Safeguarding Policy

Hamish & Milo Ltd

4, Gaunts Business Centre
Petersham Lane
Gaunts Common
Dorset
BH21 4JT

Designated Safeguarding Lead
Clare Williams – Author & Creator

Policy contents

  1. Introduction and context
  2. Scope of the policy
  3. Safeguarding duties
  4. Identifying those at risk
  5. Procedure for reporting, recording and managing safeguarding concerns
  6. Safeguarding children in schools
  7. Implementation and monitoring
  8. Appendix

1. Introduction and context

Protecting people and safeguarding responsibilities is a priority for Hamish & Milo. This includes recognising that safeguarding and protecting people from harm goes beyond simply implementing policies and processes. As a fundamental responsibility, safeguarding and protecting people must go to the heart of the company’s culture.

Hamish & Milo aim to provide a safe, trusted environment for all employees, volunteers and beneficiaries and to respond promptly and appropriately to reports of children or adults who are actually or potentially at risk. We do this by:

  • Safeguarding the welfare of all our, employees, researchers and volunteers, embedding it in everything that we do.
  • Ensuring safer recruitment practices (see appendices).
  • Conducting a rolling programme of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on relevant employees and volunteers and maintain an up to date single central record.
  • Building recruitment, selection and training procedures for employees and volunteers, including ensuring they read, understand and follow this policy.
  • Requiring all relevant staff, researchers and volunteers to complete a safeguarding children level 2 course.
  • Having procedures to ensure that concerns of abuse or neglect are dealt with appropriately and that action is taken promptly.
  • Providing all employees, researchers and volunteers with access to a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

2. Scope of the policy

Hamish & Milo supports and works with a wide range of people throughout the UK and we recognise that some people we are in contact may be at risk of harm. Hamish & Milo supports the rights of people to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. We aim to provide a safe and trusted environment that safeguards everyone, including beneficiaries, employees, researchers and volunteers.

The aim of this policy is to set out how the company promotes an organisational culture that prioritises safeguarding and manages reported incidents or concerns sensitively and properly. It demonstrates how safeguarding concerns and incidents are prevented, identified and handled, and the responsibilities of the Directors to ensure that risks are managed appropriately with clear routes of escalation. Ultimately, directors have accountability to safeguard children and adults at risk and protect anyone that encounters the company from harm.

Safeguarding adults means protecting a person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent or stop abuse and neglect. Every person has the right to be treated with dignity, have their choices respected and live a life free from fear.

3. Safeguarding duties

The Directors have the following responsibilities:

  • To take reasonable steps to protect people who encounter the company from harm, including:
    • people who benefit from the company’s work (beneficiaries) – including children
    • employees and contractors
    • researchers
    • volunteers
    • This may also include other people who encounter the company through its work.
  • Promote the wellbeing and welfare of beneficiaries. This involves managing safeguarding risks, conducting an annual review of the Safeguarding Policy, and making sure this is available to the public, all employees, researchers, volunteers and beneficiaries.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead role within Hamish & Milo is Clare Williams – Author and Creator who can be contacted by email clare@hamishandmilo.org or by phone on 07765 225131.

4. Identifying those at risk

The following is a list of ways in which a safeguarding incident may occur. (It is noted that this list is not exhaustive):

  1. Contact made to Hamish & Milo for example via its website, from members of the public
  2. Becoming aware of incidents at a school that the company is working in, either just by being within the school or via a teacher or other school leader whom the company is providing services to
  3. Events and talks
  4. Employee/contractor/researcher/volunteer report or complaint
  5. Beneficiary reporting an incident or complaint

Procedure for reporting, recording and managing safeguarding concerns

The priority is to ensure the safety and protection of the person at risk of harm. To this end it is the responsibility of all employees and volunteers to act on any concerns of abuse or neglect and pass these to a Designated Lead within the company. It is not the responsibility of anyone working, either paid or unpaid, within the company, to decide whether abuse has taken place or to carry out an investigation as this is the role of the local authority and/or police. These agencies hold the lead responsibility for establishing and co-ordinating the local intra-agency framework for safeguarding.

  • If someone with whom the company is in contact with makes a disclosure of abuse or neglect, care should be taken to explain to them that a report will be made to the Designated Lead and/or appropriate agency. If it is considered by an employee or volunteer that someone is in immediate danger, then the police should be contacted without delay and a report made to a Designated Lead. Any suspected abuse or neglect must be reported to a Designated Lead as soon as is practically possible, and in most cases on the same day that the incident occurs or within 24 hours at the latest, so a decision can be made as to who will report the concerns to the appropriate agency.
  • If an employee or volunteer is suspected of abuse this must be brought to the immediate attention of a Designated Safeguarding Lead who will alert the appropriate agency. A Designated Safeguarding Lead may suspend or remove from active service the employee or volunteer pending the outcome of an investigation. If the Designated Safeguarding Lead is suspected of abuse this must be reported to a member of the board.
  • Any concern should be documented in writing in appropriate detail and updated with further actions and outcomes and stored in a protected file to be accessed only by the Designated Lead.
  • If a child makes a disclosure tell a member of school staff (ideally the Designated Safeguarding Lead within the school and note down who has been told). Inform the Hamish & Milo Designated Safeguarding Lead ASAP after leaving the school and record on incident proforma.
  • Personal information may be disclosed without the individual’s consent if there are reasonable grounds to believe that an individual is at risk of harm.
  • The Designated Safeguarding Lead must then report the matter to an appropriate local agency or the police as soon as reasonably practicable, if appropriate depending on the nature of harm reported (and if this has not already happened under point 4 above), and must take all other necessary actions depending on the matter reported such as:
    • Co-operating with relevant agencies
    • Reviewing actions taken
    • Supporting person(s) who have made the report
    • Keep appropriate records, bearing in mind the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations
    • Assessing whether there are any other wider risks that require consideration
    • Alerting the Designated Lead within the school/setting

Safeguarding children in schools

As part of the company’s work there is the potential that Hamish & Milo staff, researchers and volunteers will work directly with children (although not without an adult directly responsible for the children present).

The NSPCC define safeguarding as ‘The action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm’. Safeguarding children means:

  • Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
  • Preventing harm to children’s health or development
  • Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
  • Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process and involves the protection of individual children that are identified as suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

There is no single piece of legislation that covers ‘child protection’ or ‘safeguarding’ in the UK, instead there are several relevant laws and guidance.

  1. The Children Act (1989)
  2. The Children Act (2004)
  3. The Education Act (2011)
  4. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006)
  5. Keeping Children Safe in Education (2023)

Everyone has a responsibility to safeguard children, regardless of their profession or job title. It is also a requirement for anyone working with children and/or families to have sufficient knowledge of how to safeguard children.

Any employee, researcher or volunteer who encounter children as part of their role have a responsibility to:

  • Look out for, and recognise child welfare issues.
  • Raise any concerns you have over the welfare of a child.
  • Share any information you have with others where necessary.
  • Talk to your Designated Safeguarding Lead about making a referral to social care when needed.
  • Challenge any poor practise occurring in the workplace.

We have in place:

  • Safeguarding/child protection policy.
  • Access to Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) policies and procedures.
  • A Designated Safeguarding Lead.
  • All relevant staff/volunteers to have completed Safeguarding Children Level 2 Course bi-annually.
  • All relevant staff, researchers and volunteers will be required to have an up to date enhanced DBS.
  • New DBS checks will be completed if there are concerns about a staff member or volunteers suitability to work with children.
  • All staff use the DBS update service therefore we are able to carry out annual checks to find out if the information on their DBS certificate is current and up to date.
  • We have a system in place to ensure staff, researchers and volunteers are obliged to report anything a DBS would pick up on.

In school safeguarding procedure:

  • No member of the Hamish & Milo team will use a mobile phone or camera within a school setting unless permission is sought beforehand. If a camera (photographic or video) is used, then this should not be the personal property of any individual employee/volunteer.
  • Upon entry to a school, Hamish & Milo employees, researchers and volunteers will identify the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. This will usually be included in the precis version of the school’s safeguarding policy which visitors are expected to read.
  • No member of the Hamish & Milo team (staff, researcher or volunteer) should ever be left alone with individual children.
  • If a child makes a disclosure – tell a member of staff (ideally the Designated Safeguarding Lead and note down who has been told). Inform Hamish & Milo DSL ASAP after leaving the school and record on incident proforma.

7. Implementation and monitoring

  • All employees, researchers, will be made aware of the updates policy and be required to confirm that they have read it. The policy will be published on our website.
  • The policy will be reviewed regularly, and ideally on an annual basis, to ensure it meets best practice.
  • The need for training for employees, researchers, Designated Leads will be considered.
  • All reported incidents will be recorded by the company in line with this policy and reported to the Directors, at the next meeting, or as soon as reasonably practicable if the matter is more serious.
  • If it is found that a company representative has not followed the requirements of this policy and the associated legislation, this may result in disciplinary action.

8. Appendix

  • Safer recruitment checklist
  • Staff, Researcher & Volunteer incident reporting form
  • Hamish & Milo incident (including safeguarding) reporting form
  • Hamish & Milo incident log
  • Record of employees training & policy
  • Single central record
  • Awareness of Risk

Safer recruitment checklist

Event  Notes Date completed
Planning  Timescales
Person specification / Job Description including expectation to follow all safeguarding procedures
Application Form
Include commitment to safeguarding on all recruitment materials, including website
Applicant Pack created, including safeguarding information
Statement that DBS/other vetting checks will be completed		  

Vacancy Advertised

    
Applications received Scrutiny of dates, gaps, discrepancies and link to Person Spec / Job Description  
Short-listing At least two people involved, judged against standard criteria  
References requested Request directly from appropriate referee.
Ask specific safeguarding questions.		  
References received Scrutinised against information given on application form
Note issues of concern to be followed up at interview or with referee.		  
Invitation to interview sent out Include full instructions for the day, including a request to bring along proof(s) of identity, evidence of qualifications and right to work in the UK. For teachers, proof of QTS.  
Interview day – applicants

Copies of documents taken and any issues noted and shared with the interview panel for clarification.
Any lack of documents queried and panel agree whether to interview or not.

  
Interview day – panel Panel must include at least one person who has completed Safer Recruitment training.
Panel must include people who are authorised to appoint staff.
Panel to have met prior to interviewing and have discussed the questions and assessment criteria.
The same people interview every candidate.		  
Interview Check any discrepancies in application form/ references/ identity/qualification evidence
Check suitability to work with children
Explore safeguarding/child protection understanding
Record made of questions/answers		  
Conditional offer of employment made Made clear to successful applicant that the offer of employment is conditional on successful vetting and other pre-employment checks (eg. medical) (and for non-teaching posts, a probationary period)  
Records of interview information file

For unsuccessful candidates – kept from date of appointment of successful candidate plus 6 months (include name of interviewers with safer recruitment training).
For successful candidate – placed in personnel file and kept until termination of employment plus 6 years (include name of interviewers with safer recruitment training).
Evidence of Right to work in UK – kept until termination of employment plus not less than two years.
Copies of DBS Certificates – must not be kept for longer than 6 months.
Copies of other evidence may be kept on file until termination of employment plus 6 years.

  
Enhanced DBS form completed and sent off For all staff  
DBS Barred List requested For staff  

Staff, researcher and volunteer DBS incident reporting form

Incident Date Information
Unspent Convictions    
Police Cautions    
Police Reprimands    
Police Final Warnings    
Barred from working with children    
Barred from working with vulnerable adults    

Hamish & Milo Incident (including safeguarding) reporting form

This form should be used to record any significant incident including safeguarding concerns. In a safeguarding emergency please do not delay in informing the police or social services. All the information must be treated as confidential and reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer within one working day or the next working day if it’s a weekend. The form should be completed at the time or immediately following incident/disclosure, but after all necessary emergency actions have been taken. Please complete the form as fully as possible.

1. Your Details
Person Completing the Form:
Position:
Telephone:
Email:

2. Details of the Person Affected
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:

3. Details of Incident (please describe in detail using only facts)

 

 

4. Other Potential or Present Witnesses

Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:

5. Additional Relevant Information (please detail anything else that you think will be helpful or important including any actions taken)

 

 

6. Declaration
I have completed this form and provided information that is factual and does not contain my own views or opinions on the matter.

Print Name:
Signature:
Date:

7. Incident Check (FOR OFFICE PURPOSES ONLY)
Incident Number:

Checked and logged by DSL:
Print Name:
Signature:

Date:

Hamish & Milo Incident log

Log number:

Incident Number Date Incident Recorded Incident Reported by DSL dealt with Incident Incident Closed
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         

Record of employees/researcher/volunteer/contractor training and policy

Who has read the policy (signed and dated); who has completed Safeguarding Children Level 2 course.

Name Employee, Researcher, Volunteer or Contractor Read Policy (date) Completed Safeguarding Children Level 2 Training (date)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

Single central record (SCR)

The SCR will include:

  • All staff who are employed to work at the company.
  • All volunteers who support the work of the company.
  • All researchers who are linked to the work of the company.

What information will be recorded:

  • Identity checks
  • Barred list checks
  • Enhanced DBS checks
  • Safeguarding and safer recruitment training dates
  • Further checks on people living or working outside the UK, including checks for restrictions or sanctions imposed by a European Economic Area (EEA) regulating authority
  • Checks of professional qualifications (for example, qualified teacher status)
  • Checks to establish individuals’ right to work in the UK

In respect of these checks, the SCR will record:

  • Whether the check has been carried out
  • The date on which each check was carried out, or the certificate obtained

We will not record addresses on the SCR, but we will ensure that we see at least one document to confirm an applicant’s current address when doing an identity check.

The SCR will be stored electronically. We will keep copies of DBS certificates despite this not being a requirement but will do so for no longer than 6 months. Copies of the other documents used to verify the successful candidate’s identity, right to work and required qualifications will be kept in the individuals personnel file during their employment and for an undisclosed period after (but no longer than is deemed necessary e.g. longer for those who may work directly with children).

Awareness of risk

Sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation

Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The law says its sexual harassment if the behaviour is either meant to, or has the effect of:

  • violating your dignity, or
  • creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment

Sexual abuse covers a wide range of abusive behaviours and involves forcing (and/or enticing in the case of a child/young person) to take part in sexual activity, whether they are aware it’s happening. This can involve contact or non-contact abuse. Indicators of sexual abuse can include:

  • unusual discharge
  • soreness in intimate areas
  • sexually transmitted infections
  • under-age pregnancy
  • age inappropriate sexual behaviour
  • children avoiding being alone with/being frightened of certain people

Negligent treatment

Negligent treatment means an act or omission which evinces a serious disregard of consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present danger to the person’s health, welfare, and safety.

Neglect

Generally associated with children, neglect is the consistent failure to meet basic physical and psychological needs. Neglect may occur if a parent:

  • does not provide adequate food, shelter or clothing
  • fails to protect a child from physical or emotional harm or danger
  • does not supervise a child properly
  • does not allow the child access to appropriate medical care or treatment

Look out for:

  • poor hygiene and appearance
  • issues with family and housing
  • issues with health and development

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is deliberately causing physical harm to another person. This can involve:

  • hitting or kicking
  • shaking
  • burning or scalding
  • drowning
  • suffocating
  • poisoning
  • fabricated or induced illness

Look out for bruises, burns or scalds, bite marks, fractures or broken bones.
There is not one sign or symptom to look out for that will say that someone is definitely being physically abused but if they often have injuries, there is a pattern or the explanation does not seem to match the injury this should be investigated.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is the ongoing maltreatment of a person. Emotional abuse can include:

  • humiliating or constantly criticising
  • threatening or shouting
  • blaming or scapegoating
  • manipulating and controlling another person
  • exposing a child to distressing events such as drug use
  • being emotionally or physically absent from a child
  • persistently ignoring a child

The following indicators may suggest someone is being emotionally abused:

  • lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem
  • becoming anxious or wary easily
  • seem emotionally distant from others
  • struggle to control their emotions and are aggressive towards their peers
  • children who are excessively clingy
  • constantly seek to please others

Bullying or harassment

Bullying and harassment is behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended. Harassment is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Examples of bullying or harassing behaviour include:

  • spreading malicious rumours
  • unfair treatment
  • picking on or regularly undermining someone
  • denying someone’s training or promotion opportunities

Bullying and harassment can happen face-to-face, by letter, by email or by phone.

Health and safety

Health and safety refers to regulations and procedures intended to prevent accident or injury in workplaces or public environments.

Commercial exploitation

Commercial exploitation refers to unethical business practices aiming to make a profit.

Extremism and radicalisation

The UK Government defines extremism as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.

Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

Forced marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage as they are pressurised, or abuse is used, to force them to do so. It is recognised in the UK as a form of domestic or child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights. The pressure put on people to marry against their will may be physical, emotional or financial.

Child trafficking

Child trafficking is a form of human trafficking and refers to the action or practice of illegally procuring and relocating children, typically for the purposes of forced labour or sexual exploitation.

Female genital mutilation

FGM is when a female’s genitals are deliberately altered or removed for non-medical reasons. It’s also known as ‘female circumcision’ or ‘cutting’.

Discrimination on any of the grounds in the Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 explicitly states that it is against the law to treat any person unfairly or less favourably than someone else because of a personal characteristic. The personal characteristics that are mentioned in the Act include age, sex, race, religion, pregnancy and maternity, disability and sexual orientation. These are called ‘protected characteristics’.

Updated: March 2024