Safeguarding Policy

If staff have any suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused they will report this to:

• The Headteacher or Designated Lead at the school
• Edstart Area Manager
• Edstart Designated Officer on: 0300 303 4414
  (Adam Rowles and Ashley Greenhalgh - Designated Safeguarding Leads)

If a child or vulnerable adult discloses that they have been abused, staff cannot promise that this will be kept a secret. All staff who have unsupervised access to or contact with children or vulnerable adults are required to:

• Recognise/understand and accept their responsibilities
• Be aware of the issues which can cause children harm
• Report concerns following the procedure below
• Document all that has happened using an incident report form

Edstart will safeguard children and vulnerable adults by:

• Ensuring all staff have attended an annual safeguarding training course as a minimum
• Share all policies and procedures with all staff and coaches
• Reporting concerns to the appropriate person - see above
• Carefully follow our Safer Recruitment policy procedures when taking on new staff
• Safeguarding updates will be a standing agenda item in Edstart weekly meetings
• Follow up any concerns where it is felt they have not been robustly addressed - see Whistleblowing Policy

Edstart is committed to reviewing its Safeguarding Policy and codes of practice at least once a year. It is our policy that:

1. All our staff accept responsibility for the welfare of children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with Edstart in connection to the services we offer and that they will report any concerns about a child or any other persons’ behaviour using the procedures laid down.
2. There are Designated Safeguarding Leads who will take action using the lines of concerns outlined above.
3. The Designated Lead will make appropriate referrals/take the correct course of action using the procedures above.
4. All Edstart staff adhere to all policies and procedures and follow the organisations Code of Conduct at all times.
5. Information relating to any allegation or disclosure will be clearly recorded as soon as possible, by the person who witnessed it. The distinction between direct reporting and hearsay should be clear.
6. If the belief is that a child is at risk of harm, the incident must be reported immediately to the DSL.
7. Physical contact between adults and children should be kept to the minimum required. Younger children may need more physical contact than older children. Adults should avoid contact that could be misconstrued.
8. It is permissible to transport children or vulnerable adults in staff cars, where appropriate consent has been requested and received from parents/carers. Staff must have business insurance.
9. Staff should not make suggestive or inappropriate remarks to or about a child or a vulnerable adult, even in fun, as this could be misinterpreted.
10. The Children Act of 1989 states that the ‘welfare of the child is paramount’. This means that considerations of confidentiality which might apply to other situations should not be allowed to override the right of the children to be protected from harm. However, every effort should be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned when an allegation has been made and is being investigated.
11. Edstart’s Safeguarding Policy will be referred to or included in recruitment, training, moderation and policy materials where appropriate, and the policies are openly and widely available to staff and actively promoted within the organisation.
12. It is important not to deter children or vulnerable adults from making a disclosure of abuse through fear of not being believed, and to listen to what they have to say. It is important to follow Edstart’s procedure for reporting concerns, and never attempt to investigate the concerns personally.
13. Accept that abuse of children and vulnerable adults can happen at any age (even from other children), gender, ethnic background or class and not to allow personal preconceptions about people to prevent appropriate action taking place.
14. A culture of mutual respect between children, vulnerable adults and Edstart staff in all our activities will be encouraged, with our staff modelling good practice in this context.
15. All staff and anyone in connection with Edstart with unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults will be vetted appropriately. This is part of our Safer Recruitment Procedures.
16. It is part of Edstart’s acceptance of its responsibility of duty of care towards children and vulnerable adults that anybody who encounters safeguarding concerns in the context of their work on behalf of Edstart will be supported when they report their concerns in good faith.

Abuse of trust – The Sexual Offences Act 2003
It is an offence for a person over 18 (e.g. teacher, sports coach, youth worker) to have a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 18 where that person is in a position of trust in respect to that young person even if the relationship is consensual. This applies where the young person is in full time education and the teacher / responsible adult works in the same establishment as the young person, even if he / she does not teach the young person.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Person
Adam Rowles and Ashley Greenhalgh are currently responsible for dealing with any safeguarding concerns.
The roles of the designated person is to:

1. Know which outside social services or child protection agency to contact in the event of a safeguarding concern.
2. Provide information and advice on safeguarding to all employees of Edstart.
3. Ensure that appropriate information is available at the time of referral and that the referral is confirmed in writing confidentially.
4. Liaise with local social care and other agencies as appropriate and act on their advice.
5. Keep any relevant people with Edstart informed about any action taken and any further action required, for example, disciplinary action against a member of staff.
6. Ensure that a proper record is kept of any referral and action taken, and that this is kept safely and in confidence.
7. Advise all staff of safeguarding training needs and opportunities.
8. Liaise with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to review the operation of Safeguarding Policy regularly to ensure the procedures are working and that it complies with the current best practice.

Reviewed by Adam Rowles and Kath Perry (QA) on Monday 5^th August 2024, following the appointment of a Quality Assurance Lead.

Review Date: September 2025
Reviewed: September 2024 following the updates of KCSIE 2024
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Edstart Sports Coaching Limited