Children & Adults Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

Transcription

1 Children & Adults Safeguarding Policy and Procedures Title Author/Lead Officer Position Department/Section Contact details Safeguarding Policy & Procedures Caroline Walker Head of Community Services Community Services Office: Document control Date Comments Draft Produced 21/3/17 Safeguarding Forum 25/7/17 Comments received and included as appropriate GCC 21/8/17 Comments received from Sarah Jasper, Acting Head of Safeguarding Adults and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, GCC. External Advice 25/9/17 Comments received from Dave Wasley, Independent Safeguarding Consultant. Safeguarding forum approval 03/10/17 LT Approval 11/01/18 ET Approval 16/01/18 CBH Board Approval 31/01/18 Target Review January 2019 Owned By- CBH Community Services CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

2 Table of Contents Section Page Policy Introduction 4 Aims and Objectives 4 Policy Scope 5 Context 5 Legislation and Guidance 6 Partnership Working and Sharing of Information 7 Safer Recruitment 7 Reporting a Safeguarding Concern 7 Training 8 Accountability and Monitoring 8 Performance Monitoring 8 Further information 9 Appendix 1 CBH Children s Safeguarding Working Procedure Appendix 2 CBH Adult s Safeguarding Working Procedure CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

3 This document is available through our website or can be supplied free of charge, upon request. If you would like a translation or would prefer this information in Braille, large print or audio tape, please contact us on: or communityinvolvement@cbh.org Bengali/ evsjv hw` Avcwb GB Z_ Abyev` AvKv i c Z Pvb, Zvn j `qv K i Avgv `i mv _ b ^ i ev communityinvolvement@cbh.org B gbj wvkvbvq hvmv hvm Ki b Portuguese/ Português Caso pretenda uma tradução desta informação, por favor contacte-nos através do: ou por communityinvolvement@cbh.org Polish/ Polski Jeśli chcieliby Państwo otrzymać tłumaczenie niniejszych informacji, prosimy o kontakt pod numerem telefonu lub pisząc na adres: communityinvolvement@cbh.org Cantonese/ 廣東話倘若您想要此資訊的翻譯, 請聯絡我們 : , 或發送電郵 : communityinvolvement@cbh.org Turkish/ Türkçe Bu bilgilerin kendi dilinize tercüme edilmesini isterseniz, lütfen numaralı telefondan ya da communityinvolvement@cbh.org adresinden bizimle irtibata geçin. Spanish/ Español Si le gustaría ver esta información traducida, póngase en contacto con nosotros en el número: o envíe un a communityinvolvement@cbh.org Gujarati/ ÃðÉßëÖí½ õ ÖÜÞõ ±ë ÜëìèÖíÞð_ Ûëæë_Öß ÀßëÝõáð_ ½õ Öð_ èùý, Öù ÜèõßÚëÞí ÀßíÞõ ±Üëßù Õß ç_õàó Àßù ± äë ±ÜÞõ communityinvolvement@cbh.org Õß Üõ á Àßù CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

4 Policy Introduction Everyone who works for Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. CBH delivers services and activities within the community, in our offices and in people s homes and we are therefore well placed to identify, support and help protect adults and children who may be at risk from abuse and neglect. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: Protecting children from maltreatment Preventing impairment of children s health or development Ensuring children grow up in circumstances consistent with provision of safe and effective care and Taking action to enable children to have the best outcome (Working together to safeguard children HM Government - March 2015) For safeguarding adults the Care Quality Commission refers to this as: Protecting their rights to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect People and organisation s working together to prevent the risk of abuse or neglect, and to stop them from happening Making sure people's wellbeing is promoted, taking their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs into account More recently, a number of case reviews have also indicated that housing providers could or should have played a more effective role in safeguarding. This policy should be read in conjunction with the CBH Safeguarding Children Working Procedure (Appendix 1) and the CBH Safeguarding Adults Working Procedure (Appendix 2) Aims and Objectives At CBH our aim is: To help protect a child and adults right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. Our policy objectives are to ensure that we: Raise awareness of safeguarding with our colleagues, contractors and board members and help partner agencies understand the role housing can play in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults Ensure that CBH colleagues, board members and contractors are able to report safeguarding concerns appropriately Implement procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse in line with those recommended by Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children s Board (GSCB) and Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board (GSAB) Actively encourage safe working practices whilst working with children and adults at risk, ensuring that we protect children and vulnerable adults from harm when using CBH services CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

5 Practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of colleagues to work with children and adults at risk Adopt a child centred approach and ensure that we do not lose sight of the needs and views of children Make safeguarding personal, meaning that whenever possible we should engage the adult who may be at risk in a conversation about how best to respond to their safeguarding situation Help to identify those adults as early as possible who may be vulnerable and require tenancy or life style support by way of referral/signposting to other statutory or voluntary agencies Ensure that colleagues, board members & contractors have effective training and support to allow them to safeguard children and vulnerable adults Policy Scope For the purpose of this policy, a child is: Anyone who has not yet reached his or her 18th birthday. Children therefore means children and young people throughout, including unborn children. The fact that a child has reached 16 years of age, is living independently or is in further education, is a member of the armed forces, is in hospital, in prison or in a Young Offenders Institution, does not change his or her status or entitlement to services or protection under the Children Act For the purpose of this policy, an adult is aged 18 or over who: has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting these needs and regardless of whether the adult lacks mental capacity or not) and is experiencing, or is at risk of abuse or neglect and as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect (Care Act 2014 Section 42) The Care Act Statutory Guidance defines care and support needs as: The mixture of practical, financial and emotional support for adults who need extra help to manage their lives and be independent, including, older people, people with a disability or long-term illness, people with mental health problems, and carers. Care and support includes assessment of people s needs, provision of services and the allocation of funds to enable a person to purchase their own care and support. It could include care home, home care, personal assistants, day services, or the provision of aids and adaptations. This policy applies to all colleagues (full time, temporary, casual or part time), volunteers and those working on behalf of CBH whose work involves contact with adults and children. Whilst CBH have no legal responsibility to advise or to train our contractors, we will endeavour to raise awareness and share good practice with everyone we work with. Context The CBH 2020 vision Making Cheltenham a better place to live by providing great homes and stronger communities recognises the need to develop the role of CBH within communities to help identify those that may be in need of safeguarding and CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

6 also recognises the importance of working in partnership to improve the lives of our customers. Locally we cooperate with statutory agencies at all levels of responsibility from our Chief Executive being a member of the Safeguarding Adults Board through to front line colleagues fulfilling their roles in a manner consistent with agreed guidance. Legislation & Guidance There is no single piece of legislation that covers safeguarding but rather a number of laws that have evolved over the years. Safeguarding Adults The Care Act 2014 put Safeguarding Adults onto a legal footing and made it compulsory for local authorities to make enquiries, or cause them to be made, if it believes an adult is subject to, or at risk of, abuse or neglect. The act also makes it compulsory for each local authority area to set up a Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB). This has been well established in Gloucestershire for some years now. Legislation and guidance CBH should have regard to is: Equality Act 2010 Human Rights Act 1998 Mental Capacity Act 2005 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (Amendments 2012) Sexual Offences Act 2003 Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 Serious Crime Act 2015 created a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship Adult Safeguarding for housing staff: Guidance for frontline housing staff and contractors, Social Care Institute for Excellence April 2014 Multi-agency policy & procedures for the protection of adults with care & support needs in Gloucestershire (August 2016) Safeguarding Children Legislation and guidance CBH should have regard to is: Children s Act 1989 and 2004 Sex Offenders Act 1997 Data Protection Act 1998 Protection of Children Act 1999 Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 The Forced Marriage Act (Civil Protection) 2007 Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Children and Families Act 2014 United Nations Conventions on the rights of a child Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 Gloucestershire Child Protection Procedure, Flowchart January 2017 CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

7 Partnership working and the Sharing of Information CBH supports the sharing of information and will work in partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucestershire Safeguarding Boards, the Children s and Young Peoples Department (CYPD), Social Services, and Gloucestershire Police in order to contribute to effective partnership working. There is an increasing emphasis on integrated working across services and CBH plays an important role within this as a provider of front line services. When sharing information, CBH will have regard to the provisions within the Data Protection Act 1998, emerging UK data protection legislation and HM guidance on Information Sharing, March 2015 in order to help ensure that information is shared, stored and disposed of appropriately and securely. The sharing of information can help enable early intervention and also help prevent abuse from occurring. CBH will ensure that any concerns raised will be dealt with discreetly and sensitively and information passed onto agencies will be kept securely. They will also ensure that the information shared is necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate and timely. If there is any doubt as to whether the information should be shared, advice can be sought from the Business Support Team at CBH. Safer Recruitment CBH has a robust recruitment checking and vetting process and all candidates need to satisfy the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. This includes verification of the candidates identity, employment history (3 years with 28 day gap verification,) basic criminal disclosure and the right to work in the UK. While currently no posts at CBH fall within a regulated activity this is regularly considered and employees will have an enhanced disclosure check if required. Reporting a Safeguarding Concern It is not the responsibility of CBH colleagues to decide whether a child/ adult is being abused, but it is the responsibility of all colleagues to be aware of and be alert to indicators of abuse and to report all concerns in accordance with the approved procedures. CBH has a set of safeguarding working procedures, which detail how colleagues can report concerns of abuse or neglect, to the Children s helpdesk at Social Services, Adults helpdesk or to the Police. CBH has appointed and trained a number of Safeguarding Champions, to help deal with any concerns raised by colleagues, volunteers, contractors or board members. CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

8 Training All managers have a responsibility to identify the training needs of colleagues appropriate to their role and contact with children and vulnerable adults. Front line service delivery colleagues and Safeguarding Champions will receive training every 3 years. Safeguarding Champions will receive additional training. Non-frontline colleagues will receive more general safeguarding awareness training every three years. The HR team and Safeguarding Champions will be jointly responsible for maintaining records of colleague training and ensuring that new colleagues are trained with regard to their safeguarding responsibilities during the induction process. Accountability and Monitoring Corporate accountability for ensuring that CBH fulfils its safeguarding duties is the responsibility of the Chief Executive. CBH Head of Community Services is the lead responsible person for safeguarding in CBH. This role includes ensuring that this policy and procedure are implemented and that colleagues are provided with support, advice and guidance as required. In terms of operational responsibility, this sits with the Safeguarding Champions who form the Safeguarding Forum. They are responsible for: Ensuring the safeguarding policy and procedure are reviewed and updated in line with any legislative updates and best practice Receiving and recording information regarding concerns Consulting with the relevant statutory agencies regarding any concerns raised Making formal referrals to relevant statutory agencies regarding any concerns Assisting in the provision of awareness training to staff and contractors Reviewing concerns raised and the outcomes from these Implementing any actions from the Safeguarding Forum Implementing learning from best practice and serious case reviews All colleagues will be responsible for ensuring the activities they are involved in during the course of their work are carried out in accordance with this policy. Managers are responsible for ensuring that their colleagues are aware of this policy and follow procedures correctly. Performance Monitoring CBH will record safeguarding performance information in a monthly compliance report. This data will be reviewed by CBH Leadership and Executive Teams An annual summary of CBH safeguarding performance will be reported to Board The following safeguarding performance information will be recorded (monthly) 1) Number of children / adult safeguarding referral to Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) 2) Of children/ adult safeguarding referrals made, number accepted by GCC 3) Number of Children / adult concerns raised by CBH team CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

9 1) Community Services 2) Housing Services 3) Property Services 4) External Contractors 5) Other Further information For further information, guidance and support on the implementation of this Safeguarding Policy, please contact Caroline Walker, Head of Community Services CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

10 . CBH Safeguarding Policy and Procedures