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Safeguarding Statement

The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly children, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with Little LifeSavers. This includes harm arising from:

  • The conduct of staff or personnel associated with Little LifeSavers
  • The design and implementation of Little LifeSavers activities

The policy lays out the commitments made by the organisation-Little LifeSavers and informs volunteers and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.

What Is Safegaurding?

In the UK, safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people- especially children- from harm that arises from coming into contact with our volunteers or teaching.

Policy Statement

Little LifeSavers believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Little LifeSavers will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by staff or associated personnel.

Little LifeSavers takes safeguarding very seriously. To minimize the risk of harm to children, volunteers and staff will always deliver the teaching session:

  • Under direct supervision by teaching staff who have received formal safeguarding training
  • Within a group setting- never one-to-one
  • Will never seek to contact or meet with individual children outside the organized setting of the session

Prevention

As an organisation we undertake the following actions:

  • Ensure all Volunteers have access to this policy
  • Ensure within this policy, the procedure for raising concerns regarding safeguarding children is detailed
  • Reports of safeguarding concerns are followed up by the nominated
  • Safeguarding Lead Trustee
  • Volunteers and staff are subject to enhanced DBS checks and review of DBS status regularly from recruitment to the organisation

 

Volunteer/Staff Responsibilities

Little LifeSavers Volunteers and staff will not:

  • Engage in exploitive behavior – physically, sexually or financially with children
  • Subject a child to bullying, harassment, emotional or psychological abuse or neglect
  • Attempt to make contact with children outside of the supervised setting of the session
  • Exchange money, employment, goods or services for sexual activity. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance
  • Engage in any sexual relationships with beneficiaries of assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics

Little LifeSavers Volunteers and Staff Will:

  • Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations and promotes the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy
  • Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations by an Little LifeSavers staff member or associated personnel to the designated Trustee

Reporting Concerns and Follow- up Action

Little LifeSavers staff or volunteers who have a complaint or concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately as follows:

  • Concerns regarding a child they have taught must first be raised with the supervising teacher at the session. Teacher name must be taken and the reporting Volunteer or staff member must document the facts and the details of the teacher and school with whom concerns were raised and notify the Safeguarding Lead Trustee within 24 hours.
  • Concerns regarding a volunteer or staff member must be reported to the Safeguarding Lead Trustee within 24 hours.

If the Volunteer or staff member does not feel comfortable reporting to the Safeguarding Lead, they may report to the chairperson directly

The Safeguarding Lead Trustee is Dr Thea Morgan thea.morgan@littlelifesavers.org

The Chairperson is Dr Barbara Stanley barbara@littlelifesavers.org

Reports will be taken seriously and investigated further by the board of trustees and

followed up by the Safeguarding Lead Trustee. Guidance from professional organisations will be sought and after consideration by the board of trustees, appropriate action will be taken to report the incident to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.

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