SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS POLICY AND PROCEDURE 

Every child, young person and adult has a right to be safe and happy in the activities which they undertake.  Belong defines children and young people as all those who are aged under 18. Belong, as an organisation that works with children, young people and adults, has taken has a duty of care to the children, young people and adults for whom we provide support or with whom we come into contact. 

Sometimes there are people who work, or seek to work with children, young people or adults who may pose a risk to them and who may harm them.  One of the reasons for having a robust Safeguarding Policy is to help reduce this risk.  It is important to put safeguards in place to prevent abuse in advance of any incident occurring – just as the same way health and safety precautions are put in place. This Safeguarding Policy is also intended to safeguard workers and volunteers from false allegations that could be made. 

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility 

Safeguarding refers to the activity which is undertaken to protect specific children, young people or adults who are suffering or are at risk of suffering significant harm.  As trustees, staff members or volunteers, everyone has a responsibility to safeguard children, young people and adults, as well as to promote their welfare. 

Children, young people and adults may be vulnerable to neglect and abuse or exploitation from within their family and from individuals they come across in their day-to-day lives. These threats can take a variety of different forms, including: sexual, physical and emotional abuse; neglect; domestic abuse, including controlling or coercive behaviour; exploitation by criminal gangs and organised crime groups; trafficking; online abuse; sexual exploitation and the influences of extremism leading to radicalisation. Whatever the form of abuse or neglect suspected or disclosed, trustees, staff members and volunteers should put the needs of children, young people and adults first when determining what action to take in response.  

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults – and in particular protecting them from significant harm – depends upon effective joint working between agencies and professionals that have different roles and expertise. Trustees, volunteers and staff members who are part of Belong should: 

• be alert to potential indicators of abuse or neglect; 

• be alert to the risks which abusers, or potential abusers, may pose to individuals; 

• share and help to analyse information so that an assessment can be made of the child, young person or adult’s needs and situation;  

• contribute to actions that are needed to safeguard and promote the person’s welfare;  

• take part in regularly reviewing the outcomes for the person against any specific plans; 

• work co-operatively with parents/carers unless this is inconsistent with ensuring safety. 

 

Definitions of abuse and neglect: 

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child, young person or adult. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child, young person or adult by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children, young people and adults 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/young person or children/young people. 

Physical abuse 

This may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, suffocating, or otherwise physically harm a child, young person or adult. Physical harm may also be caused by a parent/carer fabricating the symptoms of, or deliberately inducing illness in a child, young person or adult. 

Emotional abuse    

This involves the persistent emotional mistreatment of a child, young person or adult such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on their emotional development and/or well-being. It may involve conveying to individuals that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving a person opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children and young people. These may include interactions that are beyond the child and young persons developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child or young person participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children, young people or adults frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children, young people or adults. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of abuse of a child, young person or adult, although it may occur alone. 

Sexual abuse 

This involves forcing or enticing someone to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, when the individual is or isn’t aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children, young people or adults in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children, young people or adults to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child, young people or adult in preparation for abuse (including via the internet).  

Neglect 

This is the persistent failure to meet a child, young person or adult’s basic physical or psychological need, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child, young person or vulnerable adult’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy because of maternal substance abuse. Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to: 

• provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); 

• protect a child, young person or adult from physical and emotional harm or danger; 

• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or 

• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. 

 

Induction and training  

All trustees, staff members and volunteers will be given details of this policy as part of their induction and participate in training courses which include guidance on safeguarding issues. From this training trustees, staff members and volunteers should be able to recognise signs of abuse and know how to respond to disclosures of abuse, as well as the appropriate reporting systems for this.  These are outlined in this policy. All staff members and volunteers will be adequately supervised in relation to these issues and their progress reviewed on a regular basis.  

Further written guidance and information regarding safeguarding in prison settings and safeguarding in community settings is available to staff members, volunteers and trustees via the shared HR policies egress area.  

Safeguarding procedure; this should be followed if a staff member, trustee or volunteer has concerns about someone’s safety or wellbeing. 

You may have concerns about a child, young person or adult because of something that you have seen or heard, or a child, young person or adult may disclose something to you.  If someone discloses information to you that causes you to be concerned about their safety, you must: 

• Contact emergency services immediately if there is an imminent and serious danger. 

• Not promise confidentiality, as you have a duty to share this information so that a referral can be made to Children or Adults Social Care Services if necessary. 

• Listen to what is being said or presented, without displaying shock or disbelief. 

• Accept what is said and/or being presented. 

• Reassure the person but only as far as is honest. Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep, for example ‘Everything will be alright now’ or ‘You’ll never have to see that person again’. 

• Help to alleviate guilt, e.g. you could say, ‘You’re not to blame’, ‘you’re doing the right thing.’ 

• Do not interrogate or ask leading questions (e.g. “Did he hit you?”) 

• Ask open questions such as “Do you have anything else to tell me?” 

• Don’t ask the person disclosing to you to repeat the information for another volunteer or colleague.  

• Explain what you have to do next and who you have to talk to. 

• Take notes if possible or write up your conversation as soon as possible afterwards – recording the date, time, place, non-verbal behaviour and the actual words used by the person disclosing. 

• Record statements and observable things and make it clear in your recording if something is an interpretation or assumption rather than a statement or fact.  

• Make a safety plan with the person if they are in the community, using the template available in the community safeguarding guidance.  

• Provide as much information as possible about your concerns to the relevant team in the prison, or in the community, and then to your line manager – so that a decision can be made about the appropriate next steps to ensure safety and protect wellbeing.  

 

On the following page is a flow chart outlining the main steps that staff members, trustees or volunteers should take if they have a safeguarding concern.   

Allegations of abuse involving a trustee, member of staff or volunteer 

Belong has effective recruitment and human resources procedures including assessing evidence (e.g. DBS checks, references) for all trustees, staff members and volunteers, to verify that they are safe to work with and/or make decisions about children, young people and adults.  However, there may still be times when an allegation is made against a trustee, member of staff or volunteer. All allegations of abuse of children, young people and adults by those who work with or care for them must be taken seriously.   

Every organisation is required to have a named Safeguarding Lead who will receive all reports of allegations.  Belong’s named Safeguarding Lead is the CEO, Esther Wanjie-Nyeko.  The following procedure will be applied in all situations where it is alleged that a trustee, staff member or volunteer: 

• Behaved in a way which has or could have harmed a child, young person or adult. 

• Committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, young person or adult. 

• Behaved towards a beneficiary in a way which indicates that they are unsuitable to work with children, young people or adults. 

The allegations may relate to the persons behaviour at work, at home or in another setting, and may come from the service user, their family or a member of staff from another agency. 

All reports should be made to the Initial Response and Assessment Team at the relevant Local Authority’s Social Care Services. Where the safety of other service users or members of the public is in question as a result of the allegation, this must be made clear to the Initial Response and Assessment Team. The Initial Response and Assessment Team is the team responsible for investigating allegations of abuse and liaising with the reporting member of Belong in doing this. Depending on the results of this assessment the team would then close the case or pass it to Children or Adults Social Care Services for ongoing help and support.  

Consideration must also be given to reporting the allegations to the prison service, local probation or youth offending team, or other commissioner where relevant. A member of the trustee board must also be consulted, and it will normally be appropriate to inform the full trustee board of the allegations.  

Some allegations are so serious as to require immediate referral to the Children or Adults Social Care Services and the Police. If a serious allegation is not patently false and there is cause to suspect that a child, young person or adult is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, the Initial Response and Assessment Team will immediately refer the matter to the Children or Adults Social Care Services and ask for a Strategy Discussion/Meeting to be convened straight away. Where a referral is made directly to Children or Adults Social Care Services, they will consult with the Initial Response and Assessment Team, the Police and an appropriate representative of Belong. 

Some allegations may be less serious and might not seem to warrant consideration of a police investigation or enquiries by Social Care Services. However, it is important to ensure that even apparently less serious allegations are followed up and examined objectively by someone independent of Belong.  In addition, such allegations may give rise to complaints of poor practice, which should be considered in line with Belong’s complaints and disciplinary procedures. 

Please contact us if you have any questions about this policy. 

Last updated September 2025.