Safeguarding Policy

Who does this policy apply to? 

All staff, volunteers and mentors working with Hype and Genius community members 

Delivery partners please note: 

Delivery partners will use their own policies but should check that these at least meet the standards of Hype and Genius’s policies. 

The Policy 

• Hype and Genius staff, volunteers and mentors must report all safeguarding concerns ● All safeguarding concerns raised will be responded to sensitively and quickly and managed appropriately 
• Hype and Genius staff, volunteers and mentors will receive appropriate training and instruction on safeguarding best practice 
• Views of community members involved will be considered when making decisions that affect them as individuals 
• All Hype and Genius staff, volunteers and mentors working with community members will be subject to the Hype and Genius due diligence processes 

Hype and Genius values and will respond promptly and constructively to all information presented by community members or third parties regarding the safety and welfare of community members. We believe that working in partnership with young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is key to promoting the welfare of young people.

Aims 

Hype and Genius provides mentoring and facilitates work experience to young people aged 16-25 (referred to throughout as community members). Due to the background of our community members and the work Hype and Genius carries out, there is a likelihood Hype and Genius staff, mentors and volunteers will encounter community members with safeguarding concerns. This policy will benefit Hype and Genius and community members by ensuring that the needs of community members are dealt with appropriately. 

Hype and Genius will not tolerate the abuse of community members in any of its forms and is committed to safeguarding community members with care and support needs from harm. 

This policy outlines the steps Hype and Genius will make to safeguard community members if they are deemed to be at risk or at risk. This policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of Hype and Genius in working together with other professionals and agencies in promoting the community member’s welfare and safeguarding them from harmful situations. 

Hype and Genius will ensure that decisions made will allow community members to make their own choices and include them in any decision making. Hype and Genius will also ensure that safe and effective working practices are in place. 

This policy is intended to support staff, volunteers and mentors working within Hype and Genius to understand their role and responsibilities in safeguarding community members. All staff and volunteers are expected to follow this policy. 

The key objectives of this policy are for all employees, volunteers and mentors of Hype and Genius to: 

• have an overview of community member safeguarding 
• be clear about their responsibility to safeguard community members 
• ensure the necessary actions are taken where a community member is deemed to be at risk 

Under the Human Rights Act 1998, everyone has the right to live free from abuse and neglect. 

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-rights/human-rights-act 

Copies of this policy should be available within Hype and Genius and Hype and Genius will not tolerate the abuse of community members in the organisation and staff, mentors and volunteers should be made aware of how this policy can be accessed. 

What is Safeguarding adults? 

‘Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.’

Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Department of Health, updated Feb 2017 

*note: all Hype and Genius community members are age 16 and over therefore, can be deemed ‘adults’ for the purposes of definition, however, those aged 16 – 18 may still be viewed as children and treated as so. 

All adults should be able to live free from fear and harm. But some may find it hard to get the help and support they need to stop abuse. 

An adult may be unable to protect themselves from harm or exploitation due to many reasons, including their mental or physical incapacity, sensory loss or physical or learning disabilities. This could be an adult who is usually able to protect themselves from harm but maybe unable to do so because of an accident, disability, frailty, addiction or illness. 

Hype and Genius adheres to following the six key principles that underpin safeguarding work 

– Empowerment 

– Prevention 

– Proportionality 

– Protection 

– Partnership 

– Accountability 

Hype and Genius will not tolerate the abuse of community members in staff and volunteers should ensure that their work reflects the principles above and ensure the community member is involved in their decisions and informed consent is obtained. Hype and Genius ensure that the safeguarding action agreed is the least intrusive response to the risk. Hype and Genius should be transparent and accountable in delivering safeguarding actions. 

Defining Abuse 

In Children 

Child abuse happens when a person harms a child. It can be physical, sexual or emotional, but can also involve neglect. 

Children may be abused by: 

• family members 
• friends 
• people working or volunteering in organisational or community settings ● people they know 
• strangers. 

Signs Of Abuse 

In Children 

Children experiencing abuse often experience more than one type of abuse over a period of

time. Children who experience abuse may be afraid to tell anybody about the abuse. They may struggle with feelings of guilt, shame or confusion – particularly if the abuser is a parent, caregiver or other close family member or friend. 

Many of the signs that a child is being abused are the same regardless of the type of abuse. Anyone working with children or young people needs to be able to recognise the signs. 

These include a child: 

• being afraid of particular places or making excuses to avoid particular people ● knowing about or being involved in ‘adult issues’ which are inappropriate for their age or stage of development, for example alcohol, drugs and/or sexual behaviour ● having angry outbursts or behaving aggressively towards others 
• becoming withdrawn or appearing anxious, clingy or depressed 
• self-harming or having thoughts about suicide 
• showing changes in eating habits or developing eating disorders 
• regularly experiencing nightmares or sleep problems 
• regularly wetting the bed or soiling their clothes 
• running away or regularly going missing from home or care 
• not receiving adequate medical attention after injuries. 

These signs do not necessarily mean that a child is being abused. There may well be other reasons for changes in a child’s behaviour such as a bereavement or relationship problems between parents or carers. If you have any concerns about a Hype and Genius community member’s, wellbeing, regardless of their age, you should report them following our safeguarding procedures outlined in this document. 

In Adults 

Signs of abuse can often be difficult to detect in adults. Many forms of abuse are also criminal offences and should be treated that way. 

The Care and support statutory guidance identifies ten types of abuse, these are: 

• Physical abuse 
• Domestic violence or abuse 
• Sexual abuse 
• Psychological or emotional abuse 
• Financial or material abuse 
• Modern slavery 
• Discriminatory abuse 
• Organisational or institutional abuse 
• Neglect or acts of omission 
• Self-neglect 

Evidence of any one indicator from the following lists should not be taken on its own as proof that abuse is occurring. However, it should alert anyone engaging with Hype and Genius community members to make further assessments and report any concerns as per the procedures outlined in this document. The lists of possible indicators and examples of behaviour are not exhaustive and people may be subject to a number of abuse types at the same time. 

What is Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP)? 

MSP means a case should be person-led and outcome-focused. The individual should be involved in identifying how best to respond to their safeguarding situation by giving them more choice and control as well as improving quality of

life, wellbeing and safety. 

Hype and Genius will not tolerate the abuse of community members. Hype and Genius will ensure that community members are involved in their safeguarding arrangements and each individual is dealt with on a case by case basis. As community members may have different preferences, histories and life styles, the same process may not work for all. 

Who do adult safeguarding duties apply to? 

The Care Act 2014 sets out that adult safeguarding duties apply to any adult who: 

• has care and support needs, and 
• is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse and neglect, and 
• is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect, because of those needs. 

Who do I go to if I am concerned? 

The named responsible person for safeguarding duties for Hype and Genius is Korinna Williams.

All staff and volunteers should contact Korinna Williams for any 

concerns/queries they have in regards to safeguarding adults. A log of the concern must be kept. 

Korinna Williams will be responsible to make decisions about notifying other services if required and consider alternative actions, where 

necessary. 

Korinna Williams will also ensure that the safeguarding community members policies and procedures are in place and up to date. They will ensure a safe environment is promoted for staff and volunteers and community members accessing the Hype and Genius support. Korinna Williams will ensure they are up to date with their safeguarding adults training. 

What should I do if I am concerned? 

Staff, mentors and volunteers at Hype and Genius who have any community member safeguarding concerns should: 

1. Respond 

– Take emergency action if someone is at immediate risk of harm/in need of urgent medical attention. Dial 999 for emergency services 

– Get brief details about what has happened and what the community member would like done about it, but do not probe or conduct a mini-investigation – Seek consent from the community member to take action and to report the concern. 

Consider whether the community member may lack capacity to make decisions about their own and other people’s safety and wellbeing. If you decide to act against their wishes or without their consent, you must record your decision and the reasons for this. 

2. Report 

– Name the person to whom staff/volunteers/mentors need to report any potential safeguarding concerns. This will usually be the 

organisation’s designated safeguarding lead (see above) 

3. Record

– The information should be recorded via email and sent to 

Hype and Genius immediately. The information will then be stored in a report logbook kept by Korinna Williams 

– As far as possible, records should be written contemporaneously, dated and signed. 

– Keep records about safeguarding concerns confidential and in a location where the alleged abuser will not have access to the record. Access should not be given to any unauthorised personal for accessing confidential information including the sharing of passwords. 

4. Refer 

In making a decision whether to refer or not, the designated safeguarding lead should take into account: 

(1) the community member’s wishes and preferred outcome 

(2) whether the community member has mental capacity to make an 

informed decision about their own and others’ safety 

(3) the safety or wellbeing of children or other adults with care and support needs 

(4) whether there is a person in a position of trust involved 

(5) whether a crime has been committed 

This should inform the decision whether to notify the concern to the following people: 

o the police if a crime has been committed and/or 

o relevant regulatory bodies such as Care Quality Commission, Ofsted, Charities commission 

o family/relatives as appropriate 

The designated safeguarding lead should keep a record of the reasons for referring the concern or reasons for not referring. 

Incidents of abuse may be one-off or multiple and may affect one person or more. Staff, mentors and volunteers should look beyond single incidents to identify patterns of harm. Accurate recording of information will also assist in recognising any patterns. 

What are your roles and responsibilities? 

All staff, management, trustees, mentors and volunteers at Hype and Genius are expected to report any concerns to the named person for safeguarding. If the allegation is against one of Hype and Genius members, volunteers, trustees or directors, seek advice from Hype and Genius safeguarding lead Korinna Williams. If the allegation is against the safeguarding lead, seek advice from the Chairman Manoj Varsani MBEi. 

The designated safeguarding community members lead should be responsible for providing acknowledgement of the referral and brief feedback to the person raising the original concern. Feedback should be given in a way that will not make the situation worse or breach the Data Protection Act. If the police are involved, they should be consulted prior to giving feedback to the referrer to ensure any criminal investigation is not affected.

Disclosure Procedure 

Whenever anyone makes a disclosure, makes an allegation or there are concerns about the welfare and safety of a child or adult at risk, the following standards will be applied to record keeping. 

1. When a disclosure or allegation is made in person, whenever possible and practical, notes will be taken during the conversation; 
2. Where it is not possible or appropriate to take notes at the time, a written record will be made as soon as possible afterwards and always before the end of the day, using the Hype and Genius safeguarding disclosure form which is shared with all practitioners, mentors and staff upon joining the organisation; 
3. The person making the disclosure or allegation will be advised at the time that a written record will be made and the importance of making a record of information will be explained; 
4. The person making the disclosure will be informed that they can have access to the record made in respect of their own information; 
5. The context and background leading to the disclosure will be recorded; 
6. As much information as possible will be recorded and fact, hearsay and opinion will be distinguished in the record. Assumptions and speculation will be avoided; 
7. For all methods used to make a disclosure or allegation, the time, date, location, format of information e.g. letter, telephone call, direct contact and persons present will be recorded; 
8. Records will be signed and dated by the person receiving the information; 
9. A log of the incident will be maintained, normally by the safeguarding officer who will be responsible in most cases for managing Safeguarding incidents. 
10. The log will include full details of referrals to the local authorities where applicable; 
11. All original records, including rough notes, will be provided to the relevant Safeguarding Officer as soon as practical; 
12. All records will be kept in a confidential and secure place and shared only in order to safeguard a child, young person or adult at risk, in line with the information sharing protocol and requirements of the Data Protection legislation. 

Third Party Organisations 

If you have urgent concerns about the safety of a child, young person or adult at risk and

are unable to contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Korinna Willa,s or in their absence the Chairman, Manoj Varsani MBE, do not hesitate to contact Children’s service, adult services or the police. 

These external agencies will be in a position to determine an appropriate course of action. Making a Referral 

If you are concerned that a child, young person or adult at risk, may be at risk or has disclosed that they are being harmed, you should contact the DSL. The DSL will assess the concerns to determine whether to refer to an external agency needs to happen or can be addressed via the Charity’s internal procedures. 

Where a referral is to be made externally, the DSL will report the matter to the authorities. The external agency will conduct their own investigation. Anonymity may not be maintained on reporting. 

External Agencies To Note 

Police 

Police Central Referral Unit 0845 605 1166 

Police Non-emergency 101 

Remember – in an emergency always dial 999 

NSPCC 

Helpline If you’re worried about a child/ young person 

Report a concern 08088005000 

[email protected] 

If you are under 18: Childline 0800 1111 

Social Services 

To find the appropriate social services team to contact, search the postcode of the community member in the NHS website linked below: 

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Local-Authority-Adult-Social-Care/Loca tionSearch/1918 

Complaints procedure 

Hype and Genius promotes transparency and honesty when things go wrong. All staff and volunteers should apologise and be honest with relevant people when things go wrong. 

If a staff or volunteer or any other member of the organisation is unhappy with Hype and Genius’s decision about the safeguarding concern, then a formal complaint can be launched. 

Whistle Blowing

Hype and Genius is committed to ensuring that staff and volunteers who in good faith whistle-blow in the public interest, will be protected from reprisals and victimisation. 

Mental Capacity 

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is to be used when decisions on behalf of those adults with care and support needs who are unable to make some decisions for themselves. Refer to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice, 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-capacity 

act-code-of-practice. You will need to involve an advocate if the person lacks capacity to make decisions about the safeguarding concern. 

Why is it important to take action? 

It is may be difficult for community members in certain situations to protect themselves and to report harm. They rely on you to help them. 

Confidentiality and information sharing 

Hype and Genius expects all staff, volunteers, trustees to maintain confidentiality at all times. In line with Data Protection law, Hype and Genius does not share information if not required. 

It should however be noted that information should be shared with authorities if an adult is deemed to be at risk of immediate harm. Sharing the right information, at the right time, with the right people can make all the difference to preventing harm. For further guidance on information sharing and safeguarding see: https://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/safeguarding-adults/sharing information/keymessages.asp 

Recruitment and selection 

Hype and Genius is committed to safe employment. Safe recruitment practices, such as Disclosure and Barring checks reduce the risk of exposing community members to people unsuitable to work with them. 

Training, awareness raising and supervision 

Hype and Genius ensures that all staff and volunteers receive basic awareness training on safeguarding community member. Those community members may report things of concern to staff or volunteers who should be equipped with the basic knowledge around safeguarding community members and be confident to identify that abuse is taking place and action is required. All staff and volunteers should be clear about the core values of Hype and Genius and commitment to safeguarding community members. 

Hype and Genius does not work with community members under the age of 16 so any safeguarding concerns staff and volunteers may encounter indirectly about the safety and wellbeing of children should be reported directly to the relevant authorities. Any safeguarding concerns for community members aged 16-18 will be dealt with on a case by case basis. 

Prevent

Radicalisation can take place through direct personal contact, or indirectly through social media. 

If staff are concerned that a community member is at risk of being radicalised and drawn into terrorism, they should treat it in the same way as any other safeguarding concern.