For “staff” read all staff, Trustees and volunteers employed or assisting with activities at West Wight Sports and Community Centre
For “DSL” read Designated Safeguarding Lead, currently the Centre Manager, Clare Griffin.
For DSL assistants read Designated Safeguarding Lead assistants, currently Aidan Taylor, Izzy Taylor, Shannon Kilcullen.

We intend to create an environment in which children and vulnerable adults are safe from abuse and in which any suspicion of abuse is promptly and appropriately responded to.

Child and vulnerable adults protection is everybody’s responsibility and this policy applies to all staff, trustees and volunteers working at West Wight Sports and Community Centre.

Staff, volunteers and trustees have a responsibility to bring any concerns to the attention of the DSL or the DSL assistants (as named above).

Definitions:

-Children and young people are defined as those persons aged under 18 years old.

“Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children” is defined in Working Together 2018 as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health and development
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
  

-Vulnerable Adults

For the purposes of this policy, adult at risk refers to someone over 18 years old who, according to paragraph 42.1 of the Care Act 2014:

• has care and support needs
• is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect
• because of their care and support needs is unable to protect himself or herself against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.
• If someone has care and support needs but is not currently receiving care or support from a health or care service, they may still be an adult at risk

Who to report concerns to:

The Centre Manager, Clare Griffin will be the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and will be responsible for implementing this policy.

The DSL and DSL assistants will be the people to whom staff, volunteers or trustees should report to with concerns or issues relating to child and vulnerable adults’ protection.

Any concerns should be reported as soon as possible to the DSL and if possible recorded on a Safeguarding Form located in the staff room filing cabinet.

If the concern is an emergency, then the police should be called immediately.

The DSL will keep written records of concerns about children and vulnerable adults, even where there is no need to refer. These records will be kept separately, securely and confidentially. Only the DSL will have access to this file.

DSL Action:

The DSL will investigate and decide on what course of action to take following a report of a concern.

• If the concern is of a serious nature, the police will be informed.
• If there is any concern about a child’s welfare it will be reported to IOW Childrens services on 01983 823436 during office hours 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 4.30pm on Friday.

At all other times to contact the Out of Hours service on 0300 555 1373

• If there is any concern regarding a vulnerable adult’s welfare it will be reported to the Isle of Wight Adult Safeguarding Team on 01983 823340 during office hours (Mon – Thu 8.30am – 5pm, Fri 8.30am – 4.30pm)
• If the DSL is confident that there is no risk to the child or vulnerable adults then the concern will be recorded and filed, but no further action carried out.

New members of staff and staff training

All applicants for employment at the Sports and Community Centre will be interviewed before an appointment is made and will be asked to provide two references. All such references will be followed up.

All newly appointed staff and any volunteers will have a Basic DBS check completed as soon as possible. All staff will be issued with a copy of this Safeguarding policy and Whistleblowing policy at the commencement of their employment.

Appropriate training will be sought for staff who are working with children and vulnerable adults, to help them recognize the symptoms of possible physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or neglect. Training needs in this area will be reviewed annually.

The DSL will undertake training to effectively carry out their role. This will be up-dated every two years.

Suspicions or allegations of abuse or inappropriate behaviour involving members of staff.

Any member of staff/volunteers etc. aware of members of the public and/or other staff members behaving inappropriately must report them immediately to senior staff on duty.

Please also refer to the WWSCC Whistleblowing Policy.

Staff or volunteers who believe that their actions may have been misinterpreted must report this to the DSL as soon as possible. This will be recorded and filed.

1. Allegations of abuse by staff or volunteers will be taken to the DSL or DSL assistants who will deal with them urgently.
   All details will be recorded, including dates, times, people allegedly involved, location, etc.
2. The DSL or DSL assistants will ascertain whether the incident:
   a. constitutes a protection investigation (in which case act under the instruction of the police or social services)
   b. should be dealt with as a disciplinary investigation
   c. constitutes inappropriate behaviour but does not warrant disciplinary action in which case the Centre Manager or Assistant Manager will deal with appropriately
   d. is unfounded in which case if appropriate or considered necessary by the Centre Manager, counselling will be sought for the staff member concerned.
3. If deemed necessary the DSL will inform the Duty Officer at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Children’s Reception Team (CRT) on 0300 3000 0117 or the IWSAB 01983 814980.

Staff protection

Children who require special assistance for example, first aid or being accompanied to the toilet, should where possible, be accompanied by a parent or guardian. If the parent is not present, and/or it is not practical for two staff to accompany the child, it is advisable that a female member of staff attends to the child’s needs. Staff should not be expected to be involved in intimate care or assistance of customers, however in certain cases when this becomes necessary, staff should be clear about what they are doing and ensure colleagues are informed if assistance is being given.

Some activities undertaken at WWSCC involve getting close to children and vulnerable adults and in some cases touching them. Staff in these situations – notably swimming and climbing and some other sports - should always explain to the child/ vulnerable adult

• What they are doing and why.
• Ensure they are in full view of others –i.e.: other class members or spectators.
• Report to the DSL if they feel anything they have done may have been misconstrued.
• Only touch a child/ vulnerable adult if necessary – i.e.: for safety reasons.

Child Supervision

Children under the age of eight years must always be under the supervision of a responsible adult. If the child is swimming that adult must always stay with them. For other activities the adult must be easily contactable, leaving clear details of where they will be in the Centre.

Use of cameras for photographs or videos

Centre users are not allowed to use cameras or videos anywhere in the Centre. The Centre Manager or Duty Officer may use his/her discretion if necessary to allow genuine use of cameras. However, they must ensure that anyone else who is likely to be in the view of the camera has given their permission for their photograph to be taken (in the case of children, parents’ permission should be sought).

If photographs or video images are to be taken for media or publicity purposes, the written consent of parents should be received before proceeding.

E-Safety

We are aware that there are risks involved in using the internet and that children, young people and vulnerable adults can be harmed because of inappropriate use of the internet. There will be appropriate levels of control on any computers that are accessible to children and young people. Computers will not be used by children and young people during sessions managed by West Wight Sports and Community Centre unless a clear reason for the use is demonstrated and a clear plan including safeguarding procedures specific to E-safety are included.

Categories of Abuse - Definitions

Taken from- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018

Physical Abuse

A form of abuse which 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

The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyber bullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Sexual abuse

Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children

Neglect

The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy because of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
a. provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
b. protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
c. ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers)
d. ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs