Safeguarding Policy and Procedures
Background
EduSpots’ Safeguarding Policy is essential for the organisation’s commitment to the protection of children and all vulnerable persons who participate in EduSpots activities. The safeguarding policy sets out EduSpots’ responsibilities to ensure children and all persons participating in our activities remain safe and protected from any form of harm and abuse within the lifespan of our activities.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework that protects people, particularly children, vulnerable adults and other participants in EduSpots’ activities, from any harm that may be caused due to their participation in EduSpots’ activities. This includes harm arising from:
- The conduct of staff, volunteers or personnel associated with EduSpots
- The design and implementation of EduSpot’s programmes and activities
It also seeks to protect EduSpots’ staff, volunteers and associated personnel (i.e. trustees, consultants / contractors, interns, ambassadors, advisors or anyone in contact with a Spot community on behalf of EduSpots’ activities) from harm. The policy lays out the commitments made by us and informs staff and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
For online courses and school partnerships, EduSpots has additional specific provisions in place (refer to relevant policies).
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting peoples’ health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, harassment, abuse and neglect. We understand it to mean protecting people, including children and vulnerable adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or programmes, with particular reference to The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Scope
- All staff, trustees, interns, peer mentors, and volunteers
- All associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to EduSpots, including but not limited to the following: consultants; contractors; programme visitors; students
Policy Statement
EduSpots believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, faith or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, harassment, neglect and exploitation. We will not tolerate violence, harassment, abuse and exploitation by staff or associated personnel.
We recognise that:
- The welfare of the child/young person/vulnerable adult is paramount.
- Equal priority must be given to keeping all children, young people and vulnerable adults safe, regardless of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or identity.
- Some children and vulnerable adults may be additionally vulnerable due to previous experience, disability, additional needs, ethnicity or other issues.
- Working in partnership with children, young people, vulnerable adults, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults.
For the purposes of this Code, a Child is defined as anyone under the age of eighteen (18)
Guiding principles:
The fundamental principle of the EduSpots Safeguarding Policy is that, it should at all times remain centred on the welfare of all the people covered by the policy, especially on children and vulnerable groups. The principles guiding the policy are outlined as follows:
- Child rights approach: All children ‘without discrimination of any kind’ (Article 2 of the UNCRC3) have the right to be protected from ‘all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual violence’ as outlined in Article 19 of the UNCRC4.
- Best interest of the child: all action taken to protect children will be in accordance with the best interest of the child as stated in article 3 of the UNCRC.
- Child participation: Children should be empowered to understand their rights to safety and what represents unacceptable and what to do when they have a concern.
- Confidentiality: We must ensure that confidentiality is maintained during all stages of the disclosure and reporting process. All reports/records will be kept in a secure online file or a locked place with limited access. Disclosure of information can be made only to relevant parties on a need- to-know basis.
- Transparency: Throughout the process of reporting on and responding to an allegation of abuse, all information should be recorded carefully and comprehensively by those responsible for carrying out the investigation. This is to ensure accurate documentation of the incident. Rumours should be recorded as such and not as factual evidence.
- Sensitivity: Incidents of child abuse are potentially traumatising for both the victim/survivor and all those associated to the alleged incident whether related to the survivor/victim or the alleged perpetrator. The gathering of information during the investigation of the incident should therefore be undertaken with the utmost sensitivity and respect for all those associated with the case.
- Collaboration: EduSpots will work closely with other agencies, such as social services, police, and health professionals as appropriate in addressing complex safeguarding issues. A collaborative approach ensures that all relevant organisations and agencies share information and resources to ensure the best possible outcomes for vulnerable individuals.
Operational elements:
- Clear communication: The policy should be easily accessible and understood by all stakeholders, including staff, volunteers, and service users. It’s important that everyone knows what is expected of them in terms of reporting suspected safeguarding issues and adhering to the organisation’s safeguarding procedures.
- Training and re-training: All staff and volunteers should receive regular training and refresher training on safeguarding issues, including recognition of signs of abuse, appropriate response procedures, and reporting protocols. This ensures that everyone is equipped to deal with any concerns effectively and act promptly.
- All Spots must engage with our ‘Keeping Spots Safe’ strategy to remain in the EduSpots network, with resource kits provided to all Spots to support this procedure through which Spots gain an EduSpots ‘Keeping Spots Safe’ certificate.
- Safe recruitment procedures: EduSpots should have rigorous procedures for recruiting new staff and volunteers. This includes background checks, reference checks, and interviews to ensure that only trustworthy individuals and those with a safeguarding mind-set are allowed to work with vulnerable groups.
- Regular reviews and inspections: EduSpots should conduct regular reviews and inspections of its safeguarding policy and practices to identify any areas for improvement and ensure that they remain effective.
- Safe reporting mechanism: A clear and confidential reporting process for staff and volunteers to raise concerns about safeguarding issues is essential. This encourages them to speak up if they witness or suspect any form of abuse or neglect.
Definition of Abuse
Child abuse is any act which individuals, institutions or processes do – or fail to do – which directly or indirectly harms child or damages their prospect of a safe and healthy development into adulthood.
Child abuse is categorised under five main forms, namely:
- Physical abuse is the actual or likely physical injury to a child or failure to prevent physical injury or suffering. This may involve hitting, shaking, burning or other physical acts.
- Sexual abuse is the actual or likely sexual exploitation of a child or young person through involving them, or threatening to involve them, in sexual activities. This may include rape, oral sex, penetration, masturbation, kissing, rubbing, inappropriate touching or involving children in watching or producing sexual images or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
- Emotional abuse is the actual or likely adverse effect on the emotional or behavioural development of a child. This could include bullying (including cyber bullying), threats, discrimination, ridicule, or other forms of hostile or exclusionary treatment.
- Neglect is the persistent lack of care for children, thus failing to meet a child’s physical or psychological needs, including safety, warmth, nutrition and medical attention.
- Exploitation relates to using children for the sake of another end, which could encompass, but is not limited to, commercial and sexual exploration. Examples include involving children in work for the benefit of others or involving children in sexual activity in exchange for money, gifts, food or any other material needs.
Prevention, Awareness Reporting and Response
EduSpots commits to addressing safeguarding throughout its work, aiming to protect all participants in EduSpots’ activities from all forms of abuse through four pillars of prevention, awareness, reporting and response.
Prevention
EduSpots’ responsibilities
We will:
- Design and undertake all our programmes and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with EduSpots. This includes the way in which information about individuals in our programmes is gathered and communicated.
- Ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for children, young people, adults, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
- Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying staff and associated personnel including police checks / DBS checks for all staff employed in EduSpots.
- Provide effective management for Trustees, staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.
- Ensure staff and volunteers receive appropriate training on safeguarding at a level appropriate to their role in the organisation.
- Ensure all volunteers read and sign the Catalyst code of conduct with one professional reference (headteacher for school-based Spots).
- Regularly share messages to make all staff, volunteers, associates and participants of EduSpots aware of the dangers in causing abuse and violence including physical, sexual, emotional and discriminatory acts against any person.
- Openly post messages about safeguarding in visible places at physical locations and online for easy access by all concerned.
- Ensure that staff/volunteers share information about safeguarding and how to raise concerns with participants in EduSpots activities, including children, young people, parents, carers and vulnerable adults.
- Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process.
- Build a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.
- Ensure that this policy and all relevant policies are in wide circulation and updated annually with CEO and trustee approval.
Awareness
EduSpots’ responsibilities
We will:
- Ensure all staff have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy.
- Ensure that all Catalysts receive safeguarding (“Keeping Spots Safe”) training upon joining the network, with regular engagements at all in person conferences.
- Ensure that Catalysts lead sessions with learners, other Catalysts, teachers and community members to increase awareness of our safeguarding policy, under the work of our ‘Keeping Spots Safe’ framework.
- Provide resources for use at the local level, support the awareness raising process.
- Ensure that there are regular awareness raising activities with Catalysts on WhatsApp through the Spot Lead feed.
Protection
Staff responsibilities
EduSpots staff, volunteers and associated personnel must not:
- Engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18
- Sexually abuse or exploit children
- Subject a child to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect
- Engage in any commercially exploitative activities with children including child labour or trafficking
- Sexually abuse or exploit at risk adults
- Subject an at-risk adult to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect
- Exchange money, employment, goods or services for sexual activity. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance
Additionally, all EduSpots staff, volunteers and associated personnel are obliged to:
- Value, listen to and respect all participants in EduSpots activities, including children and vulnerable adults.
- Contribute to creating and maintaining a safe environment for EduSpots activities that prevents harm.
- Inform the CEO if they are in, or entering into, any close intimate relationship with adult EduSpots activity participants or another staff member / volunteer.
- Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations to the channels outlined in this policy.
- Support and uphold the tenets of the EduSpot safeguarding policy and commitment to protect all persons within reach of EduSpots activities from harm and abuse.
- Respond to any child or vulnerable adult who is subjected to abuse or exploitation in any form within the boundaries of this policy.
- Cooperate fully and confidentially with any ongoing investigation regarding safeguarding.
Enabling reports
EduSpots will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to staff and the communities we work with.
Any staff reporting concerns or complaints through formal whistleblowing channels (or if they request it) will be protected by our Whistleblowing Policy.
EduSpots will also accept complaints from external sources such as members of the public, partners and official bodies.
How to report a safeguarding concern
Anyone who has a concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately using the Safeguarding Reporting & Response Procedure, to:
- If they are a Spot user, community member or Spot volunteer – to their Project Leader (community-based Spots) or headteacher (school-based Spots); or
- If they are a Project Leader, staff member, trustee or other associated personnel – to one of the Safeguarding Leads listed below.
EduSpots volunteers and staff should report concerns immediately and not try to respond / deal with concerns themselves.
Safeguarding Leads:
Cat Davison (CEO, for all global/UK reports); Email: cdavison@eduspots.org; Tel: +44 (0)7914 359903
Zoe Ohene-Ampofo (Education Programmes Manager); Email zohene-ampofo@eduspots.org; Tel: +233 53 372 9038
Sally Yeboah (Trustee, Global board); Email: syeboah@eduspots.org
Response
EduSpots will follow up safeguarding reports and concerns according to the Safeguarding Reporting & Response Procedure, and legal and statutory obligations. We will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to staff found in breach of policy.
EduSpots will offer support to survivors of harm caused by staff or associated personnel, regardless of whether a formal internal response is carried out (such as an internal investigation). Decisions regarding support will be led by the survivor.
Confidentiality
It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent investigation & case will be shared on a need to know basis only and will be kept secure at all times.
Information may be shared with authorities (e.g. law enforcement, UK Charity Commission) or funders, where EduSpots has a legal or contractual obligation to do so.
Results of Misconduct
Actions in relation to safeguarding reports will operate under the guidelines below:
- When any allegation is made against a named person associated with EduSpots staff, volunteers, service provider etc from a verifiable source, the said person may be counselled and suspended from all activities of EduSpots pending the outcome of an investigation. Staff will continue to receive full pay during this time.
- All information from the investigations and minutes of meetings will be documented and kept confidentially. A final decision will be made within a minimum period appropriate to the concern raised for the way forward.
- EduSpots will take immediate disciplinary action based on the outcome of the investigation, which may be appropriate to the circumstances as stated in the policy.
Disciplinary action will depend on each case and the circumstances, and may include the following:
- Staff: written warning/other sanction / dismissal
- Volunteers, board members: warning/end relationship with EduSpots
- Service providers: written warning/termination of contract
EduSpots will ensure that the process of investigation remains fair. The final decision and action is open to appeal through an independent investigation.
Associated Documents
- Safeguarding Reporting & Response Procedure
- Safeguarding Incident Report Form
- Catalyst Code of Conduct
- Staff Code of Conduct
- Complaints Policy
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Online Courses – Data Protection & Safeguarding Information for Schools & Participants
- School Partnership Programme – Data Protection & Safeguarding Information for Schools & Participants
We are committed to reviewing this policy and good practice on an annual basis in line with current best practice guidance, or sooner in light of any changes in legislation or guidance. All changes will be communicated to staff and volunteers.
Glossary of Terms
Child: A person below the age of 18
Harm: Psychological, physical and any other infringement of an individual’s rights
Psychological harm: Emotional or psychological abuse, including (but not limited to) humiliating and degrading treatment such as bad name calling, constant criticism, belittling, persistent shaming, solitary confinement and isolation
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA): The term used by the humanitarian and development community to refer to the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of affected populations by staff or associated personnel. The term derives from the United Nations Secretary General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13)
Safeguarding: In the UK, safeguarding means protecting peoples’ 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, including children and at risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or programmes.
This draws from our values and principles and shapes our culture. It pays specific attention to preventing and responding to harm from any potential, actual or attempted abuse of power, trust, or vulnerability, especially for sexual purposes.
Safeguarding applies consistently and without exception across our programmes, partners and staff. It requires proactively identifying, preventing and guarding against all risks of harm, exploitation and abuse and having mature, accountable and transparent systems for response, reporting and learning when risks materialise. Those systems must be survivor-centred and also protect those accused until proven guilty.
Safeguarding puts affected persons at the centre of all we do.
Sexual abuse: The term ‘sexual abuse’ means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Sexual exploitation: The term ‘sexual exploitation’ means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. This definition includes human trafficking and modern slavery.
Survivor: The person who has been abused or exploited. The term ‘survivor’ is often used in preference to ‘victim’ as it implies strength, resilience and the capacity to survive, however it is the individual’s choice how they wish to identify themselves.
At risk adult: Sometimes also referred to as vulnerable adult. A person who is or may be in need of care by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.