SAFEGUARDING POLICY

22.05.25

Review: 22.05.26

 

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Author: Tom Biddle

 

Introduction

Yellow Wood Education and Wellbeing Ltd exists to see people grow and thrive.  All young people and adults have the right to learn in a safe, and nurturing environment, free from harm and all types of abuse.  Yellow Wood is committed to ensuring these beliefs are upheld at all times and in all our work.  We will ensure that all participants, children and adults, are safeguarded and their welfare promoted.

 

This policy is guided by and has particular reference to the DfE publication ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024’, the DfE publication ‘Safeguarding Guidance for Outside School Providers, 2023’, and NSPCC Safeguarding and Child Protection published material.

 

The safeguarding policy applies to everyone involved with the work of Yellow Wood Ltd, including Directors, permanent and freelance staff, volunteers and all participants in our activities, including adults and children.  

 

The policy aims to help create an open atmosphere in which concerns can be promptly shared and responded to appropriately, from concerns that may seem minor to reports of abuse.  It aims to protect children and young people but also staff working with young people.  The policy aims to achieve this by setting out behaviour guidelines and a structure for implementation of the policy. 

 

The definition of the term ‘safeguarding’ as derived in this policy is taken from statutory guidance.

Safeguarding children is defined as: 

  • Protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online. 
  • Preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development. 
  • Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

Procedure for reporting a concern

 

The process you should follow for reporting a safeguarding matter is the same whether you are reporting a concern about a child or a concern about an adult’s behaviour.

 

  • If a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, please refer straight to the contact details in bold below.  
  • For all other safeguarding matters and disclosures: report any concern or disclosure that is a safeguarding matter as soon as possible to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).  In the case of Streams Learning Hub tuition, this will be Jo Sweetland – joannasweetland@gmail.com. In other activity this will be Tom Biddle – tom@yellowwood.org.uk. 
  • In circumstances where the concern relates to the DSL, the report should be made to childrens@somerset.gov.uk  
  • Record factual information clearly and in as much detail as possible, avoiding speculation or personal judgement. 
  • Include dates and times wherever relevant.  
  • The DSL will advise you whether an immediate report to social services or the police is required and the concern will be recorded in our Safeguarding Log.  You will always receive a response from Yellow Wood but it is recognised that details of further action and next steps may not be able to be shared with the reporting party where that would fail to balance the right to privacy of those mentioned in the report.  However, the right to privacy would not outweigh the need to escalate the report to the appropriate body where appropriate, or to take appropriate action ourselves as a company to safeguard those in our care.

 

If you are worried about a child or young person who could be in danger, please contact Children’s Social Care by phone on 0300 123 2224 or email childrens@somerset.gov.uk.  Otherwise, contact the police.

 

Code of Conduct

 

We expect all directors, staff and volunteers to read and agree to adhere to our code of conduct prior to starting any work or voluntary activity with Yellow Wood.

 

Safer Recruitment

 

Yellow Wood is committed to safer recruitment processes and practices which will include the following:

  • Enhanced DBS checks for any adults working with children or young people
  • References taken
  • Safeguarding questions as part of a recruitment process including assessing responses to scenario-based questions.
  • Assessing and meeting ongoing safeguarding training needs of staff and volunteers.
  • Ensuring familiarity with the document ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.
  • Ensuring staff are familiar with the process for reporting safeguarding concerns.
  • Fostering an atmosphere in which improvements to safeguarding processes are readily suggested and welcomed. 

 

Related Policies and Procedures

 

Incident Report: any health and safety incident, injury or near-miss should be recorded in the Yellow Wood Incident Report Form. If the report form link is not working, details of the incident should be emailed to info@yellowwood.org.uk.

Complaints Procedure: Yellow Wood is committed to engaging openly with any complaints or concerns and learning from them.  Please find our Complaints Procedure on our website.  

 

Training

 

Yellow Wood recognises the changing nature of the safeguarding world and the need for ongoing training in order to remain in a position to keep children, young people and staff safe.  All Yellow Wood staff will have undergone safeguarding training by a recognised provider within the last 12 months.  For freelance employees this training may have been provided elsewhere but the requirement remains the same.