Safeguarding Children and Young People

Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults

Policy & Procedures

A set of agreed policies and procedures
for ensuring a safe environment for
children and young people
within the care of our church,
in response to the Children’s Act 1989.

FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT THE TERM ‘CHILDREN’ REFERS TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 YEARS.

Policy Statement

Safeguarding Children and Young People at East Barnet Baptist Church

The vision of East Barnet Baptist Church ("the church") is: Loving Jesus: serving the Community.

In fulfilling this vision, the church

• has a programme of activities with children and young people

• welcomes children and young people into the life of our community

• makes our premises available to organisations working with children and young people

The church recognises its responsibilities for the safeguarding of all children and young people under the age of 18 (regardless of gender, ethnicity, or ability) as set out in The Children Act 1989 and 2004, Safe from Harm (HM Government 1994) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government 2018).

As members of this church, we commit ourselves to the nurturing, protection and safeguarding of all children and young people associated with the church and will pray for them regularly.

In pursuit of this we commit ourselves to the following policies and to the development of procedures to ensure their implementation.

Prevention and reporting of abuse and responding to concern
It is the duty of each church member and each member of the wider church family to prevent the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of children and young people and the duty of all to respond to concerns about the well-being of children and young people and to report any child abuse disclosed, discovered or suspected. The church will fully co-operate with any statutory investigation into any suspected abuse linked with the church.

Safe recruitment, support, and supervision of workers
The church will exercise proper care in the selection and appointment of those working with children and young people, whether paid or voluntary. All workers will be provided with appropriate training, support, and supervision to promote the safeguarding of children.

Safe behaviour: a code of behaviour for workers
The church will adopt a code of behaviour for all who are appointed to work with children and young people so that all children and young people are shown the respect that is due to them.

Safe practice and safe premises
The church is committed to providing a safe environment for activities with children and young people and will adopt ways of working with children and young people that promote their safety and well-being.

A safe community
The church is committed to the prevention of bullying of children and young people. The church will seek to ensure that the behaviour of any who may pose a risk to children and young people in the community of the church is managed appropriately.

Responsible people
The church has appointed Elom Benneh as the Safeguarding Trustee to oversee and monitor implementation of the policy and procedures on behalf of the church's charity trustees.
The church has appointed Elom Benneh as the Designated Person for Safeguarding to:

• advise the church on any matters related to the safeguarding of children and young people

• take the appropriate action when abuse is disclosed, discovered, or suspected.

Policy and procedures

A copy of the policy statement will be displayed permanently on the noticeboard in the main church hall and in the sanctuary.

Each worker with children and young people whether paid or voluntary will be given a full copy of the policy and procedures and will be required to follow them.

A full copy of the policy and procedures will be made available on request to any member of the church, the parents or carers of any child or young person from the church or any other person associated with the church.

The policy and procedures will be monitored and reviewed at least annually.

The policy statement will be read annually at the church meeting in July together with a report on the outcome of the annual review.

East Barnet Baptist Church Safeguarding Team

The church has appointed:
Elom Benneh, Designated Person for Safeguarding and Safeguarding Trustee
She will advise the church on any matters related to the safeguarding of children and take the appropriate action when abuse is disclosed, discovered, or suspected. She will oversee and monitor the implementation of the policy and procedures on behalf of the church's charity trustees

Teclaire Atanga, Deputy Designated Person for Safeguarding
She will deputise for Elom, in safeguarding matters, when necessary.
When possible, the Safeguarding Team will work together if issues arise.

Policy and Procedures

A copy of the policy statement will be displayed permanently on the noticeboard in the main church hall and in the sanctuary. Each worker with children will be given a full copy of the Policy and Procedures and will be asked to sign that they are willing to follow them.

A full copy of the Policy and Procedures will be made available on request to any member of, or other person associated with the church.

The Policy and Procedures will be monitored and reviewed annually.

The Policy Statement will be read annually at the Annual Church Meeting in July together with a report on the outcome of the annual review.

Definitions of Abuse

Understanding, Recognising and Responding to Abuse
Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child or adult at risk. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child or adult by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children and adults at risk may be abused in a family, or in an institutional or community setting; by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults or a child or children. There are many different ways in which people suffer abuse. The list below is, sadly, not exhaustive.

Physical Abuse
Actual or likely physical injury to a child, or failure to prevent physical injury to a child.

Emotional Abuse
The persistent, emotional, ill treatment of a child that affects their emotional and behavioural development.  It may involve conveying to the child that they are worthless and unloved, inadequate, or that they are given responsibilities beyond their years.

Sexual Abuse
Involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.  This includes no-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect
Where adults fail to care for children and protect them from danger, seriously impairing health, and development.
Whilst it is not possible to be prescriptive about the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect, the following list sets out some of the indicators which might be suggestive of abuse:

• unexplained injuries on areas of the body not usually prone to such injuries

• an injury that has not been treated/received medical attention

• an injury for which the explanation seems inconsistent

• a child discloses behaviour that is harmful to them

• unexplained changes in behaviour or mood (e.g., becoming very quiet, withdrawn, or displaying sudden bursts of temper)

• inappropriate sexual awareness

• signs of neglect, such as under-nourished, untreated illnesses, inadequate care.

It should be recognised that this list is not exhaustive and the presence of one or more indicators is not in itself proof that abuse is actually taking place. It is also important to remember that there might be other reasons why most of the above are occurring.

Responding to Concerns

What do we do if abuse is suspected or disclosed?

Everyone has his or her part to play in ensuring the safeguarding of children within the church.
If the behaviour of a child gives any cause for concern –
If an allegation is made in any context about a child being harmed –
If the behaviour of any adult (including colleagues and members of the public) towards children causes you concern –
     Do not dismiss your concerns
     Do not normally confront the adult about whose behaviour you have concerns
     Do not take responsibility for deciding whether child abuse is actually taking place
     Do not investigate allegations yourself
     Do not act alone
     Do not take sole responsibility for what has been shared or any concerns you may have
     Do follow the church's procedures for responding to concerns