Thursby Parish Hall Committee

Policy Title: Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

Owner: Thursby Parish Hall Committee
Date adopted: V2, 19 February 2024 . Review: January 2025
Review dates: January 2023 January 2024
Version control: V01 V02
Version changes Updated in line
or amendments: with statutory
guidance issued
by the Department
for Education
(DfE) in
December 2023.
Notes:

The purpose of this policy is to safeguard all children, young people and vulnerable adults
who receive services from or who a:end ac;vi;es at Thursby Parish Hall and all of those
within our community and beyond. It includes all users, hirers, volunteers, employees,
visitors and Trustees, all of whom share a responsibility to safeguard vulnerable adults and
children.

In line with updates to statutory guidance issued by the Department for Educa;on (DfE) in
December 2023, Trustees acknowledge our strong community links, which we know will be
of great value in iden;fying and effec;vely dealing with arising safeguarding issues.

This policy will provide Trustees and event and ac;vity organisers with the principles and
prac;ce which guide Trustees’ approach to safeguarding.

PLEASE NOTE THAT HIRERS, ACTIVITY LEADERS AND ORGANISERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
SAFEGUARDING ARRANGEMENTS WITHIN THEIR GROUP OR ACTIVITY.

HIRERS, ACTIVITY LEADERS, ORGANISERS AND ALL USERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
REPORTING ANY CONCERNS WITHOUT DELAY TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY (SEE
CONTACT DETAILS BELOW)

THE TRUSTEES’ SAFEGUARDING PERSON (SEE CONTACT DETAILS BELOW) CAN OFFER
APPROPRIATE ADVICE ON THIS PROCESS.

This policy will be made available to all who use the Hall at any ;me and for any ac;vity. It
will be:
• Included in the bookings pack
• Available to any person in paper version on request and
• Included in our online policy porMolio

In addi;on, a summary will be displayed in the entrance hall with direc;ons to this full
policy.

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 Thursby Parish Hall Committee

Trustees are commi:ed to ensuring that robust safeguarding policies and procedures are
in place and up to date and that all concerns are treated seriously and looked into and
handled promptly, sensi;vely and without fear or favour.

This policy is to be reviewed annually and updated accordingly. Trustees will receive a
Safeguarding report at every monthly mee;ng and Safeguarding will form part of the AGM
Report. The Trustees’ Safeguarding person will receive training and remain informed on
current legisla;on and guidance.

Procedures for Safeguarding

Groups and individuals hiring the Hall are responsible for their own safeguarding
arrangements. The Trustees’ duty is to ensure that all such individuals and groups are
informed of this responsibility so that any concerns are dealt with properly and promptly.
Organisers of ac;vi;es must disclose their Safeguarding Policy and Procedures to Trustees
on request. IF ORGANISERS DO NOT HAVE WRITTEN SAFEGUARDING POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES, THEY MUST AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE PROVISIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT.

Groups which serve the 3, 3-5 and 5-11 age groups will follow the Ofsted guidelines for
levels of supervision.

IF YOU HAVE A SERIOUS AND URGENT SAFEGUARDING CONCERN

CALL 999

OR

IF YOU HAVE A SERIOUS AND URGENT SAFEGUARDING CONCERN

CALL THE CUMBRIA SAFEGUARDING HUB
0333 240 1727

OR

ADULT SAFEGUARDING
0300 373 3732

OR

ADULT SAFEGUARDING (OUT OF HOURS)

01228 526690

THE PARISH HALL’S SAFEGUARDING PERSON IS

JOHN REGAN
01228 712094

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 Thursby Parish Hall Committee

Any person who has any safeguarding concerns, whether they take place within Thursby
Parish Hall or elsewhere, or to whom a disclosure has been made has a legal duty to take the
appropriate ac;on, which is to make a referral to an appropriate agency without delay.

It is far be:er to carry ma:ers further at an early stage and to risk unwelcome
consequences than to find at a later date that abuse has taken place but was ignored.

Any referral should be made without contac;ng any other person involved.

Any disclosure to a Trustee, member of staff, volunteer, user or hirer of the Hall must be
treated seriously and a referral must be made as soon as possible. When receiving a
disclosure it is strongly recommended that the disclosure should be recorded in wri;ng and
that this format should be followed. This record will form an essen;al part of a referral.

• Record the ;me and date

• Record clearly and simply what has been said. Do not include your own commentary
or personal view.
• Do not ask ques;ons other than to clarify what has been disclosed.
• Do not ask leading ques;ons
• Do not promise to keep what you’re told a secret. Confiden;ality cannot be
guaranteed where any individual may be in danger of any form of abuse.
• Do tell the disclosing person what you are going to do next
• Do not make promises you cannot keep

Further Reading

For further background informa;on, the following are useful sources.

• Safeguarding and protec;ng people for chari;es and trustees (Gov.uk)

• Handling safeguarding allega;ons in a charity (Gov.uk)
• Safeguarding adults (SCIE)
• Safeguarding children and child protec;on (NSPCC)
• Or, to find out what can go wrong, Google ‘Victoria Climbie’.

Date Policy and Procedures adopted …………………..

Date of next review …………………..

Signed (Chair) …………………..

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 Thursby Parish Hall Committee

Appendix One

Types of Abuse

• Sexual harassment, abuse and exploita;on

• Cyber abuse
• Modern day slavery (Human Trafficking)
• Neglect
• Self-neglect
• Physical abuse
• Emo;onal abuse
• Bullying or harassment
• Extremism and radicalisa;on
• Forced marriage
• Any discrimina;on on any of the grounds of the Equality Act 2010 (includes racism,
sexism and homophobia)
• Grooming

Some Signs of Abuse

• A disclosure or expression of concern

• Unexplained marks, bruises, cuts or other signs of physical harm
• Being untypically withdrawn, wary or secre;ve
• Nervousness around certain people or in certain situa;ons
• Sudden change in mood, behaviour or response
• A person suddenly being withdrawn from a usual ac;vity
• A person being untypically unkempt, dirty or apparently neglected
• A person losing weight rapidly or being ill more frequently
• A person being very hungry or thirsty