SAFEGUARDING POLICY.

The New Futures Project works with children, young people and adults as part of its activities. These include: one to one work, group work and advocacy: 

 

The purpose of this policy statement is: 

 

• To protect children and young people who receive The New Futures Project services. This includes the children of adults who use our services 

• To provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection. 

 

This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of The New Futures Project including senior managers, the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers and students. 

 

​

​

​

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England 

The Children Act 1989 provides the legislative framework for child protection in England. Key principles established by the Act include: 

• The paramount nature of the child’s welfare 

• The need for urgency and no delay. 

• The welfare checklist. 

• The expectations and requirements around duties of care to children. 

The above guidance ensures a person centered approach in which the young person’s wishes and feelings are both recognized and respected. This is strengthened by the Children Act 2004, which encourages partnerships between agencies and creates more accountability, by: 

• placing a duty on local authorities to appoint children’s services members who are ultimately accountable for the delivery of services 

• placing a duty on local authorities and their partners to co-operate in safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and young people. 

​

​

​

​

Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education, 2018) 

 

The New Futures Project 

​

We believe that: 

• children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind 

• we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them. 

 

We recognise that: 

• the welfare of the child is paramount 

• all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have a right to equal 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, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare. 

 

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by: 

• Valuing, listening to and respecting them 

• appointing a nominated child protection/safeguarding lead, a deputy child protection/safeguarding lead and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding 

• developing child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures which reflect best practice 

• using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately 

• creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise Page 3 of 5 

• developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures 

• sharing information about child protection and safeguarding best practice with children, their families, staff and volunteers via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions 

• recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made 

• providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures 

• implementing a code of conduct for staff and volunteers 

• using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately 

• ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place 

• ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance 

• recording and storing information professionally and securely. 

 

Related policies and procedures 

This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies and procedures, including: 

• Procedures for responding to concerns about a child or young person’s wellbeing 

• Dealing with allegations of abuse against a child or young person 

• Role of the designated safeguarding officer 

• Managing allegations against staff and volunteers 

• Safer recruitment policy and procedures 

• Code of conduct for staff and volunteers 

• Whistleblowing policy