balletLORENT safeguarding polcy

balletLORENT Safeguarding Policy

1. Statement

This policy enables balletLORENT to demonstrate our commitment to keeping safe everyone with whom we work alongside. balletLORENT acknowledges our duty to act appropriately to any allegations, reports or suspicions of abuse and/ or neglect. balletLORENT strives to excel in our safeguarding attitudes, practices and procedures rather than merely meeting minimum legal standards. Therefore, we encourage meaningful involvement from our beneficiaries, staff, sub-contractors and stakeholders in our safeguarding practices. Here on in referred to as personnel.

It is important to have robust policy and procedures in place so we can all work to identify and prevent abuse and know what to do in the event of abuse and allegations of abuse.

This Policy and Procedures has been drawn up to enable balletLORENT to:

promote good practice and work in a way that can prevent harm, abuse and coercion occurring;
to ensure any allegations of abuse or suspicions of, are dealt with appropriately, in a timely manner and the person experiencing abuse is supported.

balletLORENT is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all children, young people and adults we work with by taking all reasonable steps to protect them from neglect, physical, sexual or emotional harm.

Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone including full time, part-time, casual and freelance staff and volunteers. It is primarily the responsibility of the Board of Directors to ensure that balletLORENT safeguarding policy and procedures are current, relevant and adhered to.

balletLORENT provides safe, positive and empowering environments for all people who engage in projects, programmes and events organised directly by the Company or in partnership with other organisations.

balletLORENT’s work with children, young people and adults aims to be fun, informative and inspirational. This can only be achieved in an atmosphere of trust, dignity and respect.

balletLORENT recognises there are a variety of approaches required to ensure an effective prevention from harm strategy which includes: creating the right environment, developing practice standards, empowering young people, paid staff and volunteers, sharing information and developing our monitoring role.

Safe recruitment and selection guidance in Section 10 sits alongside balletLORENT’s recruitment policy. In addition, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is used to ensure safe recruitment decisions are made and to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups. balletLORENT will abide by the relevant and equivalent legislation for areas outside of England and Wales.

balletLORENT will provide 3 yearly Safeguarding Awareness training for all relevant personnel including the Board of Directors.

balletLORENT will provide the resources for regular training of our Designated Safeguarding Officer and relevant personnel in conjunction with Newcastle’s Safeguarding Board recommendations.

balletLORENT personnel must always show respect for and understanding of the rights, safety and welfare of our beneficiaries and conduct themselves in a way that reflects this.

balletLORENT takes concerns, disclosures and suspicions seriously. Full support will be given to individuals who raise concerns and suspicions.

2. Children and Adult Legal Definitions

This Policy and procedures relate to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults with whom we work.

The Care Act 2014 defines Adults as:

People aged 18 or over;
Adults with care and or support needs to keep them safe from abuse or neglect, who are receiving or may need community care services because of learning, physical or mental disability, age, or illness;
Who are or may be unable to take care of themselves, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.

The Care Act 2014 defines Children as:

People up to the age of 18 years

3. balletLORENT’s Defined Personnel

balletLORENT employs people on full and part time, permanent, fixed and temporary contracts and offers volunteering opportunities to anyone interested in furthering our aims and objectives. We provide work placements for students of all ages and abilities, acts as a mentor for aspiring dancers and artists across the country and work with renowned and new collaborators. We also use the services of freelance, independent and professional artists and offer training and performance opportunities to members of the local community.

4. Policy Implementation

This policy applies to all of the above, including senior managers, trustees, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, students and anyone working on behalf of balletLORENT, from here-on-in referred to as personnel.

In order to implement this policy, balletLORENT will work:

to promote the freedom and dignity of the person who has or is experiencing abuse;
to promote the rights of all people to live free from abuse and coercion;
to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people who do not have the capacity to decide how they want to respond to abuse that they are experiencing;
to manage services in a way which promotes safety and prevents abuse;
recruit personnel safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made;
provide effective management for personnel through regular supervision, support and training.

balletLORENT:

will ensure that all personnel are familiar with this policy and procedures;
will act within our data protection policy and will usually gain permission from our
beneficiaries before sharing information about them with another agency unless our
legal duty of care prevents us from doing so;
will pass information to the relevant Safeguarding Team when appropriate to do so;
will inform beneficiaries that where a person is in danger, a child is at risk or a crime
may have been committed then a decision may be taken to pass information to another agency without beneficiaries’ consent;
will make a referral to the relevant safeguarding team as appropriate;
will endeavour to keep up to date with local and national developments relating to all safeguarding issues;
will ensure that the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) understands their responsibility to refer incidents of abuse and neglect to the relevant statutory agencies.

5. Introduction

These procedures have been designed to ensure the welfare and protection of all beneficiaries who access services provided by balletLORENT. The procedures recognise that abuse and neglect can be a difficult subject for personnel to deal with. balletLORENT is committed to the belief that the protection of adults and children from harm and abuse is everybody’s responsibility and the aim of these procedures is to ensure that all personnel act appropriately in response to any concern around all abuse and allegations of abuse.

The one thing personnel must not do is NOTHING

6. Definition of Duty of Care

Everyone has a duty of care for safeguarding others, particularly teachers and other professionals working closely with children and vulnerable adults.

A legal definition – A duty of care rests upon an individual or organisation to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the safety of a child, young person or individual involved in any activity or interaction for which that individual or organisation is responsible. Any person in charge of, or working with children, young people or individuals in any capacity is considered to owe them a duty of care.

In practice a Duty of Care means – to ensure that no injury or loss is caused to a person, by failing to carry out their responsibilities in a reasonable and careful way.

7. Recognising the signs and symptoms of abuse

Abuse includes:

physical abuse or domestic abuse: including hitting, slapping, punching, burning, misuse of medication, inappropriate restraint
sexual abuse: including rape, indecent assault, inappropriate touching, exposure to pornographic material
psychological and emotional abuse: including belittling, name calling, threats of harm, intimidation, isolation
modern slavery: is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men, through the use of - force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation
self-neglect: behavioural condition in which, an individual, neglects to attend to their basic needs, such as personal hygiene, appropriate clothing, feeding, or tending appropriately to any medical conditions they have
financial or material abuse: including stealing, selling assets, fraud, misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions or benefits
neglect and acts of omission: including withholding the necessities of life such as medication, food or warmth, ignoring medical or physical care needs
discriminatory abuse: including racist, sexist, that based on a person’s disability and other forms of harassment, slurs or similar treatment
institutional or organisational: including regimented routines and cultures, unsafe practices, lack of person-centred care or treatment

It is important to remember:-

Abuse may be carried out deliberately or unknowingly.
Abuse may be a single act or repeated acts.
Abuse can be from adult to adult, child to child, adult to child or child to adult.
People who behave abusively come from all backgrounds, all ages, all professions and all walks of life.

8. Physical Contact with Adults, Children and Young People

Due to the nature of balletLORENT’s work it is inevitable that physical contact may need to take place from time to time. In upholding the following key principles balletLORENT believes it creates thriving opportunities to learn from the best persons available in the safest possible space.

Physical contact should be a conscious act
Physical contact should always be such as to show respect for the dignity and physical wellbeing of the person
Physical contact should be based on a judgement of the minimum action necessary to meet the needs of the situation
Physical contact should never be an act of punishment
Physical contact should never be such that the person or others might interpret it as physical or sexual act.

There are situations within the dance studio or performance setting which physical contact with a child, young person or adult may be appropriate and necessary to demonstrate choreography, exercises or techniques, e.g.

Correcting body position in artistic movement for dance or drama
Correcting body position in the acquisition of a skill
Preventing inappropriate body movements
To administer first aid
To partner lift or carry a person as part of the artistic and choreographic development and performance
Where a person is in distress and needs comforting.

Personnel must use their own professional judgement when they feel someone needs this kind of support. Always preface any physical contact with an explanation, e.g.

“I am going to correct the angle of your arms for this choreographic move, so, I will have to touch your arm to move it to the correct position”.

If physical contact is an issue and verbal explanation is difficult, you will need to use other forms such as pictures and diagrams to demonstrate.

Teaching in a group can have positive benefits in being able to demonstrate for example, correct posture. You may instruct one person to correct the posture of another.

Non-acceptable responses

Avoid any contact when alone with people, unless it is clearly relevant to teaching an artistic skill.
There may be some people for whom touching is particularly unwelcome. It is therefore important personnel receive this information before teaching, rehearsing or working with them.
Physical contact between personnel and people of the opposite sex becomes increasingly open to question as young people reach and proceed through adolescence. Personnel should bear in mind that even innocent and well-intentioned physical contact can sometimes be misconstrued.
The way our behaviour is experienced and interpreted may not match our intentions however well meaning.

9. Preventing abuse

balletLORENT is committed to putting in place safeguards and measures to reduce the likelihood of abuse taking place within the services we offer and that all those involved within balletLORENT will be treated with respect.

Therefore, this policy needs to be read in conjunction with the following policies:

Equality and Diversity Policy
Volunteer Policy
Health and Safety Policy
Children Performance and Activities Regulations 2014

10. Safe Recruitment

balletLORENT is committed to safer recruitment policies and practices for all personnel regardless of contract type, paid or unpaid, job role etc. This may include DBS disclosures ensuring references are taken up and regular adequate safeguarding training is provided for all personnel as appropriate.

balletLORENT will work within the current legal frameworks for reporting personnel that are subject to any allegation(s) of abuse.

11. The 5 R’s of safeguarding

Recognise - Signs and symptoms of abuse
Respond - An allegation from a person against balletLORENT personnel, a disclosure from a person, suspicions regarding the conduct of other personnel or concerns from personnel regarding a person.
Report - To the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or Deputy (DDSO) as described in this policy. It is their responsibility to make further decisions.
Record - Exactly what has happened using the words said by the person. This information should be signed, dated and kept in a secure place as agreed within our data protection policy.
Refer - This will be the role of the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) who will make all further decisions. The only agencies that can investigate cases are the Police, the Local Authority and the NSPCC.

12. Designated Safeguarding Officer

The Board understands it is not acceptable to say they have delegated their safeguarding role to the managers and staff they have recruited. Whilst these officers undoubtedly have a vital role to play in keeping children and adults safe, the Trustees take active responsibility for this too. balletLORENT aim to appoint a Board Champion to work alongside appointed safeguarding staff by December 2019.

balletLORENT has an appointed individual who is responsible for dealing with all safeguarding concerns. In their absence, a deputy will be available for personnel to consult with. The Designated Safeguarding Officers within balletLORENT are:

James MacGillivray
Work Telephone number: 0191 233 1811 Emergency Contact Number: 07812 032 404

Deborah Purtill - Deputy
Work telephone number: 0191 233 1811 Emergency contact number: 07789 503419

Should either of these named individuals be unavailable, personnel should contact Newcastle Safeguarding Unit for advice on 0191 278 8156 available Monday – Friday 8.45am – 4.45pm. See section 16 for out of hours contact details.

13. Role and Responsibilities

of the Designated Safeguarding Officer are:

To ensure that all personnel including volunteers and trustees are aware of what they should do and who they should go to if they have concerns that someone may be experiencing, or has experienced abuse or neglect.
To ensure that concerns are acted on, clearly recorded and referred to the relevant Social Care Direct team or to the allocated social worker/care manager where necessary.
To follow up any referrals and ensure the issues have been addressed.
To reinforce the utmost need for confidentiality and to ensure that personnel are adhering to good practice with regards to confidentiality and security. This is because it is around the time that a person starts to challenge abuse that the risks of increasing intensity of abuse are greatest.
To ensure that personnel working directly with service users who have experienced abuse, or who are experiencing abuse, are well supported and receive appropriate supervision.
If appropriate personnel will be given support and afforded protection if necessary under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998: they will be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner and they will be kept informed of any action that has been taken and its outcome

14. Definition of an allegation

An allegation is defined as where:
It is alleged that a person who works with children or adults has:

Behaved in a way that has harmed a person, or may have harmed them
Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to the person
Behaved towards a child, children or vulnerable adult in a way that indicates they are unsuitable to work with children and adults

15. Responding to people who have experienced or are experiencing abuse

balletLORENT recognise our duty to act on reports, or suspicions of abuse or neglect and that taking action in cases of abuse is never easy.

How to respond if you receive an allegation:

Reassure the person concerned
Listen to what they are saying
Record what you have been told/witnessed as soon as possible
Remain calm and do not show shock or disbelief
Tell them that the information will be treated seriously
Don’t start to investigate or ask detailed or probing questions
Don’t promise to keep it a secret

If you witness abuse or abuse has just taken place the priorities will be:

To inform the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or Deputy (DDSO)
To call an ambulance, if required
To call the police, if required
To preserve evidence
To keep yourself, personnel and beneficiaries’ safe
To record what happened in the designated safeguarding log where safeguarding concerns are recorded

All situations of abuse or alleged abuse must be discussed with the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or their Deputy (DDSO) within 24 hours of disclosure.

16. Raising an Alert

For advice on whether to raise an adult safeguarding alert or not, call the Newcastle Safeguarding Unit on 0191 278 8156 available Monday – Friday 8.45am – 5pm.

For advice on whether to raise a children’s safeguarding alert or not call the Newcastle Initial Response Team on 0191 277 2500 available Monday - Friday 8.45am till 4.45pm.

For advice on whether to raise either an adult or children safeguarding alert out of hours in Newcastle call 0191 278 7878.

To raise an alert in Newcastle for Adults contact: Adult Community Health and Social Care Team Phone: 0191 278 8377
Available: Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm

Out of Hours: 0191 278 7878

To raise an alert in Newcastle for Children contact: Initial Response Team
Phone: 0191 277 2500
Available Monday - Friday 8.45am - 4.45pm

Out of Hours: 0191 277 2500 or 0191 278 7878

The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or (DDSO) may take advice at any stage from Newcastle’s Adult Safeguarding Unit on 0191 278 8156 or for Children’s Safeguarding on 0191 277 2500.

Northumbria Police

In the case of an emergency call 999.
In the case of a non-emergency call 101.

When touring, the Company Administrator will ensure local safeguarding contacts are given to appropriate personnel.

17. Submitting a Referral

Once the decision has been made to submit a referral the following process must be initiated and adhered to.

An Adults Referral must be submitted using the form attached to this policy.

A Children’s Referral must be submitted via the portal noted here https://nccportal.newcastle.gov.uk/forms/referral/professional
This is a secure portal to protect peoples’ identities and confidentiality.

balletLORENT personnel submitting a referral must gather the contact details of whom the referral is made, along with the date and time. These details should be recorded in the safeguarding log.

Information on the alert progress should be provided to the individual. Personnel can signpost to other sources of help and information if felt appropriate, however, the alert process will also do this, therefore balletLORENT would prefer personnel not signpost.

18. Managing an allegation made against a member of staff, volunteer or personnel.

balletLORENT will ensure that any allegations made against a member of staff, volunteer or personnel will be dealt with swiftly, impartially and effectively, regardless of whom raises an allegation.

Where an allegation is brought, the following steps will be initiated:

The personnel involved will be asked of their account at the earliest opportunity
Notes of their account will be recorded by the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or Deputy (DDSO) in a private meeting.
The interviewee cannot bring a colleague/friend/ as support at this stage.
The DSO or DDSO will gather all information using the safeguarding log.
The DSO or DDSO will ensure the interviewee has a copy of the notes recorded, this safeguarding policy and procedures and the Company’s disciplinary policies and procedures.
The DSO or DDSO will then meet with the Board’s Safeguarding Lead to discuss and set the next steps, where disciplinary action may apply.

balletLORENT takes is responsibility of safeguarding seriously whilst recognising that an allegation can be extremely upsetting for not only the individual, but the entire Company. Anyone receiving an allegation will be treated as English law states, therefore balletLORENT will adopt an “innocent until proven otherwise” approach and aims to fully support personnel welfare throughout this stage of the process.

Where it is suspected a criminal offence may have been committed, the police will be informed. If a crime has been witnessed the police should be contacted immediately.

The safety of the individual(s) concerned is paramount. A risk assessment must be undertaken immediately to assess the level of risk to all beneficiaries posed by the alleged perpetrator. This will include whether it is safe for them to continue in their role or any other role within the Company whilst an investigation is undertaken.
The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) or Deputy (DDSO) will liaise with the Local Authority to discuss the best course of action and to ensure balletLORENT’s disciplinary procedures are co-ordinated with any other enquiries taking place as part of the ongoing management of the allegation.

19. Recording keeping and managing confidential information

All allegations/concerns will be recorded in the secure, confidential, file where all safeguarding concerns will be recorded. The information should be factual and not based on opinions, record what the person tells you, what you have seen and witness details if appropriate.

The information that is recorded will be kept securely and comply with balletLORENT’s data protection policy and procedures.

20. Disseminating our policy and procedures

This Safeguarding Policy and Procedure will be clearly communicated to all balletLORENT personnel. The Designated Safeguarding Officer and Deputy will be responsible for ensuring that this is communicated effectively.

This policy will be made available to balletLORENT’s beneficiaries and their parent/carers via our website. One hard copy will be made available for parents/carers and participants to read at each session. Upon request balletLORENT will provide a copy of this policy to any enquirer.

21. Reviewing our policy and procedures

This Safeguarding Policy and Procedures will be reviewed 3 yearly by the Board of Directors. The Designated Safeguarding Officer and Deputy will be involved in this process and will recommend any changes and updates. The Designated Safeguarding Officer and Deputy will also ensure that all changes and updates are clearly communicated to all personnel. It may be appropriate to involve service users/beneficiaries in the review. Beneficiaries and parents/carers will be informed of any significant changes.

balletLORENT will review any incidents during the year and take appropriate action to resolve them, adapting policies and procedures immediately if required.

Reviewed: March 2023

Review due: March 2024

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