Louth Town Council

Safeguarding Children Policy

Adopted 30th April 2024

1. Introduction
   Louth Town Council abides by the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and is committed to safeguarding practice that reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with the best practice requirements.

• We recognise that the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take.
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender assignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm and abuse.
• Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents/carers and other agencies is essential in promoting children’s welfare.

2. Purpose
   Louth Town Council will:

 

• Protect children and young people who receive Louth Town Council’s service from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services.
• Provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Louth Town Council including senior managers, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.  Failure to comply with the policy and related procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

 

3. Definitions

• The Children Act 1989 definition of a child is: anyone who has not yet reached their 18^th birthday, even if they are living independently, are a member of the armed forces or is in hospital.
• Child Abuse: children may be vulnerable to neglect and abuse within their family or harm outside of the family. There are 4 main categories of abuse which are: sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect.  It is important to be aware of more specific types of abuse that fall within these categories, they are:
  1. Bullying and cyber bullying
  2. Child sexual exploitation
  3. Child criminal exploitation
  4. Child trafficking
  5. Domestic abuse
  6. Emotional abuse
  7. Female genital mutilation
  8. Grooming
  9. Neglect
  10. Non-recent abuse
  11. Online abuse
  12. Physical abuse
  13. Sexual abuse
• Safeguarding children: Safeguarding children is defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 as:

1. Protecting children maltreatment
2. Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
3. Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
4. Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcome.

 

4. Legal Framework
   This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation is available from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk. Legislation provides the framework for safeguarding and child protection in England. It makes clear the expectations and requirements around duties of care to children and creates accountability for these. The main legislation in England is the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004 and the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
5. Prevent Duty
   The Prevent strategy is part of the UK Counter Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST) published by the Government in 2011. Prevent has three main objectives to:
   1. respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism
   2. support vulnerable people and prevent people from being drawn into terrorism
   3. work with key sectors and institutions and address risks.

It focuses on early intervention before any illegal activity takes place. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of individuals who support a violent extremist ideology of becoming terrorists.

6. Training and Awareness
   Louth Town Council will ensure an appropriate level of safeguarding training is available to its employees, volunteers, and any relevant persons linked to the organisation who requires it (e.g. contractors).For all employees who are working or volunteering with children, this requires them as a minimum to have awareness training that enables them to:

• Understand what safeguarding is and their role in safeguarding children
• Understand the difference between safeguarding children and child protection
• How to spot the signs of abuse and neglect
• How to respond to the indicators of abuse and neglect and keep children safe
• Understand dignity and respect when working with children
• Have knowledge of the Safeguarding Children Policy

7. Confidentiality and Information Sharing
   Louth Town Council expects all employees and volunteers to maintain confidentiality. Information will only be shared in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection.However, information should be shared with the Local Authority if a child is deemed to be at risk of significant harm or contact the police if they are in immediate danger, or a crime has been committed.  For further guidance on information sharing, see Louth Town Council’s Data Protection policy.
8. Consent
   Whilst professionals should in general discuss any concerns with their child, their parents/careers and where possible seek their agreement to making referrals to the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership. This should only be done where such discussion and agreement-seeking will not place the child or others at increased risk of suffering significant harm.

Consent/agreement is not required for child protection referrals, however the professional referring would need to, where possible, discuss with and inform parents or carers that they are making a referral as stated above, unless alerting them would put the child or others at risk.

9. Recording and Record Keeping
   A written record must be kept about any safeguarding concerns. This must include details of the person involved, the nature of the concern and the actions taken, the decision made and why it was made.All records must be signed and dated.  All records must be securely and confidentially stored in line with GDPR and according to Louth Town Council’s Data Protection Policy.
10. Safe Recruitment and Selection
    There is a duty under Section 11 of the Children’s Act 2004 for Louth Town Council to be committed to safe employment and safe recruitment practices that reduce the risk of harm to children from people unsuitable to work with them or have contact with them.Louth Town Council has policies and procedures which cover the recruitment of employees and volunteers such as the Recruitment and Selection Policy and the Co-option Policy
11. Use of Mobile Phones and Other Digital Technology
    All employees, Councillors and volunteers should be aware of Louth Town Council’s Use of Internet and Email Policy regarding the use of mobile phones and any digital technology and understand that it is unlawful to share images and content on any digital platform without the explicit consent of the person with parental responsibilities.
12. Escalation
    Professionals providing services to children and their families should work co-operatively across all agencies, using their confidence, skills and experience to make a robust contribution to safeguarding children and promoting the welfare within the framework of discussions, meeting, conferences and case management.All professionals have a responsibility to work together and to help to prevent disagreements from escalating where possible.  On occasions, situations may arise where there is a professional disagreement in relation to safeguarding a child.  Resolution is an integral part of professional joint working to safeguard children and if such a situation arises and the problem cannot be resolved through discussion and negotiation between professionals on a front line level then the matter should be escalated as required.
13. Whilstleblowing
    It is important people within Louth Town Council have the confidence and support to come forward and speak or act if they have concerns that have not been addressed by escalation. Additional knowledge, advice and guidance must be sought from designated safeguarding leads at all times.Whistleblowing occurs when a person raises concerns about dangerous or illegal activity, or any wrong-doing within their organisation.  This includes concerns about another employee or volunteer.  There is a requirement by Louth Town Council to protect whistleblowers.
14. Important Contact Numbers
    If you believe that a child may be a victim of neglect, abuse or cruelty call:

Children’s safeguarding     01522 782111 (Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm); or

01522 782333 (outside of office hours)

 

Police   Emergency           999
Non-emergency    101

 

NSPCC Helpline               0808 800 5000

 

Child sexual exploitation   116000

 

 

 

Appendix 1

Safeguarding vulnerable people from extremism

Helping to reduce the threat from terrorism and extremism and knowing how to report a concern.

The Prevent strategy is part of the UK Counter Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST) published by the Government in 2011.

Prevent has three main objectives to:

• respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism
• support vulnerable people and prevent people from being drawn into terrorism
• work with key sectors and institutions and address risks.

It focuses on early intervention before any illegal activity takes place.  The aim is to reduce the likelihood of individuals who support a violent extremist ideology of becoming terrorists.  Find out more about National Prevent Strategy at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf

Reporting concerns

Don’t rely on others.  Please report any concerns you have about an adult or child who you think may be vulnerable to being drawn into extremism.

Reporting a concern: If you are concerned about any adult or child who you think may be vulnerable to being drawn into extremist activity, please report your concern.

Call 01522 885350 or email: prevent@lincs.pnn.police.uk

Spotting the signs

There is no single profile of a person likely to become involved in extremism and the process of radicalisation is different for every individual.

Radicalisers use normal social processes such as loyalty, self-perception, and fear of exclusion to influence others.

Signs that an individual may be being groomed into extremism could be:

• vulnerable individuals becoming withdrawn and stopping participating in their usual activities
• they may express feelings of:
  • anger
  • grievance
  • injustice
• or go missing from their home, school or care setting
• a new group of friends who have an extremist ideology
• using language that supports ‘us and them’ thinking
• or possessing or searching for extremist literature online.

 

Making a Prevent referral

How to report concerns about a child or adult at risk of extremism:

1. Make safe
   If emergency services are required call 999 or non-emergency call 101. Take responsible steps to ensure that there is no immediate danger.

2. Refer
   Refer concerns identified by members of public or professionals using the following link: https://www.lincs.police.uk/reporting-advice/terrorism/preventing-extremism/