1.0 - INTRODUCTION

Been There is managed by a board of Trustees, and it is the entire board’s responsibility for safeguarding adults. The board has adopted this safeguarding policy and expects everyone, working or helping at Been There to support it and comply with it. Consequently, this policy will apply to all staff, managers, trustees, directors, volunteers, students, or anyone working on behalf of Been There.

1.1 – PURPOSE OF THIS POLICY

The purpose of this policy is to safeguard adults who receive any service from Been There, as well as our Mentors and our entire team.

As an organisation, we believe that no one should experience abuse or harm. We are committed to the protection of everyone, and this policy is intended to provide guidance and overarching principles of safeguarding for those who represent us as staff or volunteers.

1.2 - GUIDANCE

This policy has been drawn up with guidance from the following:

• General Data Protection Regulation

• Equality Act 2010

• Human Rights Act 1998

• Care and support statutory guidance

• Sexual Offences Act of 2003

• Special Educational Needs and disability code of practice

• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

• Care Act 2014

• London Safeguarding Adults policy and procedures

Copies of this policy are available within the Been There TeamSpace to ensure the safety of our

Mentees. In addition, Been There will not tolerate the abuse of any adult in the organisation, therefore all members of staff and volunteers are made aware of how this policy can be utilised for their own safety.

2.0 - RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF MENTORS AND STAFF

See our eligibility criteria here.

Been There is committed to providing safe employment and recruitment practices (see our Safer

Recruitment policy on the Team Space), including Disclosure and Barring checks to reduce the risk of exposing vulnerable adults to people who are unsuitable to work with them. Therefore, we have a series of steps to complete in order to qualify as a Been There Mentor.

Before they can become engaged in supporting our service users, mentors must:

• Complete an in-depth application form

• Provide two references

• Agree to Been There carrying out an Enhanced DBS check

• Undertake all training as requested

• Successfully complete a final assessment

There are no exceptions to this process

All staff are recruited in accordance with the same procedures outlined above (Safer Recruitment Policy).

3.0 - TRAINING, AWARENESS RAISING AND SUPERVISION OF MENTORS

Been There ensures that all staff and volunteers receive basic awareness training on safeguarding as they may come across people with care and support needs, and those who may be at risk of abuse.

Where any concerns are raised to staff or volunteers around the safeguarding of adults, staff and volunteers must be confident in identifying that abuse is taking place and take the appropriate action required.

A rota of Designated Safeguarding Leads/Senior Managers is in place to ensure that any queries can be escalated to a person of experience and with significant training during our service times.

4.0 - SAFEGUARDING ADULTS

‘Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.’

Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Department of Health, updated February 2017

4.1 - WHO DO SAFEGUARDING DUTIES APPLY TO?

The Care Act 2014 sets out that adult safeguarding duties apply to any adult who:

• Has care and support needs, and

• is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse and neglect, and is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect, because of those needs.

4.2 – THE DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD (DSL)

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is the person responsible for Safeguarding duties, and they work with the Senior Team at Been There to provide advice, guidance, and support.

Been There’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is: to be confirmed

4.3 - WHO DO I GO TO IF I AM CONCERNED? (DSL/DEPUTY DSL)

All staff; volunteers and mentors should contact the DSL for any concerns/queries they have regarding safeguarding.

The DSL will be supported in providing safeguarding support with a rota system of suitably experienced and qualified colleagues, who will act as DSL in their absence, including a number of Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs) and senior management.

A log of any concern must be kept

Any questions for the DSL, which fall outside Standard Operating Procedures, should be directed to [email protected]

4.4 – THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DSL/ROTA TEAM

The DSL will be responsible for:

• Making decisions about notifying Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs, and/or Adult social services

if required and consider alternative actions, where necessary

• Contacting the emergency services via 999 should that be required

The CEO and DSL will also:

• Ensure that the safeguarding policies and procedures are in place and up to date

• Ensure a safe environment is promoted for staff and volunteers and adults accessing the

service

The CEO will also:

• Ensure that the DSL and rota staff are up to date with their safeguarding of adults training

5.0 - WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM CONCERNED A MENTEE IS AT IMMEDIATE RISK?

Staff and volunteers at Been There who have any safeguarding concerns for any person should follow the Four Rs set out below:

RESPOND

• Take emergency action if someone is at immediate risk of harm / in need of urgent medical attention. Use the SOS button on the app which links to crisis services

• Obtain brief details about what has happened and what the mentee would like done about it, but do not probe

• Seek consent from the adult to act and to report the concern. Consider whether they may lack capacity to make decisions about their own and other people’s safety and wellbeing

• If you decide to act against their wishes or without their consent, you must inform the individual wherever possible, record your decision and give reasons for the intervention

REPORT

Report any concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead, as detailed above, so they can consider calling emergency services if required.

Situations and concerns to be reported to the DSL by completing the Safeguarding Incident Report form which can be accessed here.

RECORD

• All concerns should be recorded and kept securely in the shared drive

• As far as possible, records should be written contemporaneously, dated and signed

REFER

A decision should be made to refer an adult to any intervention required.

6.0 - COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Been There aims to always promote transparency and honesty and provide the best volunteer

experience possible.

We believe that the volunteer relationship is built on trust and understanding.

Whilst we try our best not to, we understand that from time-to-time things can go wrong.

Should a staff member, volunteer or mentor have a complaint either about an individual in the

organisation or about a Mentee, please email one of the following people:

• Tessa Peters ([email protected]) – mentees / mentors /mentoring

• DSL (tbc) - safeguarding complaints

• General ([email protected]) – everything else

Equally, if the Mentee has a cause for complaint, they can email [email protected] and report their concerns. Please encourage any Mentee to use this, should they raise an issue of complaint with you.

7.0 - BREACHES OF THE SAFEGUARDING POLICY

Failure to comply with the Been There safeguarding policy is managed depending on the nature and consequences of the incident. In some cases, a combination of responses may be required. These are outlined below:

• Disciplinary process – where there are concerns regarding staff misconduct or competence

• Been There safeguarding investigation – where concerns about the actions or inactions of a member of staff or volunteer warrants legal intervention

• This may also result in referral to Disclosure & Barring Service - Police led investigation – where the actions or inactions of a member of staff or volunteer appear to be criminal in nature

• Serious incident reporting to The Charity Commission - Additional or repeat training – where the concern does not meet the threshold for the processes outlined above but does indicate a need for further development of safeguarding competence

8.0 – MONITORING, REVIEWING & TRAINING

8.1 – MONITORING & REVIEWING

This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains compliant with current legislation, meets best practices, and is not discriminatory.

Been There will monitor the number of complaints and the type of complaints received. Where evidence or trends indicate that our culture, policy, procedures, or workforce require intervention, an action plan will be initiated.

8.2 – TRAINING

To ensure all team members understand the Safeguarding policy, our charity is committed to providing regular and comprehensive training.

Frequency of Training

• Induction Training: All relevant new employees will complete Safeguarding training as part of their onboarding process

• Annual Refresher Training: All relevant team members will complete a refresher course annually

• Additional Training: Targeted training will be provided as needed, for example, when policies are updated or if specific issues arise

Delivery Method

All training will be delivered through our online learning platform, (TeamSpace), to ensure accessibility and flexibility for all team members.

Evaluation and Feedback

Training effectiveness will be assessed through reviews of Safeguarding incidents and reviews of

mentor chat logs. Updates to the training content will be made as necessary to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

9.0 - CONTACTING US

Questions, comments, and feedback regarding this Safeguarding Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to [email protected].