Safeguarding
Policies and Procedures

All those applying to work with children and young people will be given a job profile which will include the following:

• A description of the tasks and responsibilities involved in the position

• An indication of the time of commitment that will be involved

• The name of the person to whom they will be responsible

• An expectation that the person concerned will comply with the Safeguarding Policy

• A statement that anyone applying for this position will be expected to disclose details of any criminal record or apply for an Enhanced Disclosure from the Data Barring Service (DBS)

The candidate will be required to complete an application form and references will be obtained. An interview will be held with the candidate and they should be specifically asked whether they have had to leave any posts working with children or young people, or whether children have ever been taken from their care.

Once an appointment has been made, a check from the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) will be applied for. DBS checks will be made for all Sunday School teachers who lead the sessions. Such checks will also be made for those supporting in Sunday School classes. In the event that such checks are not yet in place, those supporting Sunday School classes will be accompanied by a DBS-checked Sunday School teacher or volunteer. Where DBS checks are not yet in place, volunteers will not be asked to supervise classes or left alone with children at any time during such classes. The same considerations will be made for those volunteering supervision for the creche area after the service is concluded or at other times of the week.

Where helpers under the age of 18 are working with children, they should be supervised at all times and within close proximity of a DBS-checked adult. Such helpers should not be given undue responsibility or be asked to supervise or be left alone with children. Such helpers should understand who to approach if they are unsure of an activity with which they are involved and who to inform if they are concerned about the wellbeing of children. This may be the DBS leader of the group with whom they are working, who should then report any safeguarding concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

When the person is appointed, they will be asked to sign a Volunteer Agreement form to ensure that they are clear about their role and responsibilities.

The church will offer training and a copy of the safeguarding policy procedures document will be given to them. They will be given the opportunity to receive appropriate training to develop their skills and will be expected to attend training in Safeguarding every three years.

Any data gathered or held related to DBS checks will be treated in accordance with the data retention policy of the church as outlined in the GDPR leaflet “Syston Evangelical Baptist Church data and you”. Any such documentation will be password protected and held on church laptops in electronic versions only.

All those seeking to work with children and young people should be treated in the same way and care should be taken not to discriminate because someone may appear to be “safer”. The Disclosure should be related to the work undertaken and not the person concerned.

• As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to assess applicants’ suitability for positions of trust, Syston Evangelical Baptist Church undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly. It undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a Disclosure on the basis of conviction or other information received.

• We welcome people to serve the church on the basis of the right mix of talent, skills, character, potential and call of God, including those with criminal records.

• A Disclosure is requested only after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned.

• A criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to a person serving with children and young people. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offences.

An important key to ensuring, as far as is possible, that children and young people or vulnerable adults cannot be abused or harmed whilst in the care of the church is to establish good networks of supervision amongst those working with children, young people and vulnerable adults. These networks also help to protect the workers from putting themselves in situations where they can face suspicion or false accusations.

Workers should only find themselves in sole charge of children and young people in appropriate circumstances. This must always mean in an open space with windows allowing open lines of sight and easy access. Doors should always have windows and no child should be taken into an area without such facilities. When transporting in cars it would be good practice for two adults to be present wherever possible. Where this is not possible, the child or children being transported should always be seated in the back of the car and the adult in the front.

Workers can help one another maintain the culture of good practice that is the key to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Supervision and support will be discussed in Elders and Church Meetings where necessary to try to identify the needs of the children, young people and vulnerable adults. This will allow discussion of events, that in isolation, might not make much sense, but when shared with others begin to form identifiable indicators of needs or concern.

All toileting and personal care of children is to be carried out by parents only and not those engaged in Sunday School volunteer duties. Where parents are not in attendance, such care may be conducted by responsible family members who parents have approved for such care. In exceptional circumstances where an emergency situation has arisen, such care may be offered by two unrelated DBS-checked volunteers.

Only church-approved mobile devices for church use shall be used for the gathering of photographs and video by prior agreement with the Elders. Ideally such devices should be those already in use for other church activity (e.g. laptops, iPads or church phones), however, exceptions may be made with church Elder approval. Photos and videos may not be reproduced or distributed to the church where parents have not given permission for this to occur in the Sunday School contact details form.

For performances and events where families may wish to video record or to take still images, this may be permitted if:
a) such individuals undertake not to share such images on social media
b) an announcement is made to this effect, in which families have the opportunity to opt out if notice is given to the Elders within a period of 48 hours.

Children and young people should not be shown images or video in church from personal devices. Only church devices should be used. If a member of the congregation is seen sharing images or video with a child, this should be reported to the Elders who should then investigate whether such actions are appropriate and make a reasoned response as a consequence. In general, such activity should be discouraged.

Individuals should not:

• Take responsibility for deciding whether or not abuse is actually taking place

• Act alone

• Take sole responsibility for what has been shared or any concerns they may have

• Discuss their concerns with other members of the church (including those related to the child) other than the Designated Safeguarding Lead

Individuals must:

• Discuss concerns without delay with the Designated Safeguarding Lead so as to enable complete protection for the child or young person and initiate support for all those involved in what could be a difficult situation

If the concerns in any way involve the Designated Safeguarding Lead, the church has identified another person with whom the concerns can be discussed (Mr Mark Paton, Elder) and in those cases where abuse is suspected or disclosed the matter should be referred to Social Services.

The role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead is to co-ordinate all activities to do with abuse allegations. He will consult with people with greater experience and expertise, and it is not for him or any other church member to investigate suspicions or allegations. This is for outside agencies only.

When a child, young person or vulnerable adult reports abuse, or an incident takes place that gives cause for concern, a written record should be made.

The record should:

• Be legible and state the facts accurately

• Be made as soon as possible after the disclosure/incident

Records of disclosures, incidents or concerns should include:

• The child/young person or vulnerable adult’s name, address and date of birth

• The nature of concerns/allegation/disclosure

• A description of any visible bruising or other injuries

• An exact record of what the child/young person or vulnerable adult has said using their words. A child/young person or vulnerable adult’s behaviour and demeanour might also give some indication of what they mean to say and these should also be noted

• What was said by the person to whom the concerns were reported

• Any action taken as a result of the concerns e.g. who was spoken to and resulting action, including any contact with parents, or the Designated Safeguarding Lead within the church

Records should be:

• Signed and dated and include the time (Date, Sign, Time)

• Kept secure and confidential and made only available to:

  • The Designated Safeguarding Lead

  • The Elders of the church as far as this is consistent with the welfare of the child, young person or vulnerable adult concerned

  • Representatives of the professional agencies as required by them

This is the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead who will make one of the following decisions:

1. Do I consult with someone outside the church?
   Unless the responsible person is confident that other advice need not be sought in any given instance, the presumption should be to consult. Care must be taken in consulting others that the identities of the people involved are not divulged.

2. Do I inform the parents/carers?
   The responsible person would share with parents/carers their intention to consult with or refer to Social Services. However, in situations where a parent/carer is implicated in the abuse and when there is doubt about whether, by informing the parents/carer the child or young person might be placed at increased risk, the advice of Social Services staff should be sought about how best to proceed. In this case only, the parent/carer should not be informed of the referral.

3. Do I refer to Social Services?
   It is the duty of the church to report allegations or suspicions of abuse. It is necessary for the responsible person to respond to such allegations of abuse and concerns about a child’s safety and protection by referring them to Social Services. The parent/carers are to be informed unless they are implicated in the abuse. Should a parent/carer not be in agreement with informing Social Services of the concerns and the information available suggests that the child or young person is at risk, it will always be necessary for the responsible person to respond to the concerns and refer these to Social Services.

Not all concerns will warrant a referral, such as a change in behaviour, but these will be monitored and the reinforcement of Good Practice guidelines.

After consulting Social Services, the responsible person will be advised of what action to take and the appropriate involvement and/or means of offering support to the child and their family.

Firstly, it should be made clear that those with convictions for harming children should be given a welcome and receive the love and friendship of the church community, but we must always ensure the safety of the children and young people.

Where the past offence has been of a sexual nature, an open discussion will be held with the person concerned and clear boundaries will be established for their involvement in the life of the church. A written contract will be drawn up which identifies appropriate behaviour and which the person is asked to sign.

The contract:

• Will identify the meetings the person will attend

• Will specify that they will always sit apart from children

• May require them to be accompanied by a befriender from the fellowship when on church premises

• Will require the person not to attend small group meetings where children are present

• Will require that the person declines hospitality where children are present

• Will state that the person will never be alone with children while attending church functions

• Will require the person to stay away from areas of the building where children meet

The contract will be monitored and enforced.

If the information is known to the church only because it was revealed as a result of a Disclosure by the Disclosure and Barring Service, it would be a criminal offence for that information to be passed on to others.

Where a visitor to the church exhibits behaviour that is of concern, the same principles of welcome and community will apply. Care will be taken that children and young people will not be in close proximity to such a visitor and never alone. Those with responsibility in the church will monitor such a situation carefully and intervene if necessary, including asking the visitor to leave.

Always seek appropriate medical help when necessary.

Should a child require immediate medical treatment, this should be sought and all reasonable steps taken to contact the parents and inform them of the situation. Emergency contact details are located in the locked filing cabinet in the Sunday School room, for which the Sunday School Superintendent is the keyholder. Such details are also kept on password-protected files on the main church laptop, for which the Designated Safeguarding Lead holds the password.

Where medical treatment is desirable but not urgent, steps should be taken to inform the parent of the need to seek medical attention or advice for the child or young person and offer support and practical assistance to follow this through.

Sunday School is open to all children and young people who want to learn about Jesus.

The parent of the child or young person will be required to complete a Registration and Consent Form for under 18s. This will include:

• The full name of the child

• Address

• Contact telephone number(s)

• Date of birth

• Who has parental responsibility for the child/young person

• Additional contact name(s)

• Medical information

• Declaration of permission for the normal activities of this group

This form can only be signed by the parent or those with parental responsibility.

We believe that children and adults flourish best in an ordered environment in which everyone knows what is expected of them and children/young people are free to learn and develop without fear of being hurt or hindered by anyone else. We aim to work towards a situation in which children can develop self-discipline and self-esteem in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.

In order to achieve this:

• Adults will provide a model for the children/young people with regard to friendliness, care and courtesy

• Adults will help the children to challenge bullying behaviour appropriately

• Adults will endorse and praise desirable behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share

• Adults will take positive steps to ensure a child does not only receive adult attention in return for undesirable behaviour

When children/young people behave in unacceptable ways:

• Where appropriate, one-to-one support will be given to see what is wrong and how best to cope

• Children/young people will never be sent out of the room by themselves

• Physical punishment will neither be used nor threatened

• Physical restraint will not be used except to prevent physical injury to children, young people or adults and/or serious damage to property

  • Any such cases must be recorded and the parent informed the same day

• In any case of misbehaviour, it will be made clear to the child/young person that it is the behaviour that is unwelcome, not the child

• Adults will not shout or raise their voice in a threatening way

• Any behavioural problems will be handled in a developmentally appropriate way, respecting individual children/young people’s level of understanding and maturity

• Adults will be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from a child or young person’s additional needs and requirements

If the parent/carer has not contacted the church to advise that they may be late, the following procedure will commence:

1. An attempt will be made to contact the parent/carer on the given telephone number. If this is not successful, point 2 will be followed.

2. All other contact numbers will be tried and arrangements made for the child to be picked up. If this is not successful, point 3 will be followed.

3. The child will leave the church no later than 1.30pm (for a morning meeting) or 8.30pm (for an evening meeting) with Anthony Anderson (DSL) and Elizabeth Anderson (Sunday School Superintendent), and be taken to their home address ([Redacted]).

4. The Children’s Social Care duty officer will be contacted for advice: 01509 266641

5. More attempts will be made to contact the parents and other given contacts to make arrangements for the child to be taken home. If none of the contacts can be spoken to, the child/young person will remain in Anthony and Elizabeth Anderson’s care until the Children’s Social Care duty officer takes over.

The child will not be allowed to leave the church premises unless the person picking them up is known to the child and Church Sunday School leaders.

Whilst every precaution is taken to prevent a child or young person from being lost, the following procedures will take place immediately should a child or young person be found to be missing.

If a child or young person should go missing during the Sunday School session:

• A thorough search of the building will start

• A search of the immediate area outside of the building will follow

• The Police will be notified if the child has still not been found after 10 minutes of the complete search, followed by contacting the parents

If a child or young person is lost during an outing:

• A thorough search of the area will commence

• If at a venue (e.g. park or bowling alley), staff will be notified to help in the search

• The local Police will be notified if the child has still not been found after 10 minutes, followed by a telephone call to the parents

Staff ratios are in accordance with the Good Practice guidelines and parents may be asked to help with outings.

All accidents will be recorded in the “Accident Record Book” and the person picking the child up will be required to sign the book.

Likewise, if a child or young person comes to Sunday School with visible bruising/injuries or if bruising/injuries are discovered later in the session and these have not occurred whilst in the church’s care, they too will be entered in the “Accident Record Book” and an explanation sought from the child/young person’s parent or main carer. This too must be signed.

All personal information held on a child or young person must be kept confidential and in a locked cupboard.

Workers and volunteers will not discuss individual children or young people other than for the purposes of planning for Sunday School/Youth Club with anyone other than the parents/carers.

Information given by parents/carers will not be passed on to other adults without permission.