The safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults is of paramount importance to us, and so we take every precaution to ensure that our clients are safe from harm whilst engaging with our service. Not only that, but we also keep our practice open to continual professional scrutiny so that you can have complete confidence that we are always looking for ways to further refine and improve.
Safeguarding our clients includes:
- All employed staff are DBS checked (with updates), qualified and registered as appropriate to their role. Any workers-in-training with us are also DBS checked, and subject to a rigorous vetting and induction process before working under strict professional supervision.
- All staff are kept up to date with annual refresher training and regular updates on current safeguarding practice.
- We maintain strict professional boundaries as outlined within the Institute for Youth Work Code of Practice which can be found here: https://nya.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IYW-Code-of-Ethics-Poster-PDF.pdf.
- Our Face-to-face 1:1 meetings always take place in risk-assessed public or professional spaces (e.g. cafes, office spaces, or risk-assessed outdoor spaces).
- If meeting in a cafe, we may offer to purchase light refreshments for our client(s) as part of the session. These will normally be drinks only. Meals or alcoholic drinks will never form part of this provision. Neither will a member of our team arrange to meet a client outside of a pre-booked session.
- Client confidentiality is strictly maintained. This means that all identifiable information, and the content of our sessions, stays strictly within our team and is not shared with anyone without specific consent of the client and/or parent/carer. The only exception is where there is a clear risk of harm to self or others, in which case information is shared on a strictly ‘need-to-know’ basis according to safeguarding protocols. When a third party, such as a parent/carer, has an interest in how the work is progressing, this will be discussed with the client(s) who will choose what information can be shared.
- Confidential records of sessions will be kept securely for the purpose of providing a high-quality service and continuity of care. These records will be securely stored and then destroyed permanently not more than three years after last contact with us.
- We have an Independent Safeguarding Guardian who can be contacted if you have any concerns about our safe practice. Details provided upon request.