Safeguarding Policy

1 POLICY SUMMARY STATEMENT

2 DEFINITIONS

3 GOVERNANCE, REVIEW AND INFORMATION SHARING

4 ESCALATION AND WHISTLEBLOWING

5 DEALING WITH INAPPROPRIATE ADVANCES

6 STAFF RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

7 OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES when Children are included

Appendix A – Office Holders

Appendix B – Self-Disclosure Form

Appendix C – Volunteer Worker: Reference Form

Appendix D – Parental Authorisation for Trip Away

Appendix E – Register of Activity including Children and Accident Log

Appendix F – Parental Authorisation for Travel during an event and/or Leaving Koinonia Activities Unaccompanied or with a Non-Parental Adult

Appendix G – Forms of Child Abuse

1. POLICY SUMMARY STATEMENT

Koinonia is a university outreach and as such works mainly with university students; but occasionally older youth engage with our work as part of a bridge from youth to university.

Koinonia values Children and Vulnerable Adults and is committed to ensuring that their welfare is promoted and that they are protected from harm. The Koinonia Safeguarding Policy covers the legal requirements for documentation of operational and safety procedures during Koinonia activities, the employment and training in this Policy of voluntary and paid staff, and the courses of action that should be taken should there be allegations or discovery of abuse of Children or Vulnerable Adults. Underpinning these legal requirements, the Policy also reminds Koinonia staff, volunteers and participants of the behaviour expected of all that encourages mutual dignity and respect. This policy will be reviewed annually.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and all those who participate in Koinonia are given access to this policy. This policy is made available on the Koinonia website. All volunteers, paid staff, and Trustees of Koinonia are annually invited to a training session on safeguarding and required to do it as soon as reasonably possible after taking on their role. Staff and volunteers are required to attend a training session every year, and the Trustees at least every three years. Safeguarding concerns physical safety due to the environment as well as interactions with others, and, as such, concerns Child abuse and the abuse of Vulnerable Adults. Abuse is any action by a person or persons – adult or Child – that causes significant harm to another person. It can be physical, sexual or emotional, but can just as often be about a lack of love, care and attention. Forms of Child abuse are described in Appendix G.

Koinonia has a close affiliation to the Antioch Community (antioch.org.uk) which provides funding and other support to Koinonia. Koinonia staff and volunteers may also be members of the Antioch Community. As such, Koinonia usually appoints the Antioch safeguarding officers to provide the same role for Koinonia, and that may include arranging DBS checks and training through Antioch.

This policy covers safeguarding for both Children and Vulnerable Adults. As Safeguarding occasionally applies differently to these two groups, the policy specifies whether each point refers to one or both groups.

2. DEFINITIONS

In this document

2.1 Koinonia means the trustees and staff (paid and voluntary) of Koinonia God exists@ac.uk and participants in Koinonia activities.

2.2. Child or Children or Young People or Youth mean all persons under 18 years of age. (For ease of application, any Child in the final year of secondary education, the year during which they turn 18, may be considered a Child still)

2.3 Adult means someone 18 years of age or over, unless they are considered a Child (Section 2.2).

2.4 Vulnerable Adults are Adults who are unable to provide for their own needs and protect themselves against abuse or serious exploitation due to impairment of mental, physical and/or emotional function.

2.5 Parent means the Parent, guardian, carer or person acting in loco Parentis of a Child.

2.6 Koinonia Director or Director is the leader of Koinonia. (Appendix A)

2.7 Senior Trustee is the Chair of Trustees of Koinonia or their delegated representative.

2.8 Staff means any Adult, whether paid or volunteer, who works in Koinonia’s activities.

2.9 Safeguarding. The action we take to promote a safer culture which promotes the welfare of all, prevents abuse from happening, protects those most at risk and responds well to those who have been abused.

2.10 Safeguarding Officer. A designated person who has the responsibility to ensure that the procedures contained in this Safeguarding Policy are implemented and to whom a Child/Young Person/Vulnerable Adult may talk independently.

3. GOVERNANCE, REVIEW AND INFORMATION SHARING

3.1 One or two persons are appointed by the Trustees of Koinonia to the designated post of Safeguarding Officer. (Appendix A)

3.2 Fears about sharing information cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the need to promote the welfare and protect the safety of Children and Vulnerable Adults. No one should assume that someone else will pass on information which they think may be critical to keeping a Child or Vulnerable Adult safe. If anyone has concerns about the welfare of a Child or Vulnerable Adult involved in any Koinonia activity and believes they are suffering or likely to suffer harm, then they should share the information immediately with the Koinonia Safeguarding Officer, who will follow the reporting and escalation process laid out in Section 4.

3.3 The Safeguarding Officer will maintain a record of all information relevant to this policy.

They will share information, where appropriate, with:

Local Authority Children’s Social Care, or Adult Social Care if it relates to a vulnerable adult
The Police
Koinonia Leadership
Trustees of Koinonia God exists@ac.uk
Participants in Koinonia events
Leaders and Safeguarding Officers of the Antioch Community

3.4 The Koinonia Trustees and Safeguarding Officer will review the Koinonia Safeguarding Policy at least annually.

3.5 The Koinonia Trustees will, as a standing item in their regular scheduled meetings, review the following: “Have any significant Safeguarding incidents been brought to your attention?” and, “Has the Safeguarding Policy been reviewed in the last 12 months?”

3.6 All Koinonia Trustees must have a DBS check no later than 6 months after their appointment. DBS checks do not normally need to be renewed during the term of office of a Trustee.

4. ESCALATION AND WHISTLEBLOWING

4.1 Whistleblowing

4.1.1 If you think that Koinonia is putting Children or Vulnerable Adults at risk – something may have happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe may happen in the future, even if you’re not certain – you should ensure that this concern is heard by the appropriate authorities. This does not have to relate to a Koinonia event, but can be related to any situation where Koinonia staff are in contact with Children or Vulnerable Adults.

4.1.2 You should raise this with the Safeguarding Officer in the first instance.

4.1.3 If you believe that Koinonia doesn’t have clear safeguarding procedures to follow and you think your concern won’t be dealt with properly or may be covered-up or you’ve raised a concern previously, but it hasn’t been acted upon or you’re worried about being treated unfairly then you should call a Whistleblowing Advice Line.

4.1.4 The NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line is: 0800 028 0285. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-Children-safe/reporting-abuse/

4.2 Dealing with Allegations or Harm to a Child or a Vulnerable Adult

4.2.1 There are three related but different items that can be brought to the attention of those concerned with Safeguarding: concerns about the quality of care or practice (see 4.2.3); complaints about an individual (see 4.2.4); or an allegation (see 4.2.5 and 4.2.6).

4.2.2 In all cases, either of the following can be contacted: the Koinonia Director, or the Safeguarding Officer.

4.2.3 Concerns about quality of care or practice (like safety, protection from harm, competence) should be brought to the Koinonia Director or the Safeguarding Officer. The Koinonia Director will consider and address the concern and, if substantive, escalate to the Safeguarding Officer. The Safeguarding Officer will consider and address the concern and, if substantive, escalate to the Koinonia Trustees. The Koinonia Trustees will provide a response to the Safeguarding Officer. A record of any concern, and the response, will be made by all those who deal with it and it will be passed to and kept by the Safeguarding Officer.

4.2.4 Complaints about an individual should be brought to the Koinonia Director, or the Safeguarding Officer if the individual is the Koinonia Director. The Koinonia Director will consider and address the complaint and, if substantive, escalate to the Safeguarding Officer. The Safeguarding Officer will consider and address the complaint and, if substantive, escalate to the Koinonia Trustees who will provide a response. If the complaint is about the Safeguarding Officer and there is no other Safeguarding Officer who can receive the complaint, the Senior Trustee will fulfil the Safeguarding Officer role. A record of any complaint, and the response, will be made by all those who deal with it and it will be passed to and kept by the Safeguarding Officer.

4.2.5 Allegations may relate to a person who works with Children or Vulnerable Adults, or comes into contact with Children/Vulnerable Adults who has behaved in a way that has harmed a Child/Vulnerable Adult, or may have harmed a Child/Vulnerable Adult; possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a Child/Vulnerable Adult; or behaved towards a Child/Vulnerable Adult or Children/Vulnerable Adults in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to Children/Vulnerable Adults.

4.2.6 If an allegation is made, then this must be reported immediately to the Safeguarding Officer. If the allegation is about the Safeguarding Officer, the Senior Trustee will fulfil the Safeguarding Officer role.

4.2.6.1 A record of this allegation will be kept. At the outset of the allegation, the subject (person) of the allegation should on no account be informed of the allegation.

4.2.6.2 The Safeguarding Officer will report the allegation to the Local Authority within 24 hours of receiving the allegation, unless there is an immediate risk, in which case the Local Authority/Social Services should be contacted immediately, including their emergency services. The Safeguarding Officer will follow the advice given and keep a written record of the advice received and any action taken.

4.2.6.3 A written or recorded statement should be provided to the Safeguarding Officer by the one(s) making the allegation.

4.2.6.4 The Koinonia Director and Trustees will be informed of any allegations that are made. If any of them is the subject of the allegation, then they will not be informed.

4.2.6.5 If the Safeguarding Officer considers that a Child/Vulnerable Adult is in current danger of harm, then they will take action to ensure the Child/Vulnerable Adult’s safety, including contacting the police. The Trustees will be informed, and the subject of the allegation will not be permitted to come into contact with that Child/Vulnerable Adult and, where relevant, any Children/Vulnerable Adults under the care of Koinonia.

4.2.6.6 If applicable, the Koinonia Director and Safeguarding Officer will follow the advice of the Local Authority to prevent any potential of future harm through the behaviour of the individual (that could, for example, become grooming behaviour). This could take the form of, for example, removing the individual from regular contact with Children/Vulnerable Adults, informing Parents of Children, and/or providing training and oversight.

4.2.6.7 For any allegation that is made, if the individual is a member of a religious order (including the Servants of the Word) or an ordained minister, then the designated Safeguarding Officers of the organisations to which they belong will be informed. This will normally be done by the Koinonia Safeguarding Officer.

4.2.6.8 The Social Services will be asked for advice as to whether any of the following should be informed: the police, the Disclosure and Barring Service, and/or other employers of the subject of the allegation (e.g. if they are a teacher or otherwise work with children).

4.2.6.9 The Chair of Trustees will inform the Charity Commission.

5. DEALING WITH INAPPROPRIATE ADVANCES

5.1 It is recognised that Children can sometimes make suggestive approaches to an Adult; they may have a crush on a person or they may act inappropriately. If anything like this happens, the Koinonia Worker must:

5.1.1 Tell the young person that their language or behaviour is unacceptable and also tell the Koinonia Director about the incident, however embarrassing this might be; and

5.1.2 After the incident, record immediately what was done and said; the Koinonia Director reports this to the Safeguarding Officer and gives the record to them for safe keeping. This is necessary to safeguard the Worker if accusations are made later. The Safeguarding Officer and the Koinonia Director will decide what further action is necessary.

5.2 Sometimes inappropriate physical contact can happen accidentally; if anything significant like this happens, then point 5.1.2 should be followed.

6. STAFF RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

6.1 The recruitment of Staff is the ultimate responsibility of the Koinonia Trustees; this task is carried out in conjunction with the Director.

6.2 While most Koinonia events will not involve any Children and/or Vulnerable Adults, Koinonia staff will, as part of their work, occasionally be involved in working with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults, and therefore need to be vetted by Koinonia and receive Safeguarding training.

6.3 Any Staff whether employed on a full-time, part-time or voluntary basis prior to working with Children must have a Reference Form (Appendix C) completed by two individuals who have knowledge of their work, particularly work with Children. The references should be completed by an individual of sufficient standing; this could include, for example, designated Safeguarding officers from a previous employer/organisation.

6.4 All Staff whether employed on a full-time, part-time or voluntary basis, must, before working with Children, complete a “Self-Disclosure” form (Appendix B) to be kept in a confidential file by the Safeguarding Officer.

6.5 All Staff, whether employed on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, must have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check submitted no later than one month after starting to work with Children. The cost of this Registration will be met by Koinonia. The Applications for this check will be processed through the Safeguarding Officer. The check does not have to be returned prior to working with Children, but the staff member will not be allowed to work unsupervised with Children or Vulnerable Adults until the check is returned.

6.6 For new staff who are moving to the UK from abroad, we will seek to obtain, if possible, an equivalent check from the relevant authorities in the country from which they are moving to the UK.

6.7 If a criminal offence is signalled in either the Disclosure of Criminal Records form, or the DBS check, the Safeguarding Officer will seek advice from an external expert to determine whether or not it has compromised the suitability of the person concerned to work when Children or Vulnerable Adults are present. A note of the conclusion should be made on the “Disclosure of Criminal Records” form. Until this conclusion is reached, we will ensure that the staff member in question does not have any unsupervised contact with Children or Vulnerable Adults in a Koinonia context.

6.8 The Director will ensure that there is appropriate supervision and oversight of staff working with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults.

6.9 Given the close relationship between Koinonia and the Antioch Community, and the fact that most Children who will attend Koinonia events will be part of the Antioch youth programmes, Koinonia staff members who have completed the “Self-Disclosure” form, provided references, and undergone a DBS check with Antioch, will not be required to do so again with Koinonia. However, they will additionally be required to complete the Koinonia Safeguarding training. The Koinonia Safeguarding Officer will need to verify the Self-Disclosure form, the references, and the DBS check that are in the Antioch records with the written permission of the individual concerned (see Appendix B).

7. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES when Children are included

7.1 Record Keeping

7.1.1 A Register of Activities including Children (Appendix E) is kept for all official Koinonia activities which include Children.

7.1.2 An Accident Log (Appendix E) must be kept of any accidents (for example, a Child fell over and grazed his/her knee) that occurred during an activity.

7.1.3 Emergency contact details for Parents of Children will be kept on record and will be available to the Supervisor (see 7.2.1) during any event involving Children.

7.1.4 An Authorisation and Consent Form (Appendix D) is required from Parents of Children for trips of 4 hours or more and/or overnight. For recurring events (e.g. once a month of 4 hours or more) it is acceptable to have one Consent Form to cover the academic year.

7.1.5 At the end of each school year (or more frequently, such as after each relevant event, if that is easier) the Register of Children’s Activities, Accident Log and Authorisation and Consent forms must be given to the Safeguarding Officer for long-term storage (13 years).

7.2 Approaches to Physical Safety

7.2.1 To ensure no area of the responsibility for supervising any Activity including Children is neglected, a single Worker should be in charge overall for each activity that includes Children. This person is then the Supervisor.

7.2.2 The Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the physical environment is secure. This includes entrance/exits of the venue and equipment used.

7.2.3 Dangerous situations (e.g. possible hazards in a venue) must be reported to the Supervisor. The Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the situation is dealt with.

7.2.4 Any accident involving a Child which takes place during the Activities must be reported to the Parents after the activity, by the Supervisor.

7.2.5 For emergencies involving a Child, the Parents will be contacted as soon as appropriate by the Supervisor.

7.2.6 The Supervisor must complete a Register of Activities including Children (Appendix E, see also 7.1) for any organised event with multiple Children. This comprises an attendance record and a simple Accident Log.

7.2.7 Supervisors must ensure that they have access to a first aid kit and the Accident Log for any organised event with multiple Children.

7.2.8 Supervisors must ensure that Children do not leave any event without being returned to an appropriate adult, unless there is a prior, documented agreement with the Parent that the Child can leave the event on their own. This agreement takes the form of a permission slip (Appendix F).

7.2.9 Parents must be given access to one emergency phone number to ring the Supervisor (Appendix D).

7.3 Travel to and from events

Travel to and from events is a special part of the considerations of Physical Safety.

7.3.1 Supervisors must ensure that Children do not travel unaccompanied or with a non-parental adult, including lifts home, unless there is a prior, documented agreement with the Parent that the Child may travel. This agreement takes the form of a permission slip (Appendix F) or other explicit agreement in writing (includes email, text message, etc).

7.3.2 A Staff Member on their own will not normally give lifts to one Child on their own unless the lifts are very short (under fifteen minutes), and only with additional written permission from a Parent (e.g. a text message), unless there is an emergency (e.g. the Child needs to be taken to the hospital) and the Staff Member is unable to contact the Child’s Parent.

7.4 Special Activities

Those Involving One or More Nights Away It is recognised that going away e.g. on a trip involving one or more nights away from home, changes the normal routines and creates new situations which Workers need to anticipate in order to operate safely. If there are any Children or Vulnerable Adults present at a residential event, all procedures above must be followed and, in addition:

7.4.1 Emergency Procedures: The team must know how to handle emergency situations (e.g. where and from whom to get first aid care, location of phones, names and phone numbers of who to contact – a doctor or emergency health care, procedures for contacting next-of-kin if needed).

7.4.2 Public security of venue: The team must know the level of supervision needed at the site.

7.4.3 Health concerns of the Children/Vulnerable Adults: The Group Leader, the Supervisor and the rest of the team if necessary must be briefed on any allergies, health concerns or other personal issues regarding the Children/Vulnerable Adults in their care before the Activity begins.

7.4.4 For Children attending, Parental Consent and Authorisation Forms (Appendix D) must be completed and collected before the activity begins.

7.5 Personal Conduct of Staff and Adults in Koinonia

7.5.1 All Staff must be prepared for one of their colleagues to remind them of the following recommendations/guidelines if they forget them; each member of staff must be prepared to help a colleague follow them.

7.5.2 The following Code of Practice provides a framework for all staff and participants in Koinonia within which Children and Vulnerable Adults should be safe from harm, and Adults protected from false allegations or temptation.

7.5.3 In the exercise of their duties, and in their interaction with Children, Staff and other adults must

treat all Children with the respect and dignity befitting their age;
watch their own speech, tone of voice and body language;
avoid sexually provocative language and activities at all times; although games that can be regarded as “rough” are not disallowed, such activities must be undertaken in a way that reasonably protects the safety, modesty, and privacy of the Children involved;
not touch inappropriately or intrusively. Particular note should be taken of activities that require physical contact such as the administration of first aid. Guiding principles include having another adult present (unless the urgency of the situation requires immediate action), and always notifying Parents and logging the incident that required first aid;
not scapegoat, ridicule or reject a Child;
not show favouritism to one Child. Adults should treat all Children in a group in the same way, even if a Child is a relative of the Adult;
not allow Children to involve them in excessive attention seeking that is overtly physical or sexual in nature;
not permit abusive peer activities: e.g. initiation ceremonies, ridiculing, bullying; and
not allow unknown Adults access to Children; a known person must accompany visitors.

7.5.4 One-to-one contacts. Developing healthy relationships with the older Children of the Antioch Community to more easily help them transition to Koinonia is encouraged,

Staff and Adults must:

ask permission of the Child’s Parents if it is necessary to see a Child on his or her own;
not enter a Child’s home when no Parent is present;
not invite a Child to their home alone without other adults being present; they must invite a group and make sure that the Parents are aware where the Children are;
not maintain regular contact (say, more than once a week) by electronic means such as telephone, email or social media without permission of the Parents;
inform Parents if a gift has been received from a child, and obtain the consent of a Parent to offer a gift to a child; and
not give lifts to Children on their own unless the lifts are very short (under fifteen minutes), and only with permission from the Parent of the Child.

7.6 Guiding Principles for working with Young People

7.6.1 In addition to the section on Personal Conduct of Staff and Adults in Koinonia (section 7.5), the following guiding principles for working with Young People are to be upheld:

7.6.2 At all times we must remember that we are serving the Young People and trying to bring them to a fuller relationship with Christ.

7.6.3 Ethical Principles.

Workers should have a commitment to:

7.6.3.1 Treat Young People with respect.