Safeguarding Policy

HORSE WISDOM 4 HUMANS SAFEGUARDING POLICY

The purpose and scope of this policy statement

Horse Wisdom 4 Humans works with children, young people and vulnerable adults as part of its activities. These include: working in small groups and one to one engagement through an equine based learning and psychotherapeutic model and in a riding stables environment, interacting with horses and a small staff. Our work with vulnerable adults is in completely separate sessions from our work with children and young people and the two groups do not intermingle and are not on site at the same time.

The purpose of this policy statement is:

· to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults who receive Horse Wisdom 4 Humans’ services.

· to provide parents, carers, staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of Horse Wisdom 4 Humans, including staff, committee members and volunteers.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children and vulnerable adults in England.

We believe that:

· children, young people & vulnerable adults should never experience abuse of any kind

· we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

· the welfare of the child, young person and vulnerable adult is paramount

· all children, young people and vulnerable adults, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have a right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

· some children, young people and vulnerable adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues

· working in partnership with children, young people, vulnerable adults, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting their welfare.

We will seek to keep children, young people and vulnerable adults safe by:

· valuing, listening to and respecting them

· appointing a nominated child protection/safeguarding lead

· developing child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures which reflect best practice

· using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, vulnerable adults, parents, families and carers appropriately

· creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise

· recruiting staff and volunteers safely

· implementing a code of conduct for staff and volunteers

· using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately

· ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people and vulnerable adults, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance

· recording and storing information professionally and securely.

· We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

· Contact details : on contact page.

· NSPCC Helpline

· 0808 800 5000

· We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

Date: 12.04.2019