (do not paraphrase).

✓ Record statements and observable things rather than interpretations or assumptions.

Ripples of Compassion Trustees are available to support you with any safeguarding concerns you have. If you would like to raise or discuss a concern then you may report this to the Chair: referral@ripplesofcompassion.com

You should not delay any immediate action you need to take to ensure an individual’s safety whilst waiting for this discussion. Reporting to Ripples of Compassion is not a substitute for your responsibilities to report series concerns to statutory oragnisations such as social services or appropriate healthcare services such as the GP or emergency departments.

If you do not feel comfortable reporting to the chair (for example if you feel that the report will not be taken seriously, or if that person is implicated in the concern) please report to any other appropriate trustee.