Safeguarding Policy
Published September 2022
Reviewed September 2023
It Happens Education (IHE) takes its responsibilities to safeguard and protect the interests of the children and young people with whom they work, very seriously. This policy is for all IHE employees and self-employed Associates and will be reviewed at least annually.
IHE Safeguarding Lead is Louise Squire
IHE Directors and Associates have regular contact with children in schools delivering Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) workshops, face to face and online. Any safeguarding concerns will be reported to the school DSL at the earliest opportunity.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and anyone can make a referral to the local authority Children’s Social Care (CSC).
IHE follows The Department for Education (DfE) statutory guidance:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 (KCSIE)
- Working Together to Safeguard Children
- Relationships and Sex Education guidance (RSHE)
Aim of policy
- To provide the safest possible environment for students while delivering RSHE face to face presentations, webinars, or pre-records.
- To ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed by all employees and Associates of IHE.
- To make clear that everyone has a role to play in safeguarding.
- To emphasise the need for prompt and clear communication regarding any safeguarding concerns.
- For all employees and Associates to follow the IHE Code of Conduct and in so doing ensure that they uphold the highest standards of educational practice in workshops with children.
- To ensure that safer recruitment practices are followed as set out in KCSIE, Part 3.
- To ensure that IHE Directors and Associates are always accompanied by a member of the school staff when on school site or delivering live online.
What we do to promote safe spaces
- Schools are informed of IHE safeguarding requirements and procedures on confirmation of booking.
- Schools are asked to inform IHE of any concerns, or issues of the parent community relating to the teaching of RSHE.
- Schools are asked to inform IHE of general safeguarding concerns and any SEND needs of the students attending the session, prior to its delivery.
- IHE Directors and Associates must not deliver any pupil sessions without a member of the school staff being present.
- Any safeguarding concerns relating to students, raised in pre-session surveys, or during delivery of a session, must be reported to the school Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) at the earliest opportunity. Associates should inform an IHE Director who will record that a concern was raised. No details about individual students, or confidential information, should be recorded.
- IHE Directors and Associates will agree content, images and video clips, with the school, prior to arriving on site and delivering the presentation.
- IHE team do not share personal views, or experiences, during presentations and will ensure that content is appropriate for the age of student, as agreed with the school.
Training
- All IHE team undertake Level 1 Safeguarding training, which is regularly updated.
- IHE DSL will train at Level 3 and update training every 3 years.
- All Directors and Associates must read Part 1 KCSIE.
- All IHE team will receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates, including online safety (for example, via email, e-bulletins, staff meetings) as required, and at least annually, to provide them with the relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
- At least one of the IHE Directors will have Safer Recruitment training.
Face to face delivery
Presenter will ensure:
- That they know the name of the school DSL for reporting any safeguarding concerns.
- Set out safe space guidance for students at start of each presentation.
- Be alert to individual student responses, questioning and appearance, in relation to safeguarding.
- Have agreed procedure with lead teacher for managing a safeguarding issue during a presentation.
- Report any safeguarding concerns to school DSL as soon as possible.
Online delivery
Presenter will:
- Ensure members of school staff must be in attendance for all sessions delivered by IHE.
- Not deliver webinars, or pre-records ,to individual student homes.
- That schools are responsible for setting up any digital meetings/webinars required for online sessions, via Zoom, Meets, or Teams.
- That students use a handheld device if a webinar contains interactive options.
- Ensure that the school is aware of the risk of recording/screengrabs.
- A statement will be read at the start of each presentation to indicate that content must not be recorded, nor screen shots taken, or shared, with others.
There is a risk of disclosure and not knowing who made that statement.
What to do if a child makes a disclosure, or if you have a safeguarding concern:
- Do not promise confidentiality.
- Do not ask leading questions.
- Seek help from school staff.
- Report to school DSL as soon as possible.
- Make notes and give to school DSL.
Recording safeguarding concerns
- All safeguarding concerns must be recorded and kept in a secure location by IHE. Concerns regarding pupils should be passed to the school DSL.
- A record should be made that a concern was raised (without any personal, confidential detail).
- IHE records will be reviewed by the IHE Directors annually, to evaluate for patterns and the need for potential changes of practise.
- Records should be kept for 6 years
Categories of Abuse
Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused by other children or adults, in a family, or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by others.
Physical abuse: a form of abuse that may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.
Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and 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. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.
Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child, or young person, to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not 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. The sexual abuse of children by other children is a specific safeguarding issue in education and all staff should be aware of it and of their school or college’s policy and procedures for dealing with it.
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 involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home, or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
Specific safeguarding issues
These are the sorts of disclosures the IHE team need to be aware of:
- Sexual assault
- Rape
- Sexual abuse/harassment
- Sharing of nudes & semi-nudes
- Viewing explicit content
- Receiving unsolicited images
- Grooming
- Substance abuse
- Neglect
- Eating disorders
- FGM
- Self-harm
Allegations against an employee or Associate of IHE
Allegations made against an IHE presenter/ Director could fall into two categories.
- Allegations that may meet the harms threshold:
- behaviour that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child
- possible committing a criminal offence against or related to a child
- behaviour towards a child, or children, in a way that indicates he, or she, may pose a risk of harm to children
- behaviour or possible behaviour that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.
- Allegation/concerns that do not meet the harms threshold – referred to for the purposes of this guidance as ‘low level concerns’.
Examples of low-level concerns could include, but are not limited to:
- being over friendly with children
- having favourites
- taking photographs of children on their mobile phone
- engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door
- using inappropriate sexualised, intimidating, or offensive language.
If an allegation is made against a member of the IHE team, by a student, school, or parent of a school, where the team member has delivered a presentation, IHE Directors will liaise with the school who will advise as to process in consultation with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
Records of any allegations made against an adult will be kept for 10 years or until retirement age. (KCSIE para 417). If an allegation against an adult is found to be untrue, these records will be removed from the individual’s file and destroyed.
If an allegation is made against a member of the IHE team unconnected to IHE work, then IHE Directors will:
- apply common sense and judgement
- deal with allegations quickly, fairly and consistently
- provide effective protection for the child and support the person subject to the allegation.
Code of Conduct
The IHE Code of Conduct is issued and agreed by all employees and Associates of IHE. Copies are available upon request.
Safer Recruitment
IHE carry out the recruitment of new Associates and team members with regard to KCSIE.
- Job advertisements set out IHE commitment to safeguarding, promote their commitment to the welfare of young people and the safeguarding responsibilities of the role.
- References are sought and are addressed to the IHE Directors (not open references).
- A variety of methods are used for assessing the suitability of the candidate to the role.
- All information used in the decision-making process is recorded along with any decisions made.
- New Associates/Directors/employees are required to join the DBS update service.
- Shortlisted applicants are provided with a copy of IHE Safeguarding Policy.
- Shortlisted applicants are required to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record, or reasons why they are unsuitable for working with children.
- Offers of employment are conditional upon verification of identity, an enhanced DBS check, mental and physical fitness for the role, right to work in the UK.
Joining IHE
A safeguarding induction programme is in place for all new members to the IHE team and will be delivered by one of the Directors, or the DSL, to ensure understanding about the importance of safeguarding, managing concerns, recording concerns and the IHE Code of Conduct.
All IHE employees and Associates working with children need to have an Enhanced DBS check and be registered with the update service prior to visiting schools. IHE employees and Associates’ DBS checks are renewed every 3 years.
Schools are able to perform a status check on an IHE speaker by following this link: https://secure.crbonline.gov.uk/crsc/check?execution=e1s1
