Setting Up Your Safeguarding Culture
This guidance is designed to facilitate good thinking in relation to developing a robust and effective safeguarding culture. It is written as a thought piece, and offers a way of thinking that establishes your organisation’s approach. It will enable you to create your own, personalised checklist of actions to keep you and the young people you’re working with safe, and to manage risk well, as well as provide you with a set of suggested first 10 steps. It is not designed to tell you about the general aspects of establishing a youth group.
Safeguarding Concern / Incident Report Template
Please click below to download an Safeguarding concern / incident report template for your use
First Aid Provision
A first aid needs assessment should be conducted by youth work organisations to ascertain the first aid arrangements required for the programme as a whole or for each activity. When undertaking a first aid needs assessment the following considerations should be taken into account:
Group Management
Workers have a duty of care for young people and for each other during youth programmes, events and activities. In order to help manage groups effectively it is important to ensure that workers understand their roles and responsibilities, and are able to communicate effectively with young people, each other and any relevant third party staff.
Supporting Individual Needs
It is essential that youth work organisations understand the individual support needs of all individuals participating in programmes or accessing services in advance, including young people and workers. Organisations should carefully review all information received from young people prior to a programme (i.e. application forms or similar), and pay particular note to any pre-existing conditions or accessibility requirements that have been disclosed.
Medication
Youth work organisations should ensure that they have a policy and procedures in place for managing young people’s personal medication, and ensure that policies take into account the full range of activities and services that may be provided. This may include residential programmes, instances of remote supervision, programmes overseas, or in remote areas where access to professional medical provision may be delayed and/or contact with parents/guardians may not be immediate.
Supervision
Supervision can be provided directly, indirectly (within clear boundaries) or remotely. Workers should always ensure that arrangements are appropriate for the needs and capabilities of the group and that associated risks have been taken into account.
Guidance on Personal, Professional and Environmental Boundaries
This guidance explores the value of boundaries and offers guidance for developing, promoting, and maintaining healthy boundaries in a youth work role and setting. It should be read alongside policies on lone working, safeguarding and a code of conduct.
Recruitment of Candidates with a Criminal Record
About This Guidance This guidance promotes and supports a culture of fair and equal recruitment of staff or volunteers who have a criminal record, whilst ensuring the safe provision of services to children, young people and adults at risk. This guidance does not supersede the law and should be read alongside your Safer Recruitment Guidance … Continued
Policy for Recruitment of Candidates with a Criminal Record
Our organisation is committed to a culture of inclusivity and equality whilst ensuring the safe provision of services to children, young people and adults at risk. Having a criminal record does not automatically prevent you from working with or for our organisation. We recognise the contribution that all people can make as current or future workers, as both employees and volunteers, and are committed to a fair recruitment process in which no-one faces unfair discrimination due to a criminal record.
