Safeguarding Children Policy Statement
Safeguarding children is the responsibility of everyone
Statement of commitment
We are aware that many children and young people are victims of different kinds of abuse. At Tiny Teas we aim to create an environment that is safe, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to protect children, promote their welfare and support their families.
Purpose of this policy
The purpose of this policy is to:
- Effectively safeguard children and promote their rights and welfare
- Provide all staff and volunteers with clear rules to follow
- Make all staff and volunteers aware of what is expected of them in terms of their approach, behaviour and actions
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Evidence to Tiny Teas users, parents and carers, the local community, partner organisations, the Local Authority and funding and commissioning bodies that Tiny Teas is committed to safeguarding.
Scope of this policy
This policy applies to all Tiny Teas staff and volunteers, including non-executive directors, trustees, sessional workers, students on work placements and anyone working on behalf of Tiny Teas.
Definitions
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the process of:
- Protecting children from maltreatment.
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development.
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances.
Child Protection is the process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or at risk of suffering significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect.
Legislative framework
At Tiny Teas we recognise our legal responsibility to safeguard children and promote their welfare. We will therefore act within the framework set by the Children Act 1989 and The Children Act 2004. We will also follow the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 guidance.
As our safeguarding procedures we adopt the Kingston and Richmond LSCB Safeguarding Children Guidance 2017 (The Green Book).
Underlying principles
At Tiny Teas we will endeavour to safeguard children by:
- Following the Green Book guidance in our day-to-day work
- Listening to children and young people and respecting and valuing them at all times
- Challenging discrimination and promoting the right to equal protection regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, faith, gender, sexual orientation, disability, social or immigration status or any other element of diversity
- Providing effective management to staff and volunteers through support, supervision and training.
- Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring that all necessary checks are made, and safe recruitment good practice guidelines are followed
- Responding to both child protection and non-child protection concerns immediately
- In cases of doubt, questions or need for guidance, always seeing advice by calling the Single Point of Access
- SPA (for both Kingston & Richmond: 020 8547 5008), or, in cases involving staff/volunteers, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) via Single Point of Access (SPA)
- Working in partnership with children, their parents and carers, members of the local community and local statutory and voluntary organisations
- Adhering to the attached Code of Behaviour for staff and volunteers at all times
Details of the Designated Safeguarding lead and their Deputy
The Designated Safeguarding Lead for Tiny Teas is:
Name: Caitlin Shorricks
Job/role title: Founder
Email: caitlin@tinyteastrust.org
The Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead for Tiny Teas is:
Name: Kat Paylor-Bent
Job/role title: Production Director
Email: kat@tinyteastrust.org
Review arrangements
Tiny Teas will review this policy annually. In cases of relevant legal or local procedures changes, we will review this policy accordingly.
This policy statement was adopted by the Board of Trustees on 10th April 2021
Last review of this policy 21st March 2023