Welcome to
.png)
Genesis Special Needs Youth Club
Safeguarding Policy
Safeguarding Policy Contents
(Click on subject to go to the relevant section)
​
This policy and the way it operates will be reviewed every 2 years. It was last reviewed in August 2021.
Section 1: General Statement of Policy
1.1
GENsNYC believes that children and adults have the right to protection from abuse and bullying, and should be able to live free from the fear of abuse and/or bullying. For the purposes of this policy bullying will be automatically included in the term abuse, either physical or emotional, and also where harrassment or intimidation has taken place.
1.2
We are committed to ensuring that disclosures of abuse and safeguarding concerns are taken seriously and acted upon appropriately.
1.3
We are committed to ensuring that the Committee and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities, and are provided with appropriate information and training, in respect to safeguarding children and adults at risk.
Section 2: Purpose
2.1
The purpose of this policy is to outline the duty and responsibility of GENsNYC in respect of Safeguarding. The key objectives of this policy are to:
2.1.1
Explain the responsibilities of the Committee, Safeguarding Officer and volunteers in respect of the safeguarding of children and adults at risk.
2.1.2
Enable Committee members and volunteers who receive disclosures of, witness, or suspect abuse to make informed and confident responses.
2.1.3
Ensure that prompt action is taken to minimise the risk of harm occurring from any further abuse.
2.1.4
Ensure that information relating to safeguarding is kept securely and only shared on a need-to-know basis.
Section 3: Scope
3.1
Safeguarding is about protecting the safety, independence and well-being of people at risk of abuse, and is everybody’s responsibility.
3.2
This policy relates to all children, young people and adults who are members of the Club and who may be at risk of abuse.
3.3
Assessing whether children or adults are experiencing abuse is the responsibility of professionals within the local authority. GENsNYC’s role is therefore not to assess whether abuse has taken place, but to safeguard by informing the local authority if information becomes known to us that could indicate that abuse may have taken place, or that a child or adult may be at risk of abuse.
3.4
For the purpose of this policy, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18 and an adult is defined as a person aged 18 years or over. A young person is a child aged 13 years and over.
3.5
For the purpose of this policy an adult at risk of abuse is defined as “someone who has care and support needs and is therefore unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of, abuse or neglect”
​
Section 4: Responsibilities
4.1
Safeguarding Officer
4.1.1
GENsNYC Committee delegates overall responsibility for safeguarding in GENsNYC to the Chairperson as Safeguarding Officer.
4.1.2
The Safeguarding Officer should ensure that the Committee receives necessary reports on safeguarding issues, and may call a special meeting of the Committee where a safeguarding matter requires the Committee’s urgent attention.
4.1.3
The Safeguarding Officer is responsible for implementing arrangements for safeguarding the welfare of children and adults at risk throughout the youth club.
4.1.4
The Safeguarding Officer is responsible for dealing with all instances relating to safeguarding children or adults at risk that arise within GENsNYC. They will respond to all safeguarding concerns and make appropriate referrals to the local authority.
4.1.5
In the absence of the Safeguarding Officer, the Deputy Chair is responsible.
4.2
Committee and Parent/Carer Rota Volunteers (Full Members)
4.2.1
Full Members have a duty to promote the welfare of children and adults at risk. It is everybody’s responsibility to recognise the signs of, and to report, abuse wherever it is seen, suspected or disclosed. Full Members must also respond appropriately to any disclosure and take any immediate action necessary to protect children and adults at risk.
Section 5: Information
5.1
Full Members will be provided with information to enable them to recognise possible signs of abuse and respond appropriately. This information will form appendices to this Safeguarding Policy. It is the responsibility of the Safeguarding Officer to ensure this information is kept up-to-date. It is the responsibility of all Full Members to familiarise themselves with this information, particularly the information in Appendix 5. Types and indicators of abuse.
5.2
The Safeguarding Officer should complete training on safeguarding children and adults once every 2 years
Section 6: Confidentiality and information sharing
6.1
Full Members have a responsibility to share information about children and adults at risk if that information may indicate that the child or adult at risk is experiencing abuse.
6.2
If a disclosure is made to a Full Member, or the Full Member has a concern about the welfare of a child or adult at risk, they should follow GENsNYC procedure in the event of a disclosure or safeguarding concern (See Appendix 1). This includes ensuring that the person making a disclosure is aware that the Full Member may need to share the information, and cannot promise to keep it secret.
6.3
Information should only be shared on a strictly need-to-know basis. This means:
6.3.1
The person who receives the information should inform the Safeguarding Officer or Deputy on the same working day. If the Full Member who receives the information is the Safeguarding Officer, they should inform the Deputy and vice-versa.
6.3.2
The Safeguarding Officer and the Full Member will discuss the concern and decide whether to inform the Police
(See Appendix 3)
The decision about whether to make a referral should be based on:
6.3.2.1
The welfare of the child or adult at risk is paramount. Protecting the welfare of the person who may be experiencing abuse should be the only consideration when deciding whether a referral is needed.
6.3.2.2
If the Safeguarding Officer is in any doubt as to whether a referral is needed, a referral should be made.
6.3.2.3
It is not the role of GENsNYC to assess whether abuse has taken place. A referral should be made if information is known that indicates that abuse may have taken place.
6.3.3
In the event of a disclosure, efforts should be made to get informed consent from the person making the disclosure before a referral is made to the County Safeguarding Team. However, a referral may be made without consent if the person does not give consent and there are concerns about the welfare of a child or adult at risk.
6.4
Information should not be shared with other Committee Members or Full Members as a matter of course. Any information that is shared should be on a strictly need-to-know basis and kept to a minimum.
6.5
In the event of a disclosure, the person who made the disclosure should be kept informed about what information has been shared and with whom.
1Section 7: Record Keeping
7.1
In the event of a disclosure or safeguarding concern, a detailed written record must be made by the person who receives the information, as soon as possible, and always on the same day, following the GENsNYC procedure for recording concerns and disclosures (See Appendix 2).
7.2
These records must be stored securely, in a locked drawer or password protected file, indefinitely.
7.3
GENsNYC Committee Members may not access these individual records except on a need-to-know basis.
Section 8: Reviewing this Policy
8.1
This policy and its appendices will be reviewed by the Committee every 2 years.
Section 9: Appendices
The appendices are password protected as they contain sensitive material. If you need to access them please either contact us to arrange access together with your reason(s) for doing so, or contact a Committee member to discuss.
​
Procedure in the event of a disclosure or safeguarding concern
Recording concerns and disclosures
Reporting a safeguarding concern to the local authority
Dealing with allegations made against a Full Member or Youth Club Member
Types and indicators of abuse