Introduction

All staff working with children and vulnerable adults have a legal duty to work together to protect them from harm or abuse. Eyecandy Safeguarding lead has overall responsibility for the safeguarding of learners and is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of all work done to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people on programme. Eyecandy Policy covers: The recruitment and employment of staff working with vulnerable adults and the provision of a safe learning environment under the requirements of this act Eyecandy. Assessment Centre Manager & HR department are responsible for ensuring that Eyecandy follows safer recruitment procedures. This includes carrying out Disclosure and Baring checks on all staff working with vulnerable learners every three years. This also applies where staffs have already been checked by a previous employer.

Statement of Intent:

Eyecandy’s first priority is to ensure the safety and protection of all learners taking part in learning. In order to protect young people and vulnerable adults from harm we will act in accordance with the following legislation and guidance:

Scope

This policy statement applies to all learning provided by Eyecandy, and includes:

All learning provision for adults delivered directly by employed staff employed

All learning provision for adults commissioned through partnership arrangements

Definitions

Safeguarding The term “safeguarding” describes the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures that are necessary to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from any potential harm or damage.

Safeguarding means:

Protection from abuse and neglect Promotion of health and development

Ensuring safety and care relating to the environment and activity Ensuring optimum life chances

‘Child’ or ‘Young Adult’ An individual is considered to be a child or young person up to their 18th birthday

‘Vulnerable Adult’ A Vulnerable adult is any person aged 18 or over ‘who is, or may be in need of, community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is, or may be, unable to take care of him or herself or protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation’.

The list below is not exhaustive but a vulnerable adult may be someone who:

is elderly and frail has a mental disorder

has a physical or sensory disability has a severe physical illness

is a substance misuser is homeless

has a learning disability

 

‘Abuse’ is

“a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons”. Abuse may consist of a single act or repeated acts, abuse may happen intentionally or unintentionally and can take place in any relationship or setting. Examples of abuse that could occur in a learning environment include:

Physical abuse – shoving, hitting, slapping

Sexual abuse - involvement in any direct or indirect (e.g. innuendo, pornography) activity against the learner’s will or knowledge Emotional/psychological abuse e.g. intimidation, bullying or humiliation Discriminatory abuse e.g. racial, sexual or religious harassment Financial or material exploitation e.g. coercing money or goods Institutional abuse e.g. failure to ensure privacy, dignity or uphold individual human and civil rights.

Neglect or acts of omission e.g. ignoring physical or medical needs, failure to access appropriate health, social care or educational services, withholding medication.An abuser: may be anyone including relatives, friends, professional staff, other learners and service-users, neighbours, care workers, volunteers, and strangers.

Policy Statement

Eyecandy is committed to  promoting  safeguarding  through the provision  of an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for its learners, staff and others closely associated with its work and affirms the rights of individuals to be treated fairly and with respect.

 Eyecandy intends to pursue this commitment by

1.Promoting a culture of value and respect for all within a supportive and safe learning environment

Ensure that all internal tutoring staff, and learning and personal support staff in contact with learners have a current Disclosure and Barring check for working with adults and/or children Provide accessible information for learners, tutoring staff and subcontracting providers on equality, diversity, bullying, harassment, dignity and respect in the learning environment We will provide opportunities for adults and young people to voice any concerns they may have regarding inappropriate behaviour, abuse, harassment or misconduct and providing strong sanctions to deter victimisation or cover up of malpractice Supply information to learners on Eyecandy procedures for following up complaints relating to the conduct of tutoring staff and/or other learners

Require all tutoring staff and others associated with the delivery of our provision to carry and produce appropriate identification on request

Ensure that premises used to deliver learning activities are risk assessed by appropriately trained staff

Ensure that learning activities are risk assessed by appropriately trained staff Ensure that care and safety issues and concerns are reported

2.Providing Information, training and briefings on safeguarding vulnerable adults and children that includes:

Include information on Safeguarding as part of learner induction

Provide information to tutoring staff and learners about the standards we expect with regard to confidentiality and disclosure

Provide appropriate training for tutoring staff on safeguarding, disclosure and diversity matters

Distribute information to all internal on the signs of abuse and the action to take if/when abuse is reported.

Provide accessible information for learners, and tutoring staff on the complaints procedure

Provide headline information for learners on safeguarding, e-safety, bullying and harassment equality of opportunity and diversity.

Provide learners with the name of the designated safeguarding contact and the procedure to be followed in the case of any alleged case of bullying or harassment

 

3.Gathering and analysing information from learners on matters related to feeling safe in the learning environment

Generate questions on the feedback form to elicit how safe learners feel in the learning environment

Analyse the information obtained and acting on the results

 

Monitoring the effectiveness of this Safeguarding Policy and reviewing it annually

Monitor the safeguarding practices within provision

Identify and sharing good practice in safeguarding with sub contracted providers

Review the Eyecandy safeguarding policy on an annual basis

Link with learning networks and the local authority safeguarding unit to ensure that information on safeguarding is current and up to date

All enquiries relating to safeguarding issues should be addressed in the first instance to the

designated    safeguarding    officer   for Eyecandy Assessment Centre.

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Reporting an incident

After direct or indirect disclosure or signs of abuse are spotted, please inform, in the first instance the Assessment Centre Manager, with the following information:

What your concerns are.

Where, when, who from and how you got the concerns. What you have done.

Whether the parents/carers and learner is aware of this referral? Any additional info about the learner. (Use the registration form) Contact information for anyone involved Write a report within 48 hours. Include all details of the disclosure including who was present and the reasons for your decision to make a referral. Ensure this is stored in a secure file. If there is immediate danger call 999

Send all report to

Safeguarding Officer; ?????? at ??????

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This policy has been approved & authorised by:

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Name:

Position: Director of Studies

Date: 05/03/2022

Signature:

 

Review of Policy: 05/03/2023