Safeguarding Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly children, at risk adults and beneficiaries of assistance, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with The AKU Society. This includes harm arising from:
• The conduct of staff or personnel associated with The AKU Society
• The design and implementation of The AKU Society’s programmes and activities
The policy lays out the commitments made by The AKU Society and informs staff and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.

What is Safeguarding

In the UK, safeguarding means protecting peoples’ health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.
In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or events.
Scope
• All staff contracted by The AKU Society.
• Associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to The AKU Society, including but not limited to the following: consultants; volunteers; contractors; event visitors including journalists, celebrities and politicians

Policy Statement

The AKU Society believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. The AKU Society will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by staff or associated personnel.
This policy will address the following areas of safeguarding [as appropriate]: child safeguarding, adult safeguarding, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. These key areas of safeguarding may have different policies and procedures associated with them.
The AKU Society commits to addressing safeguarding throughout its work, through the three pillars of prevention, reporting and response.

The AKU Society’s Responsibility

The AKU Society will:
• Ensure all staff have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy
• Design and undertake all its events and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with The AKU Society. This includes the way in which information about individuals in our events are gathered and communicated and not being alone with children or vulnerable adults.
• Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying staff and associated personnel
• Ensure staff receive training on safeguarding at a level commensurate with their role in the organization
• Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process

Staff Responsibility

Child Safeguarding

The AKU Society staff and associated personnel must not:
• Engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18
• Sexually abuse or exploit children
• Subject a child to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect
• Engage in any commercially exploitative activities with children including child labour or trafficking

Adult Safeguarding

The AKU Society staff and associated personnel must not:
• Sexually abuse or exploit at risk adults
• Subject an at-risk adult to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect

Protection from Sexual Exploration and Abuse

The AKU Society staff and associated personnel must not:
• Exchange money, employment, goods or services for sexual activity. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance
• Engage in any sexual relationships with beneficiaries of assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics
Additionally, The AKU Society staff and associated personnel are obliged to:
• Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations and promotes the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy

• Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations by an The AKU Society staff member or associated personnel to the appropriate staff member

Enabling Reports

The AKU Society will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to staff and the communities we work with.
The AKU Society will also accept complaints from external sources such as members of the public, partners and official bodies.

How to Report Safeguarding Concerns

Staff members who have a complaint or concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately to their line manager. If the staff member does not feel comfortable reporting to their line manager (for example if they feel that the report will not be taken seriously, or if that person is implicated in the concern) they may report to any other appropriate staff member. For example, this could be a senior manager or a trustee.
The AKU Society will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to staff found in breach of policy.
The AKU Society will offer support to survivors of harm caused by staff or associated personnel, regardless of whether a formal internal response is carried out (such as an internal investigation). Decisions regarding support will be led by the survivor.

Confidentiality

It is essential that confidentiality in maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need to know basis only and should be kept secure at all times.
This policy applied to all staff, including managers, the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, students or anyone else working on behalf of the AKU Society.
The purpose of this policy is:
– To protect children and young children who receive AKU Society services;
– To provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding.
The AKU Society believes that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. We are committed to practise in a way that protects them.

REVIEW

We are committed to reviewing our child protection and good practise annually.
CEO and Chair of Trustees is Nick Sireau who is responsible for this policy and implementation.
This policy is reviewed yearly, and this policy was last reviewed on 12 January 2020. The date of the next review is 12 April 2020.