Safeguarding policy

Date approved: November 2022
Review date: November 2024 – under review

Please be aware that this full policy may include acronyms or technical jargon used internally within Raven. If you have any questions, please contact us.

1. Purpose of the policy

1.1. This policy sets out Ravens approach to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults to prevent harm, and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect, and promoting their welfare and wellbeing, whilst living in a Raven home.

1.2. Raven has a duty to report protection concerns to statutory agencies, and assist with their enquiries or investigations, although responsibility for any legal action linked to safeguarding falls to statutory agencies or Police.

1.3. This policy should be considered alongside Ravens supporting Polices for Domestic Abuse, Modern Slavery, Hoarding and Cuckooing, as these matters all involve concerns for safety.

2. Scope of the policy

2.1. This policy applies to all staff, Board members and any volunteer working with or on behalf of Raven, who provide a service to our customer.

2.2. No single person can have a full picture of the needs and circumstance of a child or adult at risk, and if anyone is at risk they should receive the right help at the right time. Anyone at Raven who comes into contact with a customer at risk has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking appropriate, prompt action.

3. Detailed Policy Content

3.1. Raven will deliver effective safeguarding training to all customer facing staff, following statutory guidance & relevant legislation.

3.2. Raven recognises that it has a duty to protect customers and staff from all forms of abuse. These behaviours will not be tolerated. Raven has a number of Policies, procedures and guidance documents to manage allegations of abuse, dependant on both the victim and the perpetrator, that can be utilised. For example: Incident/Accident Reporting (for staff) Disciplinary Policy (for staff) Anti-Social Behaviour Policy (for customers) and Good Neighbour Agreements (for customers) all of which have a safeguarding element. Raven may also use the challenging behaviour policy to manage future contact with customers where required.

3.3. Raven is signed up to the Surrey Safeguarding Protocols and have a duty to treat allegations of abuse seriously and to report this to the relevant statutory authorities. When dealing with concerns in other areas Raven will follow the relevant processes that apply.

3.4. Raven will investigate any allegations of abuse relating to a member of staff, volunteer or Board Member and will follow employment policies, which could include, but is not limited to, disciplinary action or a capability process. If following an internal investigation, a member of staff, Board member or volunteer have been found to have perpetrated abuse, Raven will report this to the Police or external Safeguarding investigations.

3.5. When implementing this policy Raven will follow the practices, guidance and procedures relevant to the particular safeguarding concern. Examples of safeguarding concerns could be as follows (but is not limited to):

• Customer appears not understand what is being asked of them, or unable to retain information given to them and is distressed/agitated
• Customers living conditions are poor. Possibly cluttered or dirty and they seem to be unaware that this a problem
• Customers appearance is poor/appears frail/under nourished/dirty/struggles with mobility/evidence of recent or untreated injuries
• Concern relating to the tone, or language from a customer aimed at their child/children
• Concern relating to the tone, or language between adults in the home
• Evidence of drug use in the home or any items that could be used as a weapon
• Evidence that someone else may be controlling what happens or who the customer speaks to
• Evidence of other people in the property, particularly if unrelated to the customer

3.6. All staff will be expected to read and acknowledge their understanding of this policy, by completing the relevant training based on their role.

3.7. Raven has a dedicated Safeguarding Lead, as required, who has an overview of all reported incidents. Raven has a dedicated Safeguarding e-mail; safeguarding@ravenht.org.uk where concerns can be logged, then triaged within 24 hours, for appropriate/relevant action

The duty to safeguarding is underpinned in legislation and the key legislation relating to safeguarding includes, but is not limited to;

• Care Act 2014
• Children’s Act 2004 and “Working Together to Safeguard Children” (Department of Education 2015)
• Equality Act 2010*
• Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2016
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Mental Health Act 2007
• Safeguarding Vulnerable People Act 2006, as amended by the Protection of Freedom Act 2012
• Modern Slavery Act 2015
• Counter Terrorism Act 2018 (as amended)
• General Data Protection Regulations 2018

*The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as: “A physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on a person’s ability to do normal daily activities.”

4. Applicability

4.1. This policy is applicable to all Raven customers, including, but not limited to the following;

• All customers (including household members) in permanent & temporary accommodation, owned & managed by Raven
• All Leaseholders
• All Shared Ownership customers
• All customers supported by Ravens Parashoot Team
• All customers who receive support from our Employment Support Team
• All potential new customers to Raven, who have been nominated to us awaiting a home, or on our Direct Waiting list.

4.2. If a safeguarding concern is raised relating to a customer, staff should report this to their line manager, Ravens Safeguarding lead or via the dedicated e-mail address, where the matter will be triaged & appropriate action taken.

4.3. If a safeguarding concern is raised relating to a member of staff, volunteer or Board member this should be reported, in the first instance to either the line manager or to the People Team for further investigation and action.

5. Definitions

5.1. The definition of Adult Safeguarding is the process of protecting vulnerable adults from neglect, abuse or exploitation, underpinned by six key principles: Empowerment, Prevention, Proportionality, Protection, Partnership & Accountability

5.2. The definition of Child Safeguarding (anyone up to the age of 18 years old) is defined as protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment to their health or development and ensuring that they grow up in a safe environment with effective care.

5.3. It is critical that Raven supports the welfare of our customers and their household members and that any concerns for safety, not covered by other Raven procedures, should be reported to a line manager or Ravens Safeguarding lead for further investigation.

5.4. Investigations into concerns for safeguarding will be carried out by appropriately trained staff.

5.5. All details relating to an investigation, however minor MUST be recorded in accordance with Ravens procedures for customer contact.

5.6. Any investigation notes that are of a sensitive or explicit nature may be saved to files/folders that are password controlled.

6. Related policies and references for more information

7. Implementation procedures

7.1. A summary of this policy will be available on Raven’s website.

7.2. A summary of other associated Policies will also be available on the website, e.g Domestic Abuse and Hoarding.

7.3. Specific procedures will be operated for the different elements of this policy and procedures relating to the above processes are to be found in ILearn and linked to automated systems.

8. Policy impact

8.1. This Policy has a direct impact on any person or persons who are at risk of safeguarding concerns.

8.2. The IA has considered whether there is specific impact on customers due to protected characteristics. The position is positive as the Policy, in conjunction with our procedures and assessments ensures that customers are protected and Raven are able to support or signpost customers where necessary.

8.3. Raven is an active partner in many Surrey based Safeguarding meetings include Adult & Child Protection conferences and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference, linked to incidents or threats of Domestic Abuse, to ensure our customers voices are heard.