Child and Vulnerable Adult

Safeguarding Policy

October 2024

It is a legal requirement for any organisation working with young children or vulnerable adults to ensure that there are procedures in place, which, as much as possible, provide for their safety.

1. Purpose

· To state the role of the North Willesborough Community Forum (NWCF) in child and vulnerable adult protection.

· To ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to safeguard the well-being of children and vulnerable adult.

· To ensure that the community is aware of its responsibilities with regard to safeguarding children and vulnerable adult

2. Scope

This policy covers:

· Children and vulnerable adults. The word "child/ren" in this document implies vulnerable adults, too.

· NWCF Steering Committee members; NWCF members; any volunteers working for/on behalf of the NWCF; and members of the community

· All meetings or events provided by the NWCF for the benefit of the community.

· Everyone, involved with the NWCF who supports activities involving young people or vulnerable adults has a duty of care to themselves and to others and should familiarise themselves with the procedures relating to this policy.

3. Definitions:

A child is any person under the age of eighteen years.

A vulnerable adult is anyone over 18 who is:

· unable to care for themselves

· unable to protect themselves from significant harm or exploitation

· or may be in need of community care services

4. Policy

Principles:

This Policy establishes the following principles:

· All children and other vulnerable people have the right to protection from harm

· Everyone in the community has a duty to respond to concerns about child safety

· Adults should be protected from false accusation of harming children

· All reasonable suspicions and allegations of harm must be taken seriously and acted upon appropriately

Responsibilities

The NWCF has a formal interest in and may operate events with children and others, and has a duty, as far as reasonably practicable, to ensure that such events are safe for that purpose.

5. Procedure

Responsible Officer

NWCF will elect a Safeguarding officer for all Child and Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding issues and any activities undertaken by the NWCF which are likely to involve these people should be reported to the responsible officer prior to their commencement.

Following any safeguarding concerns the Safeguarding Officer will liaise with the Chair of the NWCF report any incidents (anonymised) to the Steering Committee at the next Steering Committee meeting.

NWCF

The NWCF shall ensure that this Policy is:

· implemented at all times

· kept up-to-date to reflect new legislation and social needs

Confidentiality

It is important to ensure confidentiality about any suspicions, or allegations being made by a child or V.A. Whilst it is recommended that notes are made as soon as possible these should be treated in confidence until required by investigating authorities.

The Community

The NWCF shall encourage all members of the community, to recognise that each has a responsibility to contribute to child safety either:

· directly during organised activity

· by exercising parental choice or

· by responding to concerns about safety.

The NWCF recognises also the potential for false allegation against adults, whether intentionally or not . Anyone involved with the NWCF should avoid situations that could make them vulnerable to allegations or be misinterpreted.

Responding to allegations or suspicions

Anyone who has concerns about possible improper behaviour towards a child or vulnerable adult shall not delay in reporting it. The NWCF is not a "point of contact" for reporting suspicions of improper behaviour. If such information is received, then the recipient shall advise the reporter to contact the appropriate authority via the Police 101 number and advise the NWCF Safeguarding Officer, who may also report to Police, in the interests of safety).

Report an incident or concern

The police 101 number reaches the appropriate organisation very quickly. It is manned 24 hours a day.

Additional information/Support

If anyone has concerns about Child Protection or V.A. issues additional support is available from:

Kent County Council Social Services – 03000 41 11 11 (Mon to Fri 9-5)

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis and amended as new legislation is introduced.