Reporting Concerns Policy
We take our responsibility to keep everyone safe very seriously. Find out more below about how we manage safeguarding below.
Your Responsibility as a Member of the CoppaFeel! Community:
eSafety
At CoppaFeel! we value everyone’s safety and wellbeing, whether you are a trustee, staff, volunteers, fundraisers or the wonderful people interacting with us at events. Therefore we want to make sure everyone associated with the charity is happy and safe when carrying out our work.
As members of SAFE, we aim at all times to attain best safeguarding practice throughout all our activities with children, young people and adults at risk. We endeavour to provide a safe and friendly environment. We will achieve this by adhering strictly to this policy, guidance and risk assessments. Our organisation also holds current Public Liability Insurance which covers all of our activities.
All volunteers and staff will receive CoppaFeel!’s Reporting Concerns Policy to read through, which details how to report any worrying behaviour towards yourself or others and how this will be handled by the charity.
If you have any concerns about your personal safety or anyone else’s at an event or when representing CoppaFeel!, please take appropriate action:
The team at Boob HQ is there to support you and handle any concerns you may have. Please report any worries and they will be handled by our safeguarding leads.
We recognise that anyone can become subject to discrimination, harassment or victimisation because of:
Comments and actions that contribute to discrimination, harassment or victimisation are not acceptable and will be challenged. The remit of what is covered under this policy also extends beyond the characteristics listed above. All incidents will be recorded and shared with the relevant agencies when necessary and appropriate.
We will:
When there are concerns about the welfare of any, child, young person or adult at risk, all responsible adults in our organisation are expected to share those concerns, without delay, with the Lead for Safeguarding (or the Deputy, if the Lead is unavailable). Our policy is approved by our board of trustees and will be reviewed and updated annually. We will publish and promote this policy to all staff, paid or unpaid through induction and training. We endeavour to disseminate, as appropriate, this policy to all who come into contact with our charity e.g., children, young people, adults at risk, and others, such as organisational partners and fundraisers.
Our Lead for Safeguarding is:
Name: Natalie
Role: CEO
Contact Details: natalie@coppafeel.org | 07557 458 179
Our Deputies for Safeguarding are:
Name: Eleanor Bedford
Role: Compliance Manager
Contact Details: eleanor@coppafeel.org | 07799 369883
Name: Kristie Thacker
Role: Volunteer Community Manager
Contact Details: kristie@coppafeel.org | 07384 337 365
Their role is to oversee and ensure that our safeguarding policy is fully implemented.
Their responsibilities are:
The responsibility for safeguarding at board or committee level is shared between members. Safeguarding is on the organisation’s risk register and we have a Senior Lead for Safeguarding on our Board of Trustees.
Our Senior Lead for Safeguarding is:
Name: Sarah Pugh
Role: Trustee and Board Safeguarding Lead
All organisations that work or come into contact with children, young adults and/or adults at risk need to have safeguarding policies and procedures in place. Government guidance is clear that all organisations working with children, young people, adults at risk, parents, carers and/or families have responsibilities for safeguarding. It is important to remember that children, young people and adults at risk can also abuse and that such incidents fall into the remit of this policy.
To undertake these responsibilities we:
We will treat any personal information by which an individual can be identified (i.e. name, address, email etc.) in accordance with the provisions of Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and will not share information with any third party, except where required by law.
This policy is in line with government guidance about confidentiality and these details will be made available to all staff, children, young children, adults at risk, parents and carers. We fully endorse the principle that the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, override any obligations of confidence we may hold to others. No one working, or involved, with our organisation can promise absolute confidentiality in relation to safeguarding concerns. We treat all information with the strictest of sensitivities and individual cases will only be shared or discussed on a “need to know” basis when relevant.
Timely and accurate written records play an essential role in safeguarding individuals, who may have suffered, are suffering or at significant risk of suffering harm. It is important that records are shared at the appropriate time as necessary. Within our organisation the decision to share written information, and with whom, will be undertaken by the Lead or the Deputy for safeguarding.
As part of our activities we do not have anyone working or volunteering for the charity under the age of 18. We do not conduct home visits or carry out any activity where lone or one to one working will take place with children, young people and adults at risk.
We aim to provide a safe environment free from discrimination, upholding and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. Everyone within the CoppaFeel! Community undertakes to:
If you witness or are subject to concerning behaviour you must take action. Concerning behaviour can include any form of physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect. There may also be a reason to act if you witness or are subject to bullying, racism or violent extremism. The following list is for guidance only. It is important to be observant, listen to what is being said and record. e.g. is what you are observing and being told about an injury consistent with the injury?
If you ever feel concerned about any behaviour or situation, whatever that may be, we would encourage you to flag this with CoppaFeel!’s safeguarding leads and follow the process outlined in this document.
We do not expect you to put yourself in uncomfortable or potentially harmful situations, so please only undertake your role when you feel comfortable and safe to do so. It is everyone’s responsibility at CoppaFeel!, including trustees, staff and volunteers to ensure the safety and wellbeing of themselves and everyone they come into contact with when carrying out our work.
We do not expect you to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to defend the charity if confronted with a negative reaction to our message, mission or branding. Please always refer people onto the team at CoppaFeel! who will be happy to handle any issues of this nature.
We expect everyone to read and uphold the information in this document and take their safety and the safety of others seriously. When someone has made a report to you…
A report may come from someone telling you:
We ensure and emphasise that everyone in our organisation understands and knows how to share any concerns immediately with the Lead or Deputy for Safeguarding.
Step 1
If you are worried about the safety of a child, young person or adult at risk because
Check out the Reporting Concerns policy for guidance. Talk to the Lead or Deputy for Safeguarding without delay. If they are implicated then report to Additional Senior Lead.
Step 2
If someone is in immediate danger call 999 or report concerns to security if at a venue.
If you are at an event or in a school/college, report any concerns to the lead contact on site, as well as your main contact at CoppaFeel!.
CoppaFeel! staff must listen to the report and record all the details down carefully in the Reporting A Concern Incident form. Remember to include the date and your name/job role.
Step 3
The Lead, Deputy or Additional Senior Lead should assess the report and refer the concern to the relevant adult or children’s social care service and/or the Police and follow up the referral in writing within 24 hours where necessary.
Under “whistle blowing”, anyone can refer directly to the police or social care services and all relevant authorities, when they are concerned the organisation is not managing safeguarding concerns appropriately
Always report any concerns to your main contact at CoppaFeel!. If they are unavailable, please contact team@coppafeel.org or the main office on 02074074597.
If a young person ever discloses something, don’t ask questions or delve deeper – it’s not your job to investigate or support, but instead report the incident. It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant something may seem, if anyone discloses anything concerning then it needs to be reported without delay.
1. Reporting concerns form is completed promptly and sent to Safeguarding Leads.
2. Safeguarding Leads or most senior manager available to assess any incoming reports immediately and take appropriate action.
3. This action will depend on the incident reported, but will include logging it internally and speaking to the appropriate external team from the list (not exhaustive) below to seek advice or to refer on:
4. The Safeguarding Lead or most appropriate member of the management team may also contact the venue, event or festival for further information and will be in touch with the person who reported the concern to share (where appropriate) detail of the action taken.
5. A final note will be made on the Reporting Concerns form detailing the action taken.
6. The Board of Trustees and Charity Commission will also be made aware of any serious incidents as necessary. The Trustees will also be kept informed of the number of safeguarding reports received at Board meetings.
Key points to remember:
★ Keeping yourself and others safe is the responsibility of everyone.
★ Always report any concerns to staff on site and your main point of contact at CoppaFeel!
★ Call 999 if there is a real emergency and someone is harmed or in danger.
At all times when required, and especially where there is a safeguarding concern, we are committed to keeping records which are:
Modern digital technology has made access to information and communication increasingly easy for everyone. This is especially so for those who cannot always go out to socialise and rely on websites for social networking, watching films, downloading music, buying lottery tickets, shopping etc. Government guidance is clear, that all organisations working with children, young people and adults at risk have responsibilities. It is also important to remember, children, young people and adults at risk can also abuse and such incidents fall into the remit of this policy.
We expect everyone in our organisation to agree and sign up to our eSafety code of conduct to:
There are many potential risks including:
A child, young person or adult at risk who:
A person who:
If you have any concerns, speak to the Lead or Deputy for Safeguarding.
Remember:
We will:
The use of photography is really important to record the successes and achievements of our activities. However, it is vital to remember that photography can be used and distributed inappropriately including on the Internet.
It is therefore important to be clear about:
The above guidance applies to any photographic and filming equipment including camera phones, digital or video cameras.
This policy was agreed and disseminated on 14th March 2022 and will be reviewed annually or when there are substantial organisational changes.
Policy Review Date: January 2022
Date of next review: January 2023