Introduction
The Story Museum welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities. The museum has a responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all users of our building and services be they trustees, staff, volunteers, visitors, contractors or tenants, regardless of age or physical ability.
This policy is written to ensure that all visitors and staff are guaranteed appropriate and safe treatment in all circumstances. This includes interactions on site, during outreach work and digital interactivity. While it is aimed specifically to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from abuse, it should be considered to encompass a wide meaning of health and safety. The Safeguarding Policy is supported by the Safeguarding Action Plan which ensures that all statutory requirements are met and where possible exceeded to promote a safe environment both for staff and visitors with specific focus on children, young people and vulnerable adults.
All trustees, staff, volunteers, visitors, contractors or tenants are responsible for supporting this policy.
Definitions
Abuse is any action by another person – adult or child – that causes significant harm and encompasses the following: domestic abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, online abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, bullying and cyberbullying, child trafficking, grooming and harmful sexual behaviour.
The NSPCC defines safeguarding as the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. Safeguarding means: protecting children from abuse and maltreatment, preventing harm to children’s health or development, and ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care.
For the purpose of this document the word ‘children’ refers to anyone up to the age of 18 and ‘young people’ refers specifically for the ages 11-25 years. The Story Museum defines a vulnerable adult as a person who for any reason is, or feels, unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation.
The word ‘Staff’ includes employees, trustees, volunteers, freelancers, contractors and tenants.
Objectives
Our objectives are to:
Practice
The Story Museum and everyone who works for it is committed to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults by:
- Providing effective management for staff through induction and annual in-service training, supervision and support
- Ensuring that all staff follow the Museum’s written procedures and Code of Behaviour & Practice to set a culture of good practice.
- Ensure that all staff know the policies and are empowered to implement the procedures that support Safeguarding. These are:
- Ensure that all staff know how to implement the operational procedures in place to support Safeguarding. These are:
- Adopting safeguarding procedures for all staff which minimise any opportunity for abuse and establish appropriate treatment of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect the staff to uphold the following behaviour as outlined in the Safeguarding Code of Practice:
Do:
Don’t:
- Risk assessing activities and events and applying the NSPCC guidelines for appropriate adult:child ratios to assess the appropriate framework for the activity.
- Ensuring all members of staff understand they have a duty to report concerns of abuse and know the procedures for doing so via the Reporting Disclosures procedures or Whistleblowing.
- Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents/carers as per the procedures detailed in the Procedures for reporting disclosures and responding to allegations of abuse.
- Following the Safe Recruitment procedures for all staff.
- Informing staff that not adhering to the policy and guidelines will lead to formal disciplinary action.
- Publicising our guidelines in our visitor information documentation.
- The Board Safeguarding Champion and the Designated Safeguarding Officers will review the Safeguarding Policy and Safeguarding Action Plan annually, implementing changes where necessary.
Personnel
Review
The Story Museum reserves the right to amend policies and procedures without prior notice to reflect changes in legislation or significant changes in operational strategy. All Safeguarding Policies will be reviewed annually.
Reviewed: November 2023