Safeguarding vulnerable people and

Child Protection Policy

Written – December 2018

To be Reviewed- Annually – Last reviewed

April 2025

Signed:  (Chair)

1. Introduction

Sidekick Dance is committed to a practice that safeguards and promotes the welfare of children,

young and vulnerable adults. We will create an environment where the safety of group members is paramount.

Staff and volunteers within Sidekick accept and recognise our responsibilities to develop awareness

of issues which cause children and young people harm. We will safeguard our service users by

– Adopting safeguarding guidelines through the implementation of this policy

– Sharing information regarding child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers where appropriate.

– Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know and involving parents and children appropriately.

– Following carefully the procedure for safe recruitment in the selection of staff and

Volunteers. All volunteers will have a valid DBS check which the dance leaders will check and make a note of prior to the volunteer starting with the group.

– Providing effective management oversight for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training. This include a direct line to the chair and safeguarding updates and reminders for volunteers through sidekick meetings.

– Following and adhering to the policies and practices of any external venues or service. Where Sidekick staff or volunteers are working in a school, we will follow the school’s safeguarding procedures and policies, reporting any concerns to a designated safeguarding lead in the school immediately.

This document largely refers to the safeguarding of children but Sidekick Dance also acknowledges the duty of care we hold to vulnerable adults.

2. Statement of Intent

It is the policy of Sidekick Dance to safeguard the welfare of all service users by protecting them

from all forms of abuse including physical, emotional and sexual harm. This organisation is committed to creating a safe environment in which service users can feel comfortable, safe and secure while engaged in ‘Sidekick’ activities.

3. Types of Abuse

Neglect: is the persistent failure to meet basic physical and or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of health or development. Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
• Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
• Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
• Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Physical abuse: may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery or

oral sex) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Emotional abuse: is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the illtreatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

4. Guidelines for all Sidekick Dance staff and volunteers

Staff must at all times show respect and understanding for individual’s rights, safety and welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the ethos and principles of Sidekick Dance.

1. RESPECT

Staff and volunteers are committed to

• Treating children and young people with respect and dignity.
• Always listening to what a child or young person is saying
• Valuing each child and young person
• Recognising the unique contribution each individual can make
• Encouraging and praising each child or young person

1. BY EXAMPLE

Staff and volunteers will

• Provide an example, which we would wish others to follow
• Use appropriate language with children and young people and challenge any inappropriate language used by a young person or child or an adult working with young people.

1. ONE TO ONE CONTACT

Staff and volunteers will

• Adhere to the guideline that you should not be working or be with a child in a 1:1 situation as a general rule. This includes supporting service users in using toilet facilities.
• Not spend time alone with children, away from others. Staff should try to always be visible to others in their contact with children.
• In the unlikely event of having to meet with an individual child or young person make every effort to keep this meeting as open as possible.
• If privacy is needed, ensure that other staff are informed of the meeting and its whereabouts.
• Under no circumstances are staff and volunteers to be ‘friends’ or connected on social media platforms other than through group pages and open forums.

– Staff and volunteers should not provide transport or lifts to service users, either children and young people, or adults. The only exception to this is where the lack of transport, in an unforeseeen circumstance represents are safeguarding issue in itself. In this instance, the chair should be contacted to agree the safest way to transport and support the service user.

1. PHYSICAL CONTACT

Staff and volunteers should never

• Engage in sexually provocative or rough physical games, including horseplay
• Do things of a personal nature for a child or a young person that they can do for themselves. If such an incident arises, for example, where a child or young person has limited mobility, Sidekick Dance staff should seek a member of school staff or leader of the youth organisation to deal with such an incident
• Allow, or engage in, inappropriate touching of any kind.

1. GENERAL

Staff and volunteers should:

• Be aware that someone might misinterpret our actions no matter how well intentioned
• Never draw any conclusions about others without checking the facts
• Never allow ourselves to be drawn into inappropriate attention seeking situations such as tantrums or crushes
• Never exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues or make suggestive remarks or gestures about, or to a child or young person, even in fun.

1. RELATIONSHIPS

Staff and volunteers who are involved in relationships with other members of staff or volunteers should ensure that their personal relationships do not affect their role within Sidekick Dance or the work of Sidekick Dance.

1. SHARING INFORMATION

Good communication is essential in any organisation. In Sidekick Dance every effort will be made to assure that, should individuals have concerns, they will be listened to and taken seriously.

It is the responsibility of the chair and dance leaders to ensure that information is available to, and exchanged between all those involved in this organisation and its activities. Some information is confidential and should only be shared on a strictly need‐to‐know basis.

Children & Young People

Children and young people have a right to information, especially any information that could make life better and safer for them. Sidekick Dance will act to ensure they have

information about how, and with whom, they can share their concerns, complaints and anxieties.

When sharing information, Sidekick Dance staff and volunteers will be sensitive to the level of understanding and maturity, as well as to the level of responsibility, of the people with whom they are sharing.

Parents / Carers

Parents / persons with parental responsibility are ultimately responsible for their children’s welfare at all times, and they should be assured that their children are involved with a credible organisation.

We achieve this by

• Publicising information on our website.
• Communicating regularly with parents through agreed lines of communication (letters, phone Calls (using the group phone – not a personal number), emails)

Staff & Volunteers

As an organisation, which offers support and guidance to children and young people, it is imperative that each member of the Sidekick Dance staff is aware of their responsibilities under the Child Protection legislation and has a working knowledge of Sidekick Dance procedures. Each member of staff will receive a safeguarding update annually. The chair will retain designated safeguarding lead status.

Other Bodies

A copy of our Child Protection Policy will be made available to any other appropriate body.

1. PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING ALLEGATIONS OR SUSPICIONS OF ABUSE

In the first instance the designated Safeguarding lead should be contacted to discuss the concern or allegation.

In any case where an allegation is made, or someone in Sidekick Dance has concerns, a record should be made. Details must include, as far as practical:

• Name of child or young person
• Age
• Home Address (if known)
• Date of Birth (if known)
• Name/s and Address of parent/s or person/s with parental responsibility
• Telephone numbers if available

Is the person making the report expressing their own concerns, or passing on those of somebody

else? If so, record details;

• What has prompted the concerns?
• Include dates and times of any specific incidents
• Has the child or young person been spoken to?

If so, what was said?

• Has anybody been alleged to be the abuser?

If so, record details

• Who has this been passed on to, in order that appropriate action is taken? E.g. school,

designated officer, children’s social care

• Has anyone else been consulted?

1. DESIGNATED CHILD PROTECTION PERSONS

The designated safeguarding lead will contact relevant organisations (school, home, care home) and make a referral to Leicester City Safeguarding Board where appropriate.

• Confidentiality must be maintained and information relating to individual children and

young people/families shared with staff on a strictly need to know basis.

1. ALLEGED ABUSE BY STAFF, MANAGERS, VOLUNTEERS OR TRUSTEES

• When an allegation is made against a member of staff or volunteer, then the allegation must be passed to your designated person for child protection (Simon Coopey) or their deputy (Charlotte Tomlinson), or, if the allegation concerns them both, direct to the Leicester City Safeguarding Board.

1. TRAINING

• The designated person and his/her deputy must receive training every 2 years in Child

Protection.

• All staff and volunteers shall have access to appropriate training on a regular basis, at least every 3 years.

The chair of Sidekick (Simon Coopey ) is a designated Safeguarding Lead and senior leader at Ellesmere College, a Leicester City special school. Training and updates are provided to Simon Coopey through his professional role and disseminated to Sidekick members through policies such as this, regular updates for staff and an open line for communication and advice

1. RECORD‐KEEPING

• All records, information and confidential notes will be kept in separate files in a locked

drawer or filing cabinet.

• Only the designated Persons will have access to these files.

Never guarantee absolute confidentiality, as Child Protection will always have precedence over any other issues.

• Listen to the child, rather than question him or her directly.
• Offer him / her reassurance without making promises, and take what the child says

seriously.

• Allow the child to speak without interruption
• Accept what is said – it is not your role to investigate or question.
• Do not overreact.
• Alleviate feelings of guilt and isolation, while passing no judgement
• Advise that you will try to offer support, but that you must pass the information on.
• Explain what you have to do and whom you have to tell.
• Record the discussion accurately, as soon as possible after the event,
• Use the child’s words or explanations – do not translate into your own words, in case you have misconstrued what the child was trying to say.
• Contact one of (organisations Designated Persons) for advice / guidance.

The Designated Person may then discuss the concern / suspicion with the relevant organisation, and, if appropriate, make a direct referral.

If Designated Person is not available, or it is inappropriate to approach them, the volunteer /member of staff with the concern should make direct contact with the relevant organisation themselves.

• Record any discussions or actions taken within 24 hours.

Staff and volunteers can seek advice from the chair or external advice from the NSPCC at

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/

Or by telephoning the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000

Any Safeguarding concerns can be referred by ANYBODY to the Leicester City Safeguarding team 0116 4541004

Further information about sidekick dance can be found at www.sidekickdance.co.uk