SAFEGUARDING POLICIES & PROCEDURES:

 This document outlines the policies and procedures in place to protect individuals who come in to contact with our charity from harm. Plus details on safeguarding the charity from potential fraudulent funding claims, from the selling of items bought to help aid an individuals’ quality of life.

This includes:

• People who benefit from the charities work
• Staff
• Volunteers
• Those who come in to contact with the charity through its work.

Risks that trustees need to be aware of:

• Sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation.
• Negligent treatment
• Physical or emotional abuse
• Bullying or harassment
• Health and safety
• Commercial exploitation
• Extremism and radicalisation
• Forced Marriage
• Child Trafficking
• Female genital mutilation
• Discrimination on any of the grounds in the Equality Act 2010
• People may target your charity
• A charity’s culture may allow poor behaviour
• People may abuse a position of trust they hold within a charity.
• Online trolling/abuse.

Procedure(s) for Trustees:

Should any trustee believe that a safeguarding issue has arisen:

This should be shared with other trustees immediately.

• This can be undertaken by:

1. Arranging a face to face meeting
2. Group conference call.
3. Skype or other video calling methods.

• As standard practice minutes of the meetings should be taken and filed securely.

• Following the meeting, if a situation is deemed to be of a serious nature and potentially a legal matter, then the following should be adhered to:

1.  Contacting of the relevant authorities:

• Local police department.
• Local social services

If a situation isn’t a legal matter, the following should be offered:

• Suggesting they contact their GP.
• Suggesting the service user speak to their family members.
• Suggesting making contact with local counsellors.

Procedure(s) for users of the charity:

• If you have any concerns over safeguarding issues, users of the charity should make direct contact with the charity using the following contact details: gopi3ks@yahoo.com 
• If you have had previous contact with a trustee at the charity and would feel more comfortable contacting directly, then please use this contact method.
• You will receive a response within 3 days from one of our trustees outlining the following process:
• A meeting will take place between trustees to discuss how to proceed.
• The time frame for this will be relayed to the service user via the method in which they made contact.
• A response will then be sent explaining how the charity can help.

• If the situation is serious and of a legal nature this can take the form of:
  1. Contacting relevant authorities:
• Local police department.
• Local social services.

• If a situation isn’t a legal matter, the following can be proposed:
• Suggesting they contact their GP.
• Suggesting the service user speak to their family members.
• Suggesting making contact with local counsellors.

Health and Safety and First Aid Policy:

• All trustees, staff and volunteers have a responsibility to ensure that health and safety procedures are in place for all their service users.

Areas where health and safety procedures are needed, but not limited to:

• At fundraising events:
  • Securing of tables, roller banners, marques, that all food is covered and suitable for consumption.
  • That any vehicle being driven is within the speed limit and help is provided if there are a number of the general public in attendance.
• At organised events (family weekend)
  • Ensuring that members attending are aware of fire escapes and routes.
  • Dietary and allegen requirements have been appropriately forwarded to the correct team/staff member.
  • Service users are made aware of any trip or fall hazards in advance that could cause harm.
  • Every service user must be made aware of the nominated trustee, staff and/or volunteer as a go to should any issue arise.

First Aid Policy:

• There should be at least one trustee that has First Aid knowledge in attendance during any public event the charity attends.
• Service users should be made aware of who is the First Aider during any organised event.

Safeguarding Policies & Procedures to protect the charity:

Should any trustee feel that a funding claim has flagged up issues then the following procedure should be undertaken:

• This should be shared with other trustees immediately.

• This can be undertaken via various methods:
  • Arranging a face to face meeting.
  • Group conference call.
  • Skype or other video calling methods.

• As standard practice minutes of the meetings should be taken and filed securely.
• Should the trustees conclude that the claim isn’t genuine then a carefully worded letter/email is sent to the claimant stating that funding has been refused.

Protection for the charity of the selling of items funded to individuals.

• Any items bought to aid the quality of an individuals’ life should not be sold or passed on to any other parties when supplied and funded by the charity.