Cape Farewell is committed to creating an environment where the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk is actively promoted and of paramount importance. 

This policy explains what procedures must be followed to create this safe environment and what to do if anyone has concerns about safeguarding. It is a working document which is reviewed annually to ensure it reflects best practice. The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) is responsible for reviewing the policy and keeping up to date with training etc, and the Board is responsible for ensuring the policy is robust, and supporting the DSO as appropriate.

This policy has been developed in accordance with the principles established by the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 and other related guidance.

Definitions

• Safeguarding is to protect from harm or damage with appropriate measures.
• A child is defined as a person under the age of 18
• A young person is in the upper age ranges of the definition of a child. The term has no legal status but acknowledges that people aged 16 or 17 may not think of themselves as children.
• An adult at risk is a person who is or may be in need of community care services because of disability, age or illness, and who is or who may be unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves from significant harm or exploitation.

Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)

Cape Farewell’s Designated Safeguarding Officer is the organisation’s General Manager.

The DSO is supported by the other members of Cape Farewell’s Core Team and the Board of Trustees(see Roles & Responsibilities section).

All Safeguarding issues must be reported to the DSO, who will support and advise, as soon as is practically possible.

1. Safeguarding Children and Young People

The Children Acts 1989 and 2004 state that the welfare of children is paramount and that every child has a right to protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Safeguarding children is defined in the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (July 2018) as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes and that it applies to all children up to the age of 18 years whether living with their families, in state care, or living independently.

2. Safeguarding Adults At Risk

Safeguarding Adults at Risk is defined in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (June 2020) as protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. Under section 42 of the Care Act 2014, safeguarding duties apply to adults who:

• have needs for care and support (whether or not they are receiving any services);
• are experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect;
• are unable to protect themselves from the risk of, or experience of abuse or neglect.

The Care Act encourages a person-centred approach to safeguarding adults at risk by following six key principles:

• Empowerment: people being supported and encouraged to make their own decisions and be able to give informed consent
• Protection: support and representation for those in greatest need
• Prevention: being proactive to stop safeguarding concerns from developing in the first place
• Proportionality: provide the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.
• Partnership: working with local services and communities to help prevent, detect, and report suspected neglect and abuse
• Accountability: accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding.

3. Abuse and Neglect

The No Secrets’ Guidance (March 2000) defines abuse as a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. Abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender and gender identity, disability, religion or belief, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Abuse may be a single act or repeated over a period of time and affect one person or more. It may take one form or multiple forms or follow a pattern of abuse. Lack of appropriate action can also be a form of abuse.

Neglect is a failure to care for someone with whom you have a responsibility to care for or represent, for example, by failing to provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid or accommodation. It can be a form of abuse if it is intentional, however, not all incidents of neglect are intentional and may be because a caregiver is finding it hard to cope or is not receiving enough help. Self-neglect covers a wide range of behaviour neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings.

4. Cape Farewell Roles and Responsibilities

The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) is responsible for:

• maintaining, promoting and developing this policy;
• being the first point of contact for any issues relating to Safeguarding, and recording and processing any incident report form or referrals;
• ensuring that all staff and people engaged by Cape Farewell whose work brings them into contact with children, young people or adults at risk, have read and understood this policy, comply with it and receive any training and support in line with their responsibilities;
• ensuring that the appropriate checks are made for all job roles that involve working with children, young people or adults at risk.

Cape Farewell’s Core Team and Board of Trustees are responsible for:

• supporting the DSO as necessary to ensure they can carry out their role, and assisting with the development, promotion, implementation and reviewing of this policy;
• reviewing, as appropriate, any Safeguarding Incident Report Forms;
• acting as the advisory group for ensuring that safeguarding is considered and embedded in internal Cape Farewell policy, strategy, plans and procedures where appropriate;
• overseeing that Safeguarding training requirements are in place.

People engaged by Cape Farewell who’s work brings them into contact with children, young people or adults at risk are responsible for:

• carrying out their duties in a way that actively safeguards and promotes the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk;
• reading and understanding this policy and related procedures, attending training when required as appropriate to their role;
• reporting and referring any concerns.

Contractors, sub-contractors and organisations working on behalf of Cape Farewell are responsible for:

• ensuring all staff who come into contact with children, young people and adults at risk are recruited using safe recruitment practices;
• ensuring all staff receive appropriate training and support in line with their responsibilities and level of contact with children, young people and adults at risk;
• ensuring all staff comply with their organisational Safeguarding policy & procedures.

5. Good Practice Guideline

Everyone who comes into contact with children, young people and adults at risk in their work has a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare and should follow best practice guidelines. 

DO:

• Treat children, young people and adults at risk with respect and dignity;
• Acknowledge and maintain professional boundaries;
• Disclose any personal connections with project participants to the DSO;
• Act as a role model;
• Visually and mentally risk-assess the situation and environment on an ongoing basis;
• Only use equipment, e.g phone or computer, provided by Cape Farewell to communicate with children, young people and adults at risk, making sure that parents, guardians or carers have given permission;
• Always take suspicion, concern or allegations of abuse seriously;
• Tell the person raising a suspicion, concern or allegation that you have a duty to report it to the DSO;
• Be proactive about ensuring you do not put yourself in a vulnerable or difficult situation;
• Tell the DSO if you suspect a child, young person or adult at risk is developing an infatuation;
• Inform the DSO or any gifts given to you by a child, young person or adult at risk;
• Challenge inappropriate language and behaviour.

DON’T:

• Behave in a manner which could be misinterpreted or lead any reasonable person to question your suitability to work with children, young people or adults at risk;
• Be alone with a child, young person or adult at risk in a private or closed area;
• Contact a child, young person or adult at risk on a personal basis or in connection to a project other than the one you are engaged for by Cape Farewell;
• Accept money from a child, young person or adult at risk;
• Give personal gifts or money to a child, young person or adult at risk;
• Give your personal telephone numbers, address, email, social network or other online profile details to a child, young person or adult at risk;  
• Interact with a child, young person or adult at risk via social networking unless on behalf of Cape Farewell or as part of agreed activity;
• Trivialise feelings, concerns or beliefs expressed by a child, young person or adult at risk;
• Allow, take part in, encourage or ignore abusive, discriminatory, offensive or violent behaviour;
• Allow another person to bully or undermine others;
• Drive a child, young person or adult at risk in your car, unless agreed in advance with Cape Farewell as part of you work;
• Share changing and toilet facilities;
• Do things of a personal nature for a child, young person or adult at risk that they can do for themselves;
• Fail to act upon and record suspicions, concerns, allegations made.

ALWAYS REPORT/RECORD:

• If you accidentally hurt a child, young person or adult at risk;
• If a child, young person or adult at risk appears to be sexually aroused by your actions;
• If a child, young person or adult at risk misunderstands or misinterprets something you have said or done;
• If a child, young person or adult at risk discloses an instance of neglect or abuse.
• If a child, young person or adult at risk discloses information that you feel affects their own safety or the safety of others.

6. DBS Checks, Chaperoning and Group Ratios

Any Cape Farewell staff or people engaged by Cape Farewell whose work brings them into contact with a child, young person or adult at risk must have an up-to-date Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. There are three types of DBS checks: standard, enhanced and enhanced with a barred list check. The degree of contact with a child, young person or adult at risk will determine the level of vetting or disclosure checking needed. DBS checks should be renewed every 3 years. The DSO is responsible for assessing disclosures included on a DBS check, and whether they affect suitability to work with children or vulnerable adults. E.g. a decision may be made that a historic charge of petty theft does not make a candidate unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults.

Cape Farewell requires anyone who has unsupervised or regular contact with children, young people and adults at risk to have an enhanced DBS check. Cape Farewell’s Designated Safeguarding Officer is also required to have an enhanced DBS check.

Any activity with children, young people or adults at risk should take place in the presence of a registered chaperone and/or a DBS-checked Cape Farewell staff member or representative.

Any activity in schools must always take place in the presence of a teacher or school member of staff. Cape Farewell staff or representatives visiting a school must always wear identification.

When leading work with a group of children or young people, Cape Farewell adheres to the following adult/child ratios and advises partner organisations to do the same.

Age of Children	Number of Adults	Number of Children
0-2 years	1	3
2-3 years	1	4
4-6 years	1	7
7-10 years	1	9
11-18 years	1	12

7. Online Safety

Online safety is defined as the process of limiting the risks when using internet, digital and mobile technology. In addition to the general Good Practice Guidelines, guidelines for online safety are:

DO:

• Observe the same rules of behaviour as if speaking with to children, young people or adults at risk in person when communicating with them online;
• Maintain professionalism in your communications online and via mobile devices;
• Follow Cape Farewell’s Safeguarding procedures if you identify online concerns – be they about illegal online content or suspicious behaviour by another adult.

DON’T:

• Communicate with Cape Farewell participants (children, young people or adults at risk) via personal social networking sites (e.g Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, snapchat, TickTock, etc);
• Ask to become an online friend or contact of a Cape Farewell participant (children, young people or adults at risk);
• Add or allow a Cape Farewell participant (children, young people or adults at risk) to add you to their contacts or friends on personal social networking profiles;
• Use the internet or social media to send personal messages to, or play games with, children, young people or adults at risk unless this is part of official Cape Farewell business using professional accounts and devices;

8. Photo and Video Permissions

Cape Farewell’s Consent Form must be completed by the legal guardian of any child, young person or adult at risk taking part in Cape Farewell activity that is photographed, filmed or documented in any way where participants can be identified. This can be for the promotion of activity, archive and also for the safeguarding of participants in some instances.

If Cape Farewell works with other organisations, additional permissions may be required and Cape Farewell will facilitate this and ensure participants are consulted on any additional permissions required. Cape Farewell must ensure permission is in place before any media is shared.

9. Reporting and Referrals

Any concerns or allegations should be reported to Cape Farewell’s Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) as soon as is practically possible – and immediately if there are serious concerns. If the DSO is not available, concerns should be reported to another member of Cape Farewell’s Core Team.

Anyone working for Cape Farewell has a duty to listen to and record a concern, allegation or disclosure and to inform the DSO/Cape Farewell, but not to investigate – this is the role of the DSO/Cape Farewell in the first instance. If a police presence is required the DSO/Cape Farewell will contact the police. All concerns will be treated with strict confidentiality.

The Flowchart in Appendix A sets out to help determine the type of referral procedure required.

Concerns may arise in the following ways:

• If a child, young person or adult at risk says they are being abused;
• If someone reports that a child, young person or adult at risk has told them that they are being abused;
• If someone strongly suspects a child, young person or adult at risk has been or is being abused;
• If there are concerns about a child, young person or adult at risk’s welfare where there are no specific disclosures or allegations of abuse.

If a child, young person or adult at risk tells you that they are being abused, you should:

• Listen carefully. giving time and attention – do not directly question them;
• Allow them to give a spontaneous account – do not stop someone who is freely recalling significant events;
• Make an accurate record of the information you have been given, using the child, young person or adult at risk’s own words where possible, and record the time, setting and any other witnesses;
• Keep these records as they may be needed as evidence later;
• Reassure them that you are glad that they have told you;
• Reassure them that they have not done anything wrong;
• Describe what you are going to do next;
• Explain that you may need to get help to keep them safe;
• Ask them not to repeat their account of events to anyone;
• Pass the information on immediately to Cape Farewell’s DSO or other Core Team member.

Making a referral:

• All concerns about children, young people and adults at risk  MUST be reported as soon as possible and within one working day to the DSO (or other member of the Cape Farewell Core Team if the DSO is unavailable).
• The person who identifies the concern must record the details of the concern through the Safeguarding Incident Report Form (see Appendix B).
• The DSO will decide if it is appropriate to make a referral to children’s social care or the police. As part of making this decision the DSO may consult children’s social care or the NSPCC Helpline. All referrals must be made within 24 hours of the concern or disclosure coming to light.
• All urgent child protection referrals should be made by telephone to Dorset Council’s Children’s Advice and Duty Service (t: 01305 228866) by the DSO or other member of the Cape Farewell Core Team, and then written details of the referral must be sent to children’s social care within 48 hours.
• The person who raised the concern in the first place will need feedback and possibly support from the DSO.
• Once a referral has been made to children’s social care the social worker has a day to decide what further action is necessary to take and should inform the referrer of this. If the DSO has not heard anything back from the social worker within three working days they should follow this up and note the outcome.

10. Internal Suspected Abuse

Any allegation, concern or suspicion about a member of staff or any other person engaged by, or on behalf of, Cape Farewell should be reported immediately to the DSO.  If the DSO is the subject of the allegation or suspicion the report must be made directly to the Director of Cape Farewell.

The Local Authority Designated Officer LADO (for children) or Adult Social Services Duty Team (for adults) must be informed immediately and a referral made by the DSO or Director of Cape Farewell. An internal investigation will be led by the DSO or Director of Cape Farewell. Any member of staff or person engaged by Cape Farewell accused of abuse will, if necessary, be suspended or redeployed pending further police, Dorset Council and/or internal investigation.