Policy Statement
Safer London is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
Safer London works to prevent and address the impact of violence and exploitation on young people and their families. We believe every young person should be able to enjoy a life where they feel safe and free from harm or the threat of harm. We believe that making London safer for young people makes it safer for everyone.
Safer London believes that:
- children and young people should never experience abuse or maltreatment of any kind;
- it has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people to keep them safe and to work in a way that protects them.
Safer London recognises that:
- the welfare of the child is paramount;
- all children have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation;
- some children can be considered to be more at risk due to the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues, including being a member of a minority ethnic group, having a disability, being very young (infants are at higher risk) or a young carer (since this group is often isolated as well as protective of those they are caring for);
- working in partnership with children and their parents or carers, as well as other agencies, is essential in promoting their welfare.
Safer London will seek to keep children safe by:
- valuing, listening to and respecting them;
- appointing a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), a deputy DSL and a Lead Trustee for Safeguarding;
- adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies and procedures for employees and volunteers;
- providing effective management of employees and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures;
- recruiting employees and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made;
- recording and storing information professionally and securely;
- sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children, their families, employees and volunteers via one-to-one discussions, group work, leaflets and other channels;
- using our child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know and involving children, parents/carers and families appropriately;
- using our procedures to manage any safeguarding allegations against employees and volunteers 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;
- ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place;
- ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for the children we work with, our employees and volunteers by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance;
- ensuring our work is anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive and recognises the possibility of unconscious bias.
Last updated February 2022