Founders4Schools' Safeguarding Policy

Scope: This policy applies to all Founders4Schools staff, contractors, interns, Trustees and volunteers. Its purpose is to:

  • Protect children, and young people and vulnerable adults who use or benefit from Founders4Schools’ services.
  • Provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding and child protection.

Principles: Founders4Schools believes that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, and to keep them safe. We are committed to carrying out our work in a way that protects them.

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

  • Valuing them, listening to and respecting them; 
  • Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Officer for children and young people, and a Trustee who will lead on safeguarding matters;
  • Adopting child protection and safeguarding practices through procedures and guidance to staff and volunteers;
  • Developing and implementing an effective e-safety policy and related procedures;
  • Providing effective and relevant management for staff and volunteers, through supervision, support, training and assurance measures;
  • Provide regular training to the safeguarding lead of Founders4Schools in line with the requirements of the role of safeguarding leaders;
  • Ensuring all necessary checks are made including a DBS check prior to staff accessing any files. [It should be noted that educators are routinely informed that Volunteers are NOT DBS-checked];
  • Recording and storing personal information professionally and securely, and sharing information about safeguarding and good practice.
  • Ensuring that we have effective Safeguarding and Whistleblowing procedures in place.
  • Managing any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately and in accordance with the Complaints Procedure;
  • Ensure that staff and volunteers understand that they should not be left unsupervised with children and/or young people whilst at the school’s premises;
  • When volunteer business leaders visit schools, the school’s own safeguarding policies would take precedence for any visitors.
  • Provide Safeguarding training to staff every two years and within one month of recruitment.
  • Whenever Founders4Schools passes details of, or directs a child, young person or vulnerable adult to a third party organisation or agency Founders4Schools will ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) that such third party organisation or agency has a suitable safeguarding policy.

Photographs or Film Recordings

Whilst delivering any Founders4Schools-related activity, no member of staff or volunteers should take photographs, film footage or audio recording of children or young people without prior written permission from the parent/carer or, where delegated, a teacher.

Definitions

For the purposes of this policy:

  • A child or young person is any person under the age of 18 (as defined in the United Nations convention on the Rights of a Child);
  • A Vulnerable Adult is someone who, although not a child or young person, is or may be for any reason unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation;
  • Abuse is any kind of selfish act of oppression and harm, exploitation and manipulation of power by those in a position of authority over an individual or group of individuals including (and this list is not exhaustive): sexual or physical abuse, bullying, or harassment;

Contacts

If you need to discuss safeguarding matters concerning any activities facilitated by Founders4Schools, the following people are the initial point of contact:

Designated Safeguarding Officer:

Alison Rowan McEwan
Contact Email: Safeguarding@f4s.org.uk

Board of Trustees lead on Safeguarding:

Jonathan Pearl
Contact Email: Safeguarding@f4s.org.uk

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