Safeguarding Policy
Commitment to safeguarding:
Leominster Choral Society believes that no-one, including a child, young person or vulnerable adult should ever experience abuse of any kind. We recognise that we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all, including that of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We are committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of all. We make particular provision for safeguarding the wellbeing of all children, young people and vulnerable adults we come into contact with and for protecting them from harm.
About this policy
This policy applies to all members, staff (whether employees or freelancers), volunteers and anyone working on behalf of Leominster Choral Society or taking part in Leominster Choral Society activities
The purpose of this policy is to provide members, staff and volunteers, as well as parents, guardians and carers, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to the protection of vulnerable people and others
This policy recognises vulnerable people as:
(i) Children up to the age of 16 or young people aged 16 – 18
(ii) Adults aged over 18 defined as vulnerable by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006; this might include adults with a learning or physical disability, a physical or mental illness, chronic or otherwise, including an addiction to alcohol or drugs, or reduced physical or mental capacity
This policy aims to:
(i) Protect everyone and in particular children, young people and vulnerable adults who are: members of, receive services from or volunteer for Leominster Choral Society
(ii) Ensure members, staff and volunteers working with children, young people and vulnerable adults understand and accept responsibility for the safeguarding of those vulnerable individuals they are interacting with.
(iii) Ensure that the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults is a primary consideration when Leominster Choral Society undertakes any activity, event or project.
How Leominster Choral Society might work with vulnerable people.
Membership is open to those over 11 years of age. We run regular rehearsals for members and put on concerts for the general public. As such our involvement with vulnerable people might include, but is not limited to:
(i) Members of the group who attend rehearsals and concerts
(ii) Relatives and friends of members who attend rehearsals and concerts in a volunteering capacity
(iii) Audience members at public concerts
Named safeguarding person.
Liz Lever is the designated Safeguarding Lead and has responsibility for safeguarding issues. All queries and concerns relating to safeguarding should be referred to the Safeguarding Lead in the first instance. Contact her by email here.
Any projects, events or other activities that will involve vulnerable people must be planned with the involvement of the Safeguarding Lead and in line with established procedures and ground rules below.
SAFEGUARDING GROUND RULES, WAYS OF WORKING AND PROCEDURES
Everyone has a responsibility for safeguarding. The Safeguarding Lead and the Chair from time to time will nominate safeguarding officers with specific roles.
The Safeguarding Lead is in charge on a practical level of all safeguarding issues. The Safeguarding Lead is the main point of contact for members and external people (e.g. parents of children)
The Chair from time to time will support the Safeguarding Lead and act as cover should the Safeguarding Lead not be available
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks
Should there be anyone working directly with children then the relevant people must be DBS checked.
Criteria for a check:
The Safeguarding Lead is responsible for arranging the check
The Safeguarding Lead in consultation with the Chair tracks the process
The results are to be seen by the Safeguarding Lead, the Chair and the Music Director
A Central Record will be maintained. This notes the name of the applicant for any DBS check, the date the application is received, the name of the person who checks the necessary documents and processes the application, the result of the check and the date the result is received
A copy will be made of all DBS certificates and will be stored securely.
Adults who have not had the relevant DBS checks will not be left alone with children. And this will be avoided as far as practically possible for adults with DBS checks.
Working with parents/guardians
Before children are allowed to join as a member the written permission of their parent or guardian must be obtained
Children who are aged under 16 must be accompanied to all rehearsals and concerts by their parent or guardian or by another adult who has been appointed in writing by the parent or guardian. The original letter of appointment of such another adult shall be stored securely by the Chair.
Emergency contact details must be maintained (and stored securely) for all young people aged 16-18 who are members and who as members attend rehearsals or concerts
For all young people aged 16-18 who are members, the Safeguarding Lead or the Chair must be notified about the usual drop-off and pick-up arrangements
Leominster Choral Society is committed to building up a rapport with parents, guardians and carers.
Code of behaviour
Everyone is expected to be respectful, polite and patient with one another. Bullying and discrimination of any kind are completely unacceptable.
Procedure for children and adults to raise complaints
Any complaint should be made to the Safeguarding Lead: contact details are below. Should there be a complaint about the Safeguarding Lead this should be made to the Chair : contact details are below.
Procedure of how any complaints will be dealt with
Any complaint will be investigated thoroughly and fairly. Should there be any conflict of interest then an independent individual from outside Leominster Choral Society will be asked to assist with the investigation. The results of the investigation will be provided to the person who made the complaint. If the investigation reveals any failing in Leominster Choral Society’s safeguarding then changes will be made to its practice.
Procedures for informing the relevant authorities where necessary
We will use our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies (for example, the county safeguarding team) who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
Review
In general the Safeguarding Policy and ancillary documents and procedures will be reviewed annually. If Leominster Choral Society’s involvement with children or vulnerable adults increases, then the policy will be reviewed and updated accordingly
Contact Details
Safeguarding Lead: Sue Ferguson email her here.
Chair: Valerie Markwick email her here.
Other useful contact numbers:
Herefordshire Council multi agency safeguarding hub: Children 01432 260800, Adults 01432 260715
March 2019
Privacy
Leominster Choral Society takes your privacy seriously and is committed to upholding the Data Protection principles of good practice. We strive to keep all information relating to you confidential in accordance with this statement and the law. The purpose of this statement is to explain what personal data we collect, and how that data might be used.
When you become a Member, for administration purposes we collect essential contact information ie. full name, postal address, phone number and email address. For the same reason we collect the same information from Friends, Volunteers and Freelancers.
Photographs of rehearsals, concerts and events may be posted on our website or used for publicity purposes.
Personal information provided by other people (eg email addresses given by people requesting tickets or information) will only be used for the purposes stated when the information is requested eg. to enable us to respond to a request for information or for us to contact you if you have asked us to do so.
We will provide information to organisation(s) to assist us with batch emailing members ; otherwise, we will not share any personal information with any 3rd party for marketing or any other purposes without your consent unless required by law.
Data Protection
We have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. The computer servers upon which the information is held are, to the best of our knowledge, located in the EU.
Cookies
Cookies are not used on our website
Access to your personal information
If you wish to correct, update, amend or remove any information we hold about you, you may do so by contacting our Chair here.
Information other websites collect from you
On this site we place links to other websites operated by other parties. When you click on these links and visit their websites we need to make clear to you that we do not control these other websites and this privacy statement does not apply to them. The operators of these other websites might collect different kinds of information about you and may use or disclose it in different ways. We therefore encourage you to exercise caution and review their privacy policies – we will not be responsible for their actions.
Updated June 2018
Copyright © 2018 Leominster Choral Society