Safeguarding Policy

Children & Vulnerable Adults

This document is hosted on our website for public viewing. It can also be emailed on request.

Stepping Stones Occupational Therapy Ltd, referred from hereon in as SSOT (also trading as SabeyOT) is committed to keeping children and vulnerable adults safe and we take our responsibility to act appropriately to any allegations, reports, or suspicions of abuse, seriously.

This policy and our safeguarding procedure enable every member of the SSOT team to act to prevent abuse and to know what to do should a concern arise. This policy also informs referrers/commissioners and clients on how SSOT seeks to keep children and vulnerable adults safe.

The Purpose & Scope of the Policy

This policy and safeguarding procedures enable SSOT to:

promote good practice and worktogether to stop abuse and neglect from occurring.
Act appropriately to any allegations, reports or suspicions of abuse to also ensure the person experiencing the abuse is supported.
The policy and procedures relate to the safeguarding of children (those under age 18) and also vulnerable adults, who are defined as individuals aged over 18 who:
Have needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) and;
is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect; and
as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect. (Care Act, 2014)

With good practice we mean the following:

We recognise the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take;
All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, gender, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
Working in partnership with children, young people, vulnerable adults, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

The policy applies to all members of the SSOT team, formal and informal. Failure to comply with the policy and related procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

In order to implement the policy and procedure, SSOT will work to:

stop abuse or neglect wherever possible;
prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to vulnerable adults and children;
promote the wellbeing of the adult(s) or child(ren) at risk in safeguarding arrangements;
raise awareness of safeguarding adults and children to ensure that everyone can play their part in preventing, identifying and responding to abuse and neglect;
provide information and support in accessible ways to help people understand the different types of abuse, how to stay safe and what to do to raise a concern about the safety or well-being of an adult or child.

SSOT has the following in place:

Training

SSOT ensures an appropriate level of safeguarding training has been completed by all members of the SSOT team and an annual refresher training is completed after that.

For all team members working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults, training covers:

Understanding what safeguarding is and its role in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
Covering types of abuse or neglect
Recognising a child or vulnerable adult potentially in need of safeguarding and take action.
Understanding how to report a safeguarding alert.
Understanding dignity and respect when working with children and vulnerable adults
Having knowledge of this safeguarding policy.

Safer Practices

The relevant background checks such as DBS (England & Wales), PVG (Scotland) or AccessNI (Northern Ireland) are completed for all SSOT team members.

Confidentiality and Information Sharing

SSOT expects all team members to maintain confidentiality. Information will only be shared in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection.

However, information will be shared with the relevant Local Authority if a child is deemed to be at risk of harm or contact the police if they are in immediate danger, or a crime has been committed.

Wherever possible, SSOT will gain consent from the relevant individual before sharing information about them with another agency. However, in accordance with our Privacy Policy, where we believe a person is in danger/at risk or a crime has been committed, then a decision may be taken to pass information to another agency without the individual’s consent. This may also be the case if seeking to obtain consent would increase the risk to an individual.

SSOT will ensure that Safeguarding Lead understand their responsibility to refer concerns to the relevant statutory agencies, i.e., Local Authority or Police. All other SSOT team members will communicate any safeguarding concerns with the Safeguarding Lead.

Use of Mobile Phones and other Digital Technology:

All SSOT team members are aware of SSOT’s policy and procedures regarding the use of mobile phones and any digital technology and understand that it is unlawful to photograph children and young people without the explicit consent of the person with parental responsibilities.

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.