Safeguarding policy

At Libraries Rising we inspire all children and young people to reach their full potential by championing excellence, diversity and equality in libraries, where the imagination and aspirations of all children and young people can soar through exciting, vibrant and dynamic library services where their voices are heard, valued and reflected.

Through our programmes and partnerships, we reach children, young people and their families.

The welfare of children, young people and their families is vitally important and all have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religious belief or age.

Through the application of this policy and procedures, Libraries Rising promotes the safety, welfare and well-being of all children, young people and their families enabling them to participate in our programmes, events, or engage in a safe and inclusive way.

The purpose of this policy is to:

Protect children and young people and their families who take part in our programmes, events or engage with us in any way.

Provide guidance to all staff, members, volunteers and trustees as well as the children, young people and their families, with the principles that guide our approach to safeguarding.

We will seek to keep children, young people, and their families safe by:

Valuing, listening to and respecting them
Appointing a nominated lead for safeguarding
Understanding what a safeguarding incident is and taking appropriate action if a safeguarding incident occurs
Supporting members and partners to adopt best practice* in safeguarding when they work with children and young people as part of a Libraries Rising programme, event or activity
Adopting safeguarding best practice* through our policies and procedures for staff and volunteers
Providing effective training so that all staff, members and trustees, know about and follow our policies and procedures confidently
Recruiting safely to ensure all necessary checks are made
Recording, storing and using information professionally and securely in line with data protection legislation

*Best practice refers to: Following the guidance outlined in this policy and the Safeguarding Procedural Guide. To ensure a best practice approach is maintained, training will be offered to Libraries Rising staff, volunteers and trustees.

Scope

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Libraries Rising, including all staff, board of trustees, freelance workers or volunteers.

Context

Libraries Rising staff may occasionally have direct contact with children, young people and their families through our programmes, for example

Working directly with young people involved in the Youth Engagement Network
Consulting children, young people and their families about library services and projects
Questioning and surveying participants for project evaluations
Interacting with participants through our websites and social media

However, most of our work is delivered in partnership with libraries, schools, colleges, and other partner organisations and we will take steps to ensure our staff do not have unsupervised contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults. In these instances, we will seek assurances of our partners’ safeguarding practice and will adopt a supportive role; checking safeguarding procedures are in place.

We will also ensure that we undertake a DBS check on all staff who work with children, young people or vulnerable adults as well as consistently using safer recruitment processes.

Contact details

Nominated Safeguarding Lead: Chief Executive

Nominated Safeguarding Lead Deputy: Programme Manager

Nominated Trustee/Senior Safeguarding Lead: Chair

Definitions

Child: Any person aged under 18

Young Person: Any person aged 18 to 24

Vulnerable Adult: A person aged 18 or over, who may be in need of care services due to disability, age or illness, who is or may be unable to take care of themselves, or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation

Monitoring and review

This policy is the responsibility of all workers who have contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults and their managers. It will be reviewed every year and any amendments will be passed to the Board for approval.

Code of practice

This code of practice applies to all contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults by Libraries Rising staff, board members, freelancers and volunteers.

Plan so that there is no unsupervised contact by ensuring that children, young people and vulnerable adults are supervised by at least one other responsible adult (e.g., parent/carer, teacher, librarian, group leader)
Be clear who is responsible for safeguarding at an event/meeting and put it in writing
Ensure a risk assessment is carried out and any aLibraries Rising actions are addressed
Avoid physical contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults except in exceptional circumstances, for reasons of health and safety
Ensure that all collection, processing, storage and sharing of personal data by Libraries Rising complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable legislation
In instances where partners are delivering Libraries Rising supported activities, events or programmes, Libraries Rising will provide a checklist to assure us that adequate safeguarding practice is in place. This includes a requirement for:
- a partner to provide their risk assessment for the activity, event or programme,
- staff responsible for delivering the activity, event or programme have access to their organisation’s safeguarding policy and have read and understood it
- all safeguarding incidents relating to the activity, event or programme are reported to Libraries Rising, so that we can support their safeguarding response and challenge where necessary.

Managing risk

A risk assessment should be carried out for any contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults. If Libraries Rising supported activity, event or programme is carried out by a partner, Libraries Rising will request a risk assessment is submitted to Libraries Rising for review.

The risk assessment form helps to assess risk and prompt any action required to ensure an individual’s protection.

Libraries Rising has a responsibility to ensure that staff in contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults are not placed in situations where abuse might be alleged.

Staff should not find or place themselves in situations where there are unsafe equipment or materials, inadequate partner staff support or work for which they do not have enough training or experience. Project planning should ensure the skills of the staff match the needs of the situation.

A risk assessment form and prompt sheet should be completed and stored.

Lead trustee

The Charity Commission states that safeguarding is the responsibility of all trustees.

As a new Charity that benefits children and young people, we have nominated a lead trustee for safeguarding to ensure we are developing in line with best practice.

The lead trustee will:

have the skills, experience and confidence in safeguarding.
champion safeguarding in board and charity culture
work with the Chief Executive (designated safeguarding lead) and Programme Manager (deputy designated safeguarding lead) to review safeguarding practice as it develops
check the risk register reflects safeguarding risks properly and ensures mitigation
ensures annual review and board sign off of safeguarding policy and procedures
oversees any allegations about the Chief Executive and acts as a point of contact for staff or volunteers for complaints about a lack of action in relation to safeguarding concerns

Protocols

Events and meetings

Most of our contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults is through partner organisations such as local authority library services, community groups and we expect these project delivery partners will observe statutory requirements and good practice on safeguarding. We will seek assurances that safeguarding practices are in place
When attending a Libraries Rising supported event externally that has been arranged through a partner organisation
- Confirm appropriate policies are in place and include this where appropriate in a partnership agreement
- Check the partner organisation has completed a risk assessment and confirm in writing that they will be the lead body for safeguarding on the project

Identify who has primary responsibility for safeguarding – this should be the responsibility of the organisation being visited

Any concerns should be reported to the designated safeguarding person at that venue, who will undertake the necessary response
When visiting a library service and attending a public event such as a Bounce and Rhyme we will always assume adequate safeguarding practice is in place. Should we experience any concerns we will report them as a member of the public.

Where working directly with children, young people and vulnerable adults, Libraries Rising must ensure that

A risk assessment is carried out in advance
Appropriate action is taken to mitigate the identified risks
Partners are reminded to check that staff supporting the event / chaperoning children have appropriate DBS checks and safeguarding measures in place
Partners are reminded to obtain any necessary consent forms
Any personal data collected is processed in-line with Data Protection legislation

Photographs, videos and filmed footage

Photography or films of a child or young person in any setting, the following protocols must be followed:

If the individual is under 18, parental / carer permission must be obtained in writing
This permission form must outline exactly what the images or footage will be used for (i.e. exclusively for marketing, for an evaluation report etc.)
If a library service or partner is gaining permission for content to be used by Libraries Rising or shares locally created content with Libraries Rising after permission is given, it should be made clear that the images will be used by a third party (i.e. Libraries Rising) and permission includes national use.
This permission form should, where possible, outline who the audience will be
The child or young person should never include identifying information, such as: name, address, birthday, the name of their local library etc.
In the event that the image or footage is later found to contain something that could pose a safeguarding risk to the child, Libraries Rising will take all reasonable steps to remove this image or footage from their website, social media channels or marketing materials. In instances where the photo has been circulated on social media channels or via printed marketing materials, it should be acknowledged that this is more challenging.
If an image or footage of a child is taken from a distance where the child’s features cannot be identified, or if it is of the back of their head, this doesn’t require parental permission. It’s advisable to err on the side of caution and if you’re unsure, don’t use the image or footage.
Ensure any contractors (e.g. photographers and videographers) are aware of these protocols and that they follow them accordingly.

Online safety

Libraries Rising recognises that the use of information technology is an essential part of all our lives. As an organisation we use IT to gather and store information, and to communicate with each other, our members, trustees and partners.

It is also an intrinsic part of the experience of children, young people and their families, and it can be beneficial to all. However, it can present challenges in terms of how we use it responsibly and, if misused either by an adult or young person, can be actually or potentially harmful to them.

As an organisation we will:

Ensure that the personal information (other than the name) of staff, volunteers and service users remain confidential
Only use official email accounts provided via the organisation for contact with children, young people and their families
Only contact children privately online (i.e., email or message on social media e.g. WhatsApp) with the written permission of their parent or carer
Respond appropriately to children who post publicly on our social media channels, using Libraries Rising‘s established brand voice using the Libraries Rising social accounts rather than personal.
Remove any public social media posts from children that reveal identifying information such as address, school or telephone number, as soon as the post is identified
Provide staff and volunteers with guidance on our approach to e-safety, through supervision, support and training
Undertake a risk assessment for any new online activities and make any necessary amendments

DBS checks

We will undertake DBS checks for staff and trustees working directly with children, young people and vulnerable adult. We will also ensure any freelancers working with children, young people and adults without other DBS-checked staff present, are also DBS checked.

If the work requires a DBS check, Libraries Rising will assist in making an application. If staff have a DBS check and subscribed to the DBS Update Service, Libraries Rising will ask permission to view the DBS check online and record the details on staff HR files. Libraries Rising will not usually require a new DBS check.

IF you have a DBS check that is less that 18 months old from a previous employer, we will record details of the disclosure on your HR file and carry out our own check within the first 3-6 months of the contract.

Staff joining Libraries Rising who do not have a previous DBS check will be allowed to work on projects but must not have unsupervised contact until their application has been processed.

The person with responsibility for DBS checks for Libraries Rising is the CEO/Safeguarding Lead.

Renewal of DBS checks

DBS checks do not carry an expiry date so Libraries Rising will renew DBS checks every three years and, for convenience, we recommend employees sign up for the DBS Update Service when applying for a DBS check.

In the interim, if anything happens that you think may affect the validity of your DBS check you must inform the Safeguarding Lead immediately.

Disclosure

Staff who disclose that they have been convicted of any offence relating to children, young people or vulnerable adults, or any related sanction, will not be permitted to work on any event which involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Managing safeguarding incidents

If a safeguarding incident occurs, prompt action will be taken within 24 hours of the incident, or if this is not possible, as soon as is possible.

The Designated Safeguarding lead (or Deputy) will be informed and, in most instances, the matter will be referred on to the appropriate agency to support the child, young person or adult with next steps. If there is an immediate risk of harm then the emergency services will be alerted.

An incident report will be completed with succinct factual information about the issue, the action taken and the outcome of the incident. Any incident reports will be held by the Designated Safeguarding lead.

The organisation will review safeguarding incident reporting annually and report to the Board on any safeguarding incidents aLibraries Rising.

Handling a disclosure

The recommended actions for handling a disclosure from a child, young person or vulnerable adult are similar.

However, the approach needs to be adjusted depending on circumstances.

At all times staff should ensure that they are never alone with a child, young person or vulnerable adult and should not go into a private room unless accompanied by a parent or other member of staff.

Actions to be taken:

Find a suitable location to discuss. Ideally, this should be somewhere quiet and calm, away from the general public. Avoid being alone with a child, and if it cannot be avoided, make sure you are within sight of others at all times.
Listen carefully, take seriously what is being said, let the child, young person or vulnerable adult describe what happened at their own pace, only asking questions for clarification.
Do not ask leading questions. Keep your questions open, non-judgemental and neutral.
Remain calm and caring and avoid interpreting information.
Reassure but do not make promises of confidentiality or secrecy. Tell the child, young person or vulnerable adult there will be a need to share this information but make it clear that only people who need to know and who can help will be told.
Reassure them that they did the right thing in telling you.
Keep appropriate confidentiality (e.g., not to share or discuss with colleagues)
Using the child’s/adult’s own words, complete a Safeguarding Incident Report Form as soon as possible after the disclosing conversation and sign and date this record.
Inform the designated Safeguarding Lead or deputy.

Actions to avoid:

Do not dismiss concerns, or allow any shock or distaste to show.
Do not probe, over pressure or attempt to conduct an inquiry into what has happened.
Avoid cross-questioning, excessive or leading questions.
Do not speculate, make assumptions or make negative comments about the allegation or promise confidentiality.
Do not suggest any actions that may be undertaken in response to the disclosure.
Do not share the disclosed information with anyone other than relevant third parties and the safeguarding lead.

Managing allegations

If a safeguarding allegation is made regarding a staff member, trustee, volunteer or freelancer of Libraries Rising, or if there is concern about a relationship with a child, young person or vulnerable adult, we will act quickly and effectively to investigate promptly (within working hours) of the matter being raised.

Any allegation should be reported to the Nominated Safeguarding Lead, who will involve the relevant local organisation (e.g., School, library, Local Authority Designated Officer).

Additional guidance for managing any allegation against a member of staff can be found in Part 4 of Keeping Children Safe in Education

The staff member, trustee, volunteer or freelancer will be made aware of the allegation and his or her rights under both employment law and internal disciplinary procedures by the Designated Safeguarding lead.

Whilst the investigation is carried out, the worker will usually be allowed to continue to work but contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults will be prohibited. A decision may be taken to suspend the worker.

Date approved by board of trustees: 6^th February 2025