Affordable Health Initiative

Safeguarding Policy

The local Affordable Health Initiative (AHI) committee will deliver the Affordable Health Initiative programme in each locality. This means that the central AHI team and Trustees will have no direct contact with children or vulnerable adults. The role of the Trustees is to provide controls and assurance that local committees are aware and follow the safeguarding policy.

1.     Purpose

AHI believes that it is unacceptable for any person to experience abuse or harassment of any kind, and recognises it has a responsibility to safeguard the welfare of everyone, through a commitment to good practice.

This document outlines the Affordable Health Initiative (AHI) CIO’s policy on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. It applies to all aspects of our work and to everyone working for AHI CIO, including permanent and temporary employees, contractors and self-employed contracted providers and volunteers working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO. We will ensure that our partner agencies are aware of our safeguarding policy by ensuring that it is distributed to all people working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO, by raising awareness at initial meetings with potential partners and ensuring that it is on the AHI CIO website. The AHI CIO website will also have information about how parents/children/other agencies can contact a school Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and his/her deputy.

2.     Policy aims

AHI is committed as an organisation to the principles of Safeguarding. Every person, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, health or identity, has the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse. As such, AHI has a duty and responsibility to ensure that all its functions are carried out with due regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all staff and volunteers, including those of partner agencies. Suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately. AHI also has a responsibility to ensure that any individuals working with children and vulnerable adults are made aware of good practice, in order to minimise the risk that they are placed in situations where allegations could be made. This Safeguarding Policy will be made available to all members, staff, volunteers and participants. It is important that children and vulnerable adults are protected from neglect, mistreatment or abuse. All complaints, allegations or suspicions must be taken seriously.

3.     Guiding Principles

• Everyone’s responsibility - Everyone at AHI has a responsibility to keep children and adults in vulnerable circumstances safe from abuse, mistreatment and neglect.

• Prevention – We will put sensible measures in place to prevent abuse, mistreatment and neglect including the use of safe recruitment practices, promoting safe working practice and raising awareness of safeguarding.

• Protection – We will provide policy, procedures, information and training to enable all AHI staff to identify and respond appropriately to concerns about abuse.

• Partnership – AHI will work in Partnership with statutory, regulatory and other relevant organisations to ensure that safeguarding concerns are responded to appropriately.

• Accountability - We aim to be transparent in our approaches and recognise the need for continuous learning and improvement.

4.     Definitions

 AHI CIO defines the term ‘safeguarding’ children as in the document “Working together to safeguard Children 2018” (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/779401/Working_Together_to_Safeguard-Children.pdf). This includes:

·      protecting children from maltreatment

·      preventing impairment of children’s health or development

·      ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

·      taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

AHI CIO defines the term ‘safeguarding’ vulnerable people as in the document Care and support statutory guidance 2018 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance) issued under the Care Act 2014 as:

·      protecting the rights of adults to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect

·      people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect

·      people and organisations making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, taking fully into account their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action

·      recognising that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances and therefore potential risks to their safety or well-being

5.     AHI CIO:

·      has appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place to put into practice

·      makes sure all trustees, employees, volunteers and beneficiaries know about safeguarding and people protection

·      checks that people are suitable to act in their roles

·      knows to spot and refer or report concerns

·      makes sure people can raise safeguarding concerns

·      has a clear system of referring or reporting to relevant organisations as soon as concerns arise

·      sets out risks and how they will be managed in a risk register which is regularly reviewed

·      responds quickly to concerns and carries out appropriate investigations

·      makes all policies available to the public

·      reviews policies, risks and procedures once a year

·      no one trustee will be allowed to dominate AHI’s work - trustees will work together

6.     Recruitment

AHI CIO requires safe recruitment checks to be carried out on everyone working for AHI CIO. Criminal records checks are required to everyone working for The Affordable Health Initiative (AHI CIO), including permanent and temporary employees, contractors, self-employed contracted providers and volunteers working for or on behalf of the AHI CIO. This procedure varies from country to country and a dedicated form with instructions will be provided to collaborators in different countries.

7.     Safeguarding training

Everyone working for AHI CIO, including permanent and temporary employees, contractors and self-employed contracted providers and volunteers working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO must complete a safeguarding training within 3 months of taking up post, and after that at 3-yearly intervals. The designated safeguarding lead and his/her deputy will undergo training every year and cascade their updated knowledge and skills annually to keep all staff up-to-date with developments relevant to their role. They will complete the online safeguarding training offered by the NSPCC organization (https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/training/introductory/child-protection-an-introduction-online-course/).

AHI CIO is fully committed to ensuring that everyone who works for us understands their safeguarding responsibilities and keeps their knowledge up to date. AHI CIO will make sure that everyone working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO, including oversea staff will be trained. Where we operate overseas, a training on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults will be developed in the local language in non-English speaking countries. AHI CIO’s safeguarding arrangements will take into account procedures and practice of the local governmental authority. In countries where the safeguarding definition is not as comprehensive as in England, the AHI CIO safeguarding definition will be consistent with the legal requirements as stated in the document “Working together to safeguard children 2018”. Therefore, the overseas safeguarding lead or an English speaking person appointed by him/her will complete the online training offered by the NSPCC organization (https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/training/introductory/child-protection-an-introduction-online-course/). This person will train everyone else working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO.

8.     Expectations

Everything AHI does should be in the interests of children, young people and their families. We also expect that local providers follow effective procedures for keeping them safe from risks. Everyone working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO will need to show an understanding of safeguarding that is relevant to their role. They will also have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with this safeguarding policy and the procedures that go with it. They must maintain a proper focus on the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults in all aspects of their work. Anyone who works in or on behalf of the AHI CIO must inform the school safeguarding lead, if he/she or a school colleague becomes the subject of an allegation involving a safeguarding concern or abuse against a child or vulnerable adult.

If anyone is in doubt whether the situation or allegation is relevant, they should:

·      refer to the definitions of safeguarding as printed above

·      seek advice from the safeguarding lead

Any allegations of misconduct towards children and/or adults (whether or not they are vulnerable) by those working in or on behalf of the AHI CIO will be managed quickly using the appropriate procedures, which may vary from country to country. 

9.     Recognising abuse

· Abuse is a powerful and emotive term. It is a term used to describe ways in which people are harmed, usually by individuals and often by those they know and trust. AHI staff and volunteers that have contact with children or adults in vulnerable circumstances may hold this trust and could be at risk of misusing their power.

· It is not always easy to differentiate poor practice from abuse, albeit intentional or unintentional. It is not, therefore, the responsibility of employees or volunteers to determine whether or not abuse is taking place. It is, however, their responsibility to identify poor practice and possible abuse and to act if they have a concern about the welfare of a vulnerable person.

10.  Acting on safeguarding concerns

No one working for AHI CIO should investigate concerns about individual children or adults who are or may be being abused or who are at risk. However, this does not mean that we should do nothing when we learn of a concern. We all have a responsibility to make sure that concerns about children and adults are passed to the agency that can help them without delay.

If anyone is concerned that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of being abused or neglected, they should not ignore their suspicions and should not assume that someone else will take action to protect that person.

All concerns should be referred to the safeguarding lead, who should assess the case and refer it to the appropriate local social care department of the local authority or corresponding office where the victim lives. Our processes for referrals are set out in AHI CIO’s internal guidance ‘Handling safeguarding concerns about children and adults’.

Anyone working for AHI CIO who has concerns about the behaviour of a colleague must always raise this with the safeguarding lead as quickly as possible.

11.  Learning and improving

We are determined to keep improving our knowledge and understanding of how best to protect children and adults. We will review our own practice yearly to check that we are placing the right emphasis on safeguarding in our work.

We will carry out in-depth reviews of our actions in cases where children suffer serious harm while under the care of anyone who works in or on behalf of the AHI CIO, and where these cases raise questions about AHI CIO’s practice. The main purpose of the reviews is to learn lessons about when our systems need to improve to protect children better in future. We will also promote a culture in which we are able to highlight and review near misses to learn and improve our practice.

12.  Safeguarding Roles and Responsibilities

All adults working in the school have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm. Therefore, all staff have a responsibility to take appropriate action. If staff have any concerns including emerging needs, complex/serious needs or child protection concerns they must be discussed with the safeguarding lead.

Headteacher

The Headteacher will ensure that:

·      The school staff undertakes appropriate training to carry out their safeguarding responsibilities effectively and keep this up-to-date.

·      The safeguarding policies and procedures are fully implemented and followed by all staff.

·      Sufficient time and resources are allocated to enable the designated safeguarding lead and other staff involved in safeguarding issues to discharge their responsibilities, including recording and monitoring safeguarding activities, taking part in strategy discussions and contributing to the safeguarding assessment of children.

·      Everyone feels able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice with regard to children, and concerns are addressed sensitively and effectively in a timely manner.

·      The child's safety and welfare are addressed through the curriculum or extra-curriculum.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is the headteacher or a senior member of staff appointed by the headteacher to co-ordinate the school safeguarding and child protection arrangements. The designated safeguarding lead will:

·      Provide advice and support to other staff on child welfare and child safeguarding matters;

·      Take part in strategy meetings and other meetings relevant to safe guarding at school;

·      Support other staff and contribute to the assessment of children;

·      Liaise and work with relevant local authorities

·      Assess and refer serious/complex needs or child protection concerns to the appropriate local authority, usually the local authority social care department. 

Designated Safeguarding Deputy Lead

All schools should have a designated safeguarding deputy lead to cover for when the designated safeguarding lead is not available; the lead responsibility however remains with the designated safeguarding lead. During term time the designated safeguarding lead and/or the deputy will be available during school hours for staff in the school to discuss safeguarding concerns. Adequate and appropriate cover arrangements will be made for any out of hours/out of terms activities .