Safeguarding

Policy Statement

River Thames Boat Project (RTBP) is committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of all service users, employees and volunteers who are involved in or affected by our work.

RTBP recognises that it has responsibilities for the safety and care of children under the Children Act 1989 and 2004.

All children, regardless of gender, disability, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse and the right to be treated with respect and dignity.

This policy sets out the measures we have in place and the steps we may take when we are concerned about the safety of a child or young person. In this policy, we use the expression “child” to mean a person who is aged under 18.

This policy does not cover:

• Accidents and other Health and Safety incidents.

This policy is applicable to all volunteers and staff including freelancers.

Our current offer to children aged 5-18 is:

• full and half-day river cruises for up to 12 people (10 students/2 staff)
• full-day education programmes for primary schools (up to 35 children plus staff)
• 2-hour education workshops for youth groups and social groups (up to 16 children plus team leaders)

In all these contexts, the legal responsibility for the care and support of the children rests with the accompanying teaching staff, parents or carers. However, we recognise our legal and moral responsibilities to children benefitting from our services, and this policy sets out how we will keep children safe and minimise the risk of harm. Our clients are informed of this when they book a cruise or education day.

We govern responsibly and our trustees are committed to ensuring a safe and positive environment for all people through the provision of robust policy and procedures and effective oversight.

What is safeguarding?

In the UK, safeguarding means preventing harm to children and vulnerable adults and promoting their overall well-being.

For RTBP staff and volunteers, this means responding effectively to concerns of abuse or suspected abuse or harm, whether current or historic. This may include information shared about possible abuse in the wider community, observations made by RTBP people in the course of their work and experiencing situations where a person might harm themselves or be at risk of harm.

How do we safeguard?

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and we all have a role in managing safeguarding concerns. We ensure that all our staff and volunteers understand that they have a moral and legal responsibility to support the welfare and safety of children. To support this, we have the following in place

• People – RTBP has a Safeguarding Officer, and we have a Designated Lead Trustee for Safeguarding.
• All staff and volunteers will have references checked in advance of starting with RTBP
• DBS Checks – All staff are required to complete DBS checks when joining RTBP and these are maintained throughout their time with us.   We note that volunteers on our education days and cruises do not require DBS checks because the teachers that lead these groups are the ones carrying out “regulated activity” in a safeguarding context.  We do not currently host residential activities.
• Training – All volunteers and Trustees are required to complete basic safeguarding training.

• Those who support or meet our clients have additional training and are expected to complete annual refresher training in safeguarding in relation to children and vulnerable adults. All staff will complete, as a minimum, Level 1 safeguarding online training provided by Achieving for Children workforce development or a similar organisation. We will ensure all staff refresh their training regularly. All staff and volunteers are required to read and confirm comprehension of the RTBP Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and their responsibilities within it.
• Information – we have clear procedures to ensure our people know how to respond, report and where to go for advice and assistance.
• Compliance – DBS checks and training records are reported to the Trustees annually.

Procedure for reporting safeguarding concerns

If a member of staff or volunteer is concerned about a child’s safety or if they suspect abuse, they should report this to the senior member of the client staff in attendance, unless that person is implicated in the issue.

If there is immediate risk to safety, we should contact emergency services.

The staff or volunteer should call the RTBP Staff Safeguarding Lead on the same day and then should give a written report.

The lead staff member, in discussion with the Lead Trustee, should report the issue to Richmond & Kingston Single Point of Access.  The Safeguarding Lead at the client’s organisation should be informed of this.

Documentation should be kept on the issue and all the steps RTBP take.

Concerns about staff or volunteer behaviour

It is essential that any allegation of abuse made against a person who works with children and young people, including those who work in a voluntary capacity, are dealt with fairly, quickly, and consistently, in a way that provides effective protection for the child, and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation.

If it is alleged a member of the RTBP team (staff or volunteer) has

• behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child

• possibly committed a criminal offence against, or related to, a child or

• behaved in a way that indicates s/he is unsuitable to work with children

they will be suspended from duties, the Richmond & Kingston Single Point of Access (SPA) will be informed, and potentially the police.  The allegation will be investigated following either the RTBP Volunteer Conduct Policy or the Staff Disciplinary Policy following advice from the SPA or police.

NOMINATED SAFEGUARDING COMMITTEE MEMBER:
Jane Newman, Trustee, jnewmanworkemail@gmail.com

Who will they report to:

Richmond and Kingston Single Point of Access (SPA)

0208 547 5008/ Out of Hours 0208 770 5000

The policy will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Trustees and copies made available to staff and volunteers, and on request, to members of the public and organisations that we work with. It is also downloadable from our website. It should be read in conjunction with other associated policies including the RTBP Health and Safety Policy and the RTBP Whistleblowing Policy.