GEDNEY PARISH COUNCIL

HEDGEVIEW, 231 BROADGATE, SUTTON ST EDMUND, LINCOLNSHIRE, PE12 OLT

E Mail the.clerk@outlook.com

Safeguarding Policy –

Children, Young People & Vulnerable Adults

1. Scope

1.1. This policy is the responsibility of all councillors and staff connected to Gedney Parish Council.

1.2. Children and young people are defined as those aged under 18.

1.3. A vulnerable adult is someone aged 18 or over:

Who is, or may be, in need of community services due to age, illness or a mental or physical disability;

Who is, or may be, unable to take care of himself/herself, or unable to protect himself/herself against significant harm or exploitation.

For example, a person who:

is frail due to age

has drug or alcohol problems

has a learning disability

has mental or physical ill health or disability.

Vulnerability is related to how able an adult is to make and exercise their own informed choice, free from duress or undue influence, and to protect themselves from abuse, neglect and exploitation. There is no hard and fast rule: an adult should be assumed to be covered by this policy unless there is information to indicate that they are not.

2. Reason for the policy

2.1. Everyone, including children, young people and vulnerable adults, has the right not to be abused. We recognise the need to ensure their welfare when they come into contact with the services we provide.

3. Types of abuse

3.1. Physical: causing physical harm, including hitting, shaking, biting, grabbing, withholding food or drink, force-feeding, wrongly administering medicine, unnecessary restraint, failing to provide physical care and aids to living;

3.2. Sexual: including sexual assault, rape, inappropriate touching/molesting, forcing or enticing someone into sexual acts they don't understand or feel powerless to refuse; grooming a child or young person in preparation for abuse.

3.3. Emotional or psychological: persistent emotional ill treatment or rejection, including verbal abuse, shouting, swearing, threatening abandonment or harm, isolating, taking away privacy or other rights, bullying/intimidation, blaming, belittling, silencing, controlling or humiliating;

3.4. Financial or material: illegal or improper use of an adult’s property, money or other assets without their informed consent or where the consent is obtained by fraud. It can include withholding money or possessions, theft of money or property, fraud, intentionally mismanaging finances, borrowing money and not repaying;

3.5. Neglect: persistent or severe failure to meet a person’s basic physical and psychological needs. It will result in serious impairment of their health or development, and can include withholding shelter, food, drink, heating and clothing, failing to provide access to health, social and educational services, ignoring physical care needs, exposing a person to unacceptable risk, failing to ensure adequate supervision or unresponsiveness to the basic emotional needs of a child;

3.6. Discriminatory abuse: including slurs, harassment and maltreatment due to a protected characteristic (Equality Act 2010);

Safeguarding Policy – adopted by Gedney Parish Council 12 July 2016

3.7. Institutional abuse: including the use of systems and routines which neglect a person receiving formal care e.g. in a children’s home.

4. Signs of abuse

4.1. There are many possible signs of abuse, none being conclusive on their own. Examples include:

Unexplained injury / weight loss / cuts and bruises / dirtiness

Changes in behaviour

Depression / low self-esteem

Lack of self-care / dehydration / abnormal eating pattern

Harm to self

Obsessive behaviour

Bills not being paid

An overly critical or disrespectful carer who may bully or undermine

Isolation from usual network of friends, family or community

5. Safeguarding

5.1. Safeguarding children from abuse and promoting their welfare means:

protecting children from maltreatment;

preventing impairment of children’s health or development;

ensuring 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.

5.2. Safeguarding vulnerable adults means protecting them from maltreatment, and preventing injury or significant harm. Abuse violates an adult’s human and civil rights. It can vary from treating someone with disrespect in a way which significantly affects the person's quality of life, to causing actual physical suffering.

5.3. A safeguarding concern arises if abuse is suspected or disclosed. Abuse can happen anywhere – at home, in a residential or nursing home, a hospital, in the workplace, at a day centre or educational establishment or in the street.

6. Reporting safeguarding concerns

6.1. We all have a responsibility to report any safeguarding concerns over the welfare of children, young people or vulnerable adults. This extends to the identification of signs of abuse; poor practice by staff, councillors and others acting for or on behalf of the council, and allegations brought to our attention by a member of the public. Reporting safeguarding concerns can prevent serious abuse or harm from happening, or from escalating.

6.2. Staff and councillors must not attempt to investigate abuse themselves; neither must they confront anyone who is allegedly responsible for abuse nor tell them that allegations have been made about them.

6.3. The officer responsible for receipt of concerns and forwarding them on is the Clerk. If the Clerk is absent do not wait for him/her to return to work.

6.4. Report safeguarding allegations or concerns to Lincolnshire County Council Children’s or Adults Services at the earliest possible opportunity, and at least within 24 hours. If it is outside working hours contact the Lincolnshire County Council Emergency Duty Team.

6.5. Dial 999 if a child, young person or vulnerable adult may be in imminent danger or a criminal offence may have been committed.

Safeguarding Policy – adopted by Gedney Parish Council 12 July 2016

7. Confidentiality, record keeping and sharing information

7.1 Information about safeguarding concerns should be regarded as confidential. The information is not secret, however, and Gedney Parish Council will co-operate with investigations by Lincolnshire County Council Children’s or Adults services, or the Police as applicable, and follow their advice to ensure that any risk to the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults is addressed.

7.2 Where a disclosure is made it is important that the staff member does not promise the child/young person/vulnerable adult to keep the information secret but says that they will only disclose it to someone who can help them.

8. Allegations against a councillor or member of staff

8.1 If someone witnesses behaviour by a councillor, member of staff, contractor or partner, or an allegation is made about them that indicate that they have, or may have:

harmed a child, young person or vulnerable adult, or put them at risk of harm;

possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, young person or vulnerable adult or

behaved in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children, young people or vulnerable adults,

they must report it as a safeguarding concern to the Police and/or LCC Children’s or Adults Services at the earliest possible opportunity.

8.2 A councillor or member of staff must report any allegation made against them to the Clerk or Chair of the Council.

8.3. Safeguarding concerns and allegations relating to staff will be dealt with in accordance with the Disciplinary Procedure (including in instances where the member of staff resigns or leaves). However, investigations by the responsible authorities will take precedence over internal council procedures relating to conduct. The Clerk or Chair of the Council will liaise with the responsible authorities to agree the appropriate course of action.

8.4 The Clerk or Chair of the Council will seek advice from the Lincolnshire County Council Children’s or Adults Services or Police prior to informing a member of staff of an allegation against them. The Clerk or Chair of the Council will offer appropriate welfare support to the member of staff and ensure that they are kept appropriately informed during any investigation process.

8.5 In accordance with the law, the council will refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) any member of staff

who was dismissed because they harmed a child or adult;

who was dismissed or removed from working in a regulated activity because they might have harmed a child or adult otherwise;

who would have been dismissed for either of these reasons, but they resigned first; or

who works with children or vulnerable adults in regulated activity and has been cautioned or convicted for a relevant offence.

8.6 Safeguarding concerns and allegations relating to councillors will be referred to the Monitoring Officer and dealt with in accordance with the Code of Conduct of Members of the Council.

9. Recruitment and Selection

9.1. Criminal record checks will be made where appropriate. Roles that involve “regulated activities,” such as caring for, supervising or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults, require an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check. This may include checking whether someone is included in the two DBS ‘barred lists’ of individuals who are unsuitable for working with children and adults. DBS Checks must be obtained for staff and volunteers undertaking these roles, and they

Safeguarding Policy – adopted by Gedney Parish Council 12 July 2016

will not be permitted to commence unaccompanied work until they have been received. It is against the law for employers to employ someone, or allow them to volunteer for, this kind of work if they know they are on one of the barred lists.

10. Information and Training

10.1. Appropriate information will be made available to staff and councillors in the form of this policy and any necessary training.

11. External organisations licensed by, or working with, for or on behalf of the council.

11.1 The council works with and through a number of external organisations such as charities, contractors, other public sector bodies etc.

11.2 Where these external organisations are likely to have significant contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults as a direct result of their work for, on behalf of, or in partnership with the council, they are required to have safeguarding procedures, such as safe recruitment and selection processes, in place. They must be made aware of this policy and must provide the council with a copy of their safeguarding procedure

Version Number	Date Approved	Amendments made	Next review Date
V1	July 2016		January 2020
	September 2023	None	September 2026