Youth Ambassador Leadership Academy: safeguarding statement

Pride of Rushmoor Community Awards CIC

Company number: 16160652

Our commitment

Pride of Rushmoor Community Awards CIC (“PoRCA”)(“P R C A”) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every young person taking part in our Youth Ambassador Leadership Academy (YALA)

The Academy provides opportunities to develop leadership skills, experience business environments and contribute to the community. Young people’s safety and wellbeing come first throughout these activities.

Every child has the right to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation, bullying and harassment. We listen to young people, take their concerns seriously and provide an inclusive environment that respects their individual needs.

For this statement, a child is anyone under 18. Where participants are 18 or over, we maintain appropriate safety arrangements and apply adult safeguarding procedures where relevant.

Our arrangements follow applicable law and safeguarding guidance in England, including Working Together to Safeguard Children, and local safeguarding procedures.

Safeguarding leadership and contacts

Main officer: Designated Safeguarding Lead

The Designated Safeguarding Lead oversees the Academy’s safeguarding arrangements, receives concerns and coordinates referrals to appropriate services.

Safeguarding email: safeguarding@prideofrushmoorawards.uk

Deputy Safeguarding Officer

The deputy provides cover when the main officer is unavailable.

Senior safeguarding oversight

This person provides organisational oversight and receives concerns involving the main safeguarding officer.

Young people and parents or carers will be told who their safeguarding contact is before activities begin.

Business visits and practical tasks

We work with businesses to provide supervised learning opportunities. Businesses must agree to our safeguarding expectations before hosting Academy participants.

A designated PoRCAP R C A safeguarding officer will always accompany young people on Academy visits to business premises and remain present throughout the visit and practical activities.

If the designated officer or an approved safeguarding deputy cannot attend, the visit will be postponed or cancelled.

The accompanying officer does not replace the host business’s responsibility for safe premises, equipment, instruction and task supervision.

Before a visit, we will:

• Assess safeguarding, travel and activity risks with the host business.
• Agree suitable tasks, supervision arrangements and a named business contact.
• Consider participants’ ages, experience, maturity, accessibility requirements and support needs.
• Confirm appropriate insurance, first-aid and emergency arrangements.
• Explain relevant risks, safety instructions and reporting routes.
• Obtain parent or guardian permission for under-18 participation and visits, and explain the activity to the young person.
• Agree arrival, departure, transport and collection arrangements.

We will set staffing levels according to the group, activity and assessed risks. Additional adults will attend where needed; one safeguarding officer will not automatically be considered sufficient.

Young people will not undertake tasks beyond their abilities or legally permitted activities. Where an activity constitutes work experience or employment, the relevant workplace and child employment requirements will also be addressed.

A visit or task will be stopped if safety or safeguarding arrangements are inadequate.

Working with business partners

Partner businesses must:

• Identify a responsible contact for each visit.
• Brief relevant staff on safeguarding, appropriate conduct and reporting concerns.
• Provide safe, age-appropriate activities and suitable instruction.
• Prevent unauthorised or unsupervised access to participants.
• Report concerns promptly to PoRCAP R C A and, where necessary, statutory services.
• Respect our rules on communication, photography and personal information.

Business staff must not arrange private meetings, personal transport or direct personal contact with participants outside approved Academy arrangements.

We may suspend or end a partnership where safeguarding standards are not met.

Staff, volunteers and mentors

We use safer recruitment arrangements proportionate to each role, including identity checks, references and appropriate suitability checks.

We assess eligibility for DBS checks according to actual duties. Enhanced DBS and Children’s Barred List checks are obtained where the role is eligible and the check is appropriate or required. A DBS check does not replace supervision, training or ongoing vigilance.

Safeguarding officers will receive training appropriate to their responsibilities before the Academy starts. Staff, volunteers and mentors will receive safeguarding induction before the Academy starts and will understand how to recognise and report concerns.

Adults must maintain professional boundaries. Any necessary one-to-one support must follow agreed safeguards and take place in an observable or otherwise appropriately supervised setting.

Young people’s voices and wellbeing

We encourage participants to speak up if they feel unsafe, uncomfortable, pressured or worried about themselves or someone else.

Young people can decline or stop an activity they feel is unsafe. We will listen and respond without penalising them.

We address bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, harmful behaviour between participants and online abuse. Support and reasonable adjustments will be considered for individual needs.

Online communication and images

Academy communication takes place through approved channels. Adults must not use personal messaging accounts to develop private relationships with participants.

Identifiable photographs, videos, recordings and stories will be handled under our privacy and consent arrangements. Permission to participate in the Academy does not automatically include permission for publicity.

We respect young people’s wishes about being photographed or filmed and will not publish material where we identify a safeguarding risk.

Reporting a concern

If you are worried about a participant, or about the conduct of an adult or another young person, contact the main safeguarding officer or deputy immediately.

Safeguarding concerns can be raised by email.

We will listen, record relevant information and take appropriate protective action. Staff will not conduct their own investigation into suspected abuse.

We cannot promise absolute confidentiality. Information may need to be shared with children’s social care, the police or other appropriate professionals to protect someone from harm.

Parents or carers will normally be involved unless doing so could increase risk or compromise protective action.

If the concern involves the main safeguarding officer, contact the senior safeguarding oversight person listed above. Concerns involving other officers can also be raised directly with that person.

Allegations about someone working with children will be referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer where the threshold is met, within one working day. Relevant police, social care and DBS referrals will also be made where required.

Urgent help and external reporting

If someone is in immediate danger, call 999. Do not wait for a response from PoRCA.P R C A.

For concerns about a child in Hampshire:

Hampshire Children’s Services: 0300 555 1384

Monday–Thursday, 8:30am–5pm; Friday, 8:30am–4:30pm.

Out-of-hours service: 0300 555 1373

Police, non-emergency: 101

Childline: 0800 1111 — support for children and young people.

You can contact statutory services directly. You do not need PoRCA’sP R C A’s permission. For a child living outside Hampshire, contact the relevant local authority’s children’s services.

Information and records

Safeguarding records are kept securely, separately from routine programme records where appropriate, and accessed only by those who need them.

We share relevant information lawfully when necessary to protect a young person. Data protection law does not prevent necessary safeguarding information sharing.

Retention periods are determined by the nature of the record, applicable requirements and safeguarding needs. Safeguarding records are not automatically deleted after a general seven-year period.

Accountability and review

PoRCA’sP R C A’s directors oversee the Academy’s safeguarding arrangements. We review this statement and the supporting procedures at least annually and following significant incidents, changes to the programme or changes in relevant guidance.

Our internal safeguarding policy and procedures are available on request.

The Hampshire reporting contacts and allegation referral timescale above were checked against the council’s current guidance.