Safeguarding
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding refers to the actions taken to protect individuals, particularly vulnerable ones, from harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation. It is a set of measures designed to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals, especially children, young people, and adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse.
Safeguarding can involve various strategies and practices, including risk assessments, developing policies and procedures, training staff and volunteers, monitoring and reporting any concerns, and providing support and services to those who have been affected by harm or abuse.
Safeguarding is a critical issue in many settings, including schools, healthcare, social care, sports, and religious organisations. It is everyone's responsibility to promote and uphold the principles of safeguarding, including recognising the signs of abuse or neglect, reporting concerns, and working together to ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals.
Safeguarding
At Esteem Educators, we specialise in providing 1-2-1 mentoring for our young people remotely, in various public locations. As a team, we prioritise the safety and well-being of all our young people when out in the wider community. For this reason, our staff will pick the young person up in their personal vehicle, and we require that all staff have business insurance to ensure the young person is safe to travel with them.
We believe that every young person has the right to feel happy, safe, and be able to learn. With this in mind, we have put in place robust safeguarding measures to ensure that our students are protected from harm, including bullying, abuse, discrimination, or harassment, and feel secure in their environment.
Our staff members are often required to work alone with each young person, but we ensure that they receive adequate training and support to maintain the highest standards of safeguarding. All of our staff members are subject to rigorous background checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This check ensures that anyone with a history of criminal offenses, particularly those related to children, is not permitted to work with our organisation.
Moreover, our organisation follows a comprehensive safer recruitment policy, which is designed to attract and select the most suitable candidates for our vacancies. This policy includes several stages of recruitment, such as application and reference checks, face-to-face interviews, and assessment of candidates' suitability to work with children and young people.
We take safeguarding very seriously, and we strive to ensure that all our staff members are trained and supported to maintain the highest standards of safeguarding. Our staff members receive regular safeguarding training to ensure that they are up to date with the latest policies and procedures.
We want to provide the best possible care for all the children and young people we work with. If you have any concerns about the welfare of your child or another child, please do not hesitate to speak to any member of our team, who will be happy to help you.
Our Safeguarding Policy can be found here.
Esteem's Duty of Care to keep all young people safe
-
We prioritise the safety and well-being of all our students.
-
We believe that every student has the right to feel happy, safe, and be able to learn.
-
We have put in place robust safeguarding measures to ensure that our students are protected from harm, including bullying, abuse, discrimination, or harassment.
-
We provide 1-2-1 mentoring remotely in various public locations, which means that our staff members must be trained and equipped to ensure the safety of each student.
-
We provide our staff with adequate training and support to maintain the highest standards of safeguarding.
-
We have a duty of care to ensure that every student is protected from harm and that they feel secure in their environment, whether they are within our physical location or out in the community.
-
We have designated safeguarding leads within our team who are responsible for ensuring that all safeguarding policies and procedures are up-to-date and followed.
-
We encourage open communication with parents and carers and are always available to discuss any concerns they may have regarding the welfare of their child or another child.
KCSIE stands for "Keeping Children Safe in Education," and it is a government guidance document that provides statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England. This document outlines the legal duties and responsibilities that schools and colleges have with regards to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and can be found here.
KCSIE is an essential document for all schools and colleges as it provides a framework for ensuring that children are protected from harm, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It sets out the key principles that underpin effective safeguarding, including the importance of a child-centered approach, the need for a whole-school approach to safeguarding, and the importance of effective partnership working with other agencies.
Furthermore, KCSIE outlines the procedures that schools and colleges must follow when there are concerns about a child's welfare, including the process for making referrals to children's social care services. It also sets out the roles and responsibilities of staff members in promoting the welfare of children and young people and the steps that schools and colleges must take to ensure that all staff members are trained and supported in their safeguarding duties.
At Esteem Educators, we fully endorse and implement the guidance provided in KCSIE. We recognise the importance of following the statutory guidance to ensure that all children and young people we work with are protected from harm and are safe in our care.