Safeguarding policy

INTRODUCTION

Ping Pong 4 U has been created to enable a wide range of people of all ages and of all abilities to enjoy playing the greatest game on Earth!

Ping Pong 4 U works with a wide variety of groups, of all ages and abilities.

We aim to make people feel really special, have fun and genuinely include them!

We have devised and adapted a number of table tennis related games: Adapted Ping Pong Activities (APPA) which are hugely popular. The APPA games are fun, engaging, simple to set up and can be played on any surface. Some of the activities can also be played without a table.

We are committed to the welfare and the safeguarding of children and/or young people within all the activities that we undertake.

NAMED PERSON(S) FOR SAFEGUARDING

Name of Safeguarding Lead: Peter Thompson (07434 530134)

Name of Deputy Safeguarding lead: Kate Roberts (07875 194239)

Emergency Contact No: 07789 824371

Telephone number of Children’s Social Work Service :

During Office hours (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) – 0113 376 0336

Social Care- Emergency Duty team (out of hours) – 0113 376 0469 Email childrensedt@leeds.gov.uk

RECOGNISING THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF ABUSE

All staff that work with children and young people access training to help them not only identify but also act upon any form of abuse that they may identify. There are four types of abuse which can cause long term damage to a child or young person.

PHYSICAL ABUSE: May involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent/carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child.

EMOTIONAL ABUSE: Is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only in so far as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or “making fun” of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, (including cyber- bullying) causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

SEXUAL ABUSE: Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non- penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

NEGLECT: Is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Possible signs of abuse include:

Unexplained or suspicious injuries such as bruising cuts or burns, particularly if situated on a part of the body not normally prone to such injuries or the explanation of the cause of the injury is does not seem right.
The child discloses abuse, or describes what appears to be an abusive act.
Someone else (child or adult) expresses concern about the welfare of another child.
Unexplained change in behaviour such as withdrawal or sudden outbursts of temper.
Inappropriate sexual awareness or sexually explicit behaviour.
Distrust of adults, particularly those with whom a close relationship would normally be expected.
Difficulty in making friends.
Eating disorders, depression, self harm or suicide attempts.

BECOMING AWARE OF A SAFEGUARDING ISSUE

If we become aware about a child or young person’s safety, for example:

a third party or anonymous allegation is received;
a child or young person’s appearance, behaviour, play, drawing or statements cause suspicion of abuse and/or neglect;
a child or young person reports an incident(s) of alleged abuse which occurred some time ago;

then a written report is made regarding the serious misconduct of a worker towards a child or young person.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A CHILD

It is important that we treat any allegations extremely seriously. We must never think that someone else may be dealing with it. If we receive information that a child may be at risk of, or experiencing harm we make sure that staff know how to respond appropriately. See stages below.

Stage 1

Initially talk to a child/young person about what you are observing. It is okay to ask questions, for example: “I’ve noticed that you don’t appear yourself today, is everything okay? But never use leading questions
Listen carefully to what the young person has to say and take it seriously. Act at all times towards the child as if you believe what they are saying.
It is not the responsibility of groups to investigate incidences of suspected child abuse but to gather information and refer only.
Always explain to children and young people that any information they have given will have to be shared with others, if this indicates they and or other children are at risk of harm;
Notify the organisation’s Named Person for safeguarding (above)
Record what was said as soon as possible after any disclosure; the person who receives the allegation or has the concern, should complete a pro-forma and ensure it is signed and dated. The contents of the pro-forma should include:
Date and time of notification
Young person’s name
What was said
Actions to be taken (both internal and external actions – based on the issues raised in the allegation. For example; Notify Manager/ Duty and Advice/ LADO)
Respect confidentiality and file documents securely;

Stage 2

The Named person(s) should take immediate action if there is a suspicion that a child has been abused or likely to be abused. In this situation the Named Person should contact the police and/or the Duty and Advice Team. If a referral is made direct to the Duty and Advice team this should be followed up in writing within 24 hrs.

NB Parents / carers will need to be informed about any referral to Children & Young people’s Social Care unless to do so would place the child at an increased risk of harm.

SAFE RECRUITMENT

We acknowledge that sometimes there are people who work, or seek to work with children and young people who may pose a risk to children and who may harm them. Ensuring that we have a clear process for recruiting staff and volunteers should help reduce this risk. Even if we know someone very well we must ensure that they go through the same recruitment and selection process as a paid worker. At Pingpong4u we:

Use application forms to assess the candidate’s suitability for the role. This makes it easier to compare the experience of candidates and helps us to get all of the important information we need to ask.
Ensure that our staff attend safeguarding training
Staff and volunteers will be trained in line with Leeds City Council expectations
Safeguarding training will form part of induction of new staff and volunteers
Pingpong4u is committed to running training once per year
Have a commitment to safeguarding and protecting children. We include our Safeguarding policy in a job application pack.
Have a face-to-face interview with pre-planned and clear questions.
Include a question about whether they have any criminal convictions, cautions, other legal restrictions or pending cases that might affect their suitability to work with children.
Check the candidate’s identity by asking them to bring photographic ID.
Check the candidate actually holds any relevant qualifications they say they have.
Apply for a DBS check. This should be for all our staff who have contact with children or have access to your records, including volunteers, trustees, and committee members.
Always check any references they provide. Ask specifically about an individual’s suitability to work with children.
Provide them with a copy of our safeguarding procedures.

There may be occasions where we wish to appoint a worker from abroad. This will mean that DBS checks may not be able to be undertaken. Nevertheless a “fit person” check may be available from the country the person is moving from. We ensure that additional references are undertaken on any worker from abroad.

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF STAFF/VOLUNTEERS

All staff have an opportunity to discuss with their line manager any safeguarding matter giving them concern and this is best done by providing regular supervision.

Staff have regular supervision, where any concerns about any participants are shared immediately.

All staff are encouraged to discuss safeguarding issues immediately during any sessions that we run.

All information needs to be shared promptly and following the stages detailed in this policy, without delay and appropriate action taken immediately.

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST STAFF

Any allegation made against a member of staff is dealt with appropriately.

Any allegations made against a member of staff will be discussed with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

If the allegation is about a lead person in Pingpong4u then the matter should again be discussed with the LADO.

The worker must ensure that that the child is safe and away from the person against whom the allegation is made.

Regardless of whether a police and/or Children Social Work Service investigation follows, an internal investigation should take place and consideration is given to the operation of disciplinary procedures. This may involve an immediate suspension and/or ultimate dismissal dependant on the nature of the incident.

The contact details of the LADO can be found on the LSCB website under: Managing Allegations.

RECORDING AND MANAGING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The person who receives the allegation or has the concern should complete and sign a form.

Pingpong4u is committed to managing confidential information safely.

Paper information is stored in a secure filing cabinet in the company office.

The company computer is secure.

We acknowledge the rights of children and young people to confidentiality unless we consider that they could be at risk of abuse and/or harm. Pingpong4u has a form for recording concerns/allegations of abuse, harm and neglect. The form outlines the name of child, date of birth, date and details of incident.

DISTRIBUTING/ REVIEWING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

We distribute our policy to all staff, we review their all policies and procedures every year, by our directors.

Once they have been reviewed, annually they are signed by the Management Committee.

Our Policies and Procedures are displayed on our website and a copy can be made easily available to all staff and parents. See homepage of website. www.pingpong4u.co.uk

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES

Our policies and procedures are approved by our Management Committee. Our Committee understands that they are ultimately accountable for all that happens during our sessions and that includes the implementation of effective safeguarding procedures.

Some of the ways we achieve this are:

Provide written guidance to all staff and committee members
Ensure everyone understands their legal duties and responsibilities

Our Management committee also:

Develops a clear framework for behaviour management towards any children or young people
Provides information about procedures to follow if an allegation is made
Ensures all workers have training to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse
Ensures that all staff have enhanced DBS checks.
Have correct policies in place covering our activities eg: health and safety, lone working, etc.
Understands what is good safeguarding practice and takes responsibility for ensuring this is undertaken by all staff within our organisation
Ensures all workers understand that physical punishment or threat of physical punishment must never be used
Ensures that workers understand that verbal humiliation of children is unacceptable