Safeguarding Policy    

Date last reviewed: 13/1/2023                    

Second Review: 13/1/2024

Third review: 13/01/2025                                                  

 Fourth review: 14/01/2026

Policy Aims

This policy aims to: 

Provide protection for the children, young people and vulnerable adults who receive Plateful Cafe’s services, including the children of adult members or users.
To provide staff and volunteers with guidance on procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or be at risk of, harm.
To provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child and adult protection;

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect children, namely:

Children Act 1989

United Convention of the Rights of the Child 1991

Data Protection Act 1998

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Children Act 2004

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Relevant government guidance on safeguarding children 

In terms of adults

The Care Act 2014

Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005

Policy Statement

Plateful Cafe is committed to providing a safe and secure environment that respects and protects children, vulnerable adults, staff and volunteers.  

We are committed to promoting a climate where children and vulnerable adults feel confident about sharing any concerns that they may have about their own safety or the well being of others. We affirm that all children and vulnerable adults have a right to be given equal chance and to be treated with respect regardless of their age, gender, ethnic origin, culture, religious belief, language, disability or sexual identity. 

We recognise that some children and adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.

This policy applies to all staff, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, students or anyone working on behalf of Plateful Cafe. 

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

Valuing them, listening to and respecting them 

Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made 

Sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers 

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

Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training. 

How might I find out about abuse/suspected abuse?

A child/adult may tell you about something that has upset or harmed them or another child/adult

A child/adult might show signs of physical injury or neglect for which there is no satisfactory explanation

A child’s/adult’s behaviour may suggest they are being abused

Witnessing worrying behaviour from one child/adult to another

The behaviour of one of the workers towards a child/adult may worry you or make you feel uncomfortable

Section 1 Safeguarding Children

What to do if you suspect that abuse may have occurred/be occurring

Follow the Safeguarding Procedure outlined below.

Consider if there is any immediate danger to you or the child/vulnerable adult. If necessary, contact the police. If there are injuries to deal with ensure these are managed in line with first aid procedures.

If there is any danger to the child or vulnerable adult you must report the concerns immediately to the designated safeguarding officer. The role of the designated person is to:

Receive and record information from anyone who has concerns

Assess the information promptly and carefully

Inform the relevant statutory safeguarding department

Make a formal referral when required to the statutory agency or the police

The designated person has been nominated by Plateful Cafe to refer allegations or suspicions of neglect or abuse to the statutory authorities. In the absence Plateful Cafe’s Manager, the matter should be brought to the attention of a board member.

Suspicions will remain confidential and will not be discussed with anyone other than those nominated above.

It is the right of any individual to make direct referrals to child protection agencies. If for any reason you believe that the nominated persons have not responded appropriately to your concerns, then you should contact child protection agencies directly.

Designated Safeguarding Officers

Lead Safeguarding officer – Iolanda Chirico

London Borough of Lewisham – Safeguarding Children: 020 7138 1446 (office hours) / 020 8314 6000 (out of hours)

Training

All voluntary members of staff are required to attend an annual safeguarding training session.

Further Policies

Other relevant policies and procedures that should be read in conjunction with this:

• Recruitment

• Accident

• Complaints and Whistle blowing

• Anti-Bullying 

• Photography and Filming consent

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually

All staff and volunteers at Plateful Cafe are responsible for the well-being of the children. However, safeguarding is as much about protecting children as protecting yourself from false accusations. It is important to avoid being in a situation where you put yourself at risk of being accused of child abuse or other unprofessional conduct. Maintaining boundaries and involving other adults when a potentially compromising situation arises is key. Do not give your phone number to any of the children, make friends with them on Facebook or other social sites, or agree to work as a private tutor if asked. 

General Procedure

Section 1 Safeguarding Adults

The safeguarding duties apply to an adult who:

has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs)

is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect

is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of, abuse or neglect, as a result of those care and support needs

Adults who fulfil these criteria are ‘adults at risk’. 

People can have a need for care and support for a variety of reasons – for example they may have a learning disability, a physical disability, a chronic health condition or have a mental health issue. Such conditions may bring with them additional vulnerabilities, however having care and support needs does not mean that people are automatically adults at risk and need safeguarding.  

Types of abuse suffered by adults identified in the Care Act 2014 are:

• Physical
• Sexual
• Psychological/Emotional/Mental
• Financial and material
• Neglect and act of omission
• Discriminatory
• Organisational
• Modern Day Slavery
• Domestic Violence
• Self-Neglect – including hoarding

Other types of harm that adults may experience include:

• Cyber Bullying
• Forced Marriage
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Mate Crime
• Radicalisation

What to do if you have concerns about an adult member

Organisation members, staff and volunteers are not expected to be an expert in recognition of a safeguarding concern; however, all adults working, volunteering and participating have 

a duty of care to be vigilant and respond appropriately to suspicions of poor practice, abuse or bullying. They should also respond to any indication of abuse that may be occurring outside of the organisation setting. 

This does not mean that it is your responsibility to decide if a situation is poor practice, abuse or bullying, but it is your responsibility to report your concerns to the lead safeguarding officer.