Safeguarding Policies

 

Summary-

This is our formal recognition of safeguarding and our due diligence to recognise it as a risk. We will also only support other charities with safeguarding policies in place.

Board of Trustees, 19th March 2019

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

  1. The primary concern of the Henry Sale Foundation (the Foundation) is always the welfare and safety of the children and adults it seeks to support.

  2. We believe that the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults from abuse should be of the highest priority, and that any failings in this area must be immediately reported. There are no excuses for shortcomings.

  3. It shall not normally be the practice of the Foundation to manage directly individuals receiving support. Responsibility for safeguarding those individuals will normally rest with the organisation for whose benefit the Foundation has provided support. The Foundation reserves the absolute right to have sight of any organisation’s Safeguarding Policy and impose any such restriction on it that may be at odds with the policy of the Foundation.

  4. In the rare instances that an employee, officer holder or volunteer may be in direct contact with a young person receiving support that person is required to hold an unblemished and in- date certificate from the ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ (DBS check). The required DBS check will normally be a basic check for the child workforce. If the person is to engage in one- to-one tuition, overnight care, act in loco parentis, or be left alone with any child, then the required DBS check will be an enhanced check for the child workforce.

  5. A satisfactory DBS will be one of the following:

    1. A DBS completed for the child workforce through any Diocese of the Church of

      England that is less than five years old;

    2. A DBS completed for the child workforce through any employer (paid or

      voluntary), and updated through the Online Updating system (which must have been checked by the designated Trustee of the Foundation for Safeguarding matters)

    3. For all DBS certificates not completed through a Diocese of the Church of England, photographic proof of identity (e.g. driving licence, passport) must be seen and recorded by the Clerk to the Foundation.

  6. An additional safeguarding risk is of abuse to an individual by a person employed or retained by the organisation receiving support. All employees (if any), trustees, office holders and volunteers in the direct management of the Foundation, including those on probationary service, and employees on secondment from other organisations shall be vigilant at all times and adopt the procedures set out in the ‘Whistleblowing Policy’ annexed to this policy.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees on 19th March 2019
Signed ...................................................................... R E T Sanders, Chairman

WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY

Whistleblowing is where an individual raises concerns with an organisation or regulatory body of suspected wrongdoing at work. Officially this is called ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’.

Wrongdoing may include (but is not limited to):

  • a criminal offence

  • a breach of a legal obligation

  • a miscarriage of justice

  • a risk to the health and/or safety of an individual or individuals (be that another employee, a customer, a member of the public or any other person)

  • damage to the environment

  • deliberate concealment of any of the above

  • a failure to comply with an element of stated corporate governance policy or other

    compliance matter

  • deliberate non-compliance, to the detriment of the organisation, with that

    organisation’s stated policies/procedures or underhand dealings or practices

    In line with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (‘PIDA’) the Henry Sale Foundation (the Foundation) wish to encourage any employee /office holder or volunteer in their management to alert them to any potential problems reasonably believed to exist, without fear of any negative reprisal in response to his/her revelation, be that fear of dismissal, denial of promotion or pay prospects, or any other detrimental treatment.

    This policy is in place to ensure that an internal process is available to encourage and enable workers and volunteers to raise serious concerns which would not meet the criteria for a complaint, in confidence and without fear of reprisals, to ensure the Foundation continues to provide the highest standards of integrity and accountability.

    The policy is not designed to question business or financial decisions taken by its Board, nor to reconsider any matters which have already been addressed under disciplinary, grievance, complaint or other procedures. It specifically includes concerns about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. However, if a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk of harm should the first point of contact shall be to the Clerk to the Trustees by email or the designated trustee for Safeguarding by post. Their respective contact details are as follows; Jackie.turner@fishergerman.co.uk or tel 01858 411228

    or write to David Legh, at Cubley Lodge, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 2FB

    In an emergency, if a child or vulnerable adult is considered to be at risk of immediate harm the police should be called on 999.

PROCEDURE
Scope and Purpose

The whistleblowing procedure applies to all employees (if any), trustees, office holders and volunteers in the direct management of the Foundation, including those on probationary service, and employees on secondment from other organisations

The procedure:

  • provides a means of addressing conduct or behaviour or activities which fall within the definition in the policy and on which an employee, officer holder or volunteer may feel compelled to blow the whistle

  • defines what may be done under the policy and by whom and sets out important employee /office holder rights and obligations

  • ensures that within each set of circumstances all employees / office holders are treated consistently, fairly and equitably

  • ensures that any disciplinary action in relation to disclosure of matters in the policy is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances and is applied equitably in every case

  • may lead to further action, for example, of a disciplinary nature or an internal review of procedures and controls.

    The principles:

  • Those covered by the policy should have a process available to them under which they may alert the organisation to potential problems and raise any serious concerns they may have.

  • There may be circumstances where those covered by the policy is legally liable if he/she does not blow the whistle these are in the case of certain serious frauds or instances of professional malpractice.

  • Once a disclosure is made, speed may be of the essence and all those involved in the procedure should act without delay.

  • Confidentiality is essential in the first instance, both to ensure confidence in the fairness and probity of the process and so as not to alert any potential wrong-doer to the suspicion, as this may lead to him or her destroying evidence. Later on, confidentiality may be lifted (if appropriate) to rectify the situation and to put in place processes to minimise the risk of it recurring.

  • Disciplinary action will not usually be taken against an employee / officer holder suspected of an activity falling within the procedure until the case has been investigated and reasonable belief of the activity having taken place has been established; however, there may be exceptions when dismissal for gross misconduct or suspension is necessary prior to the final result of an investigation and other ensuing procedures.

  • Malicious, vexatious or frivolous use of the process will result in disciplinary action against the employee invoking or seeking to invoke the procedure.

  • All proceedings, witness statements and records will be kept confidential as far as is possible (see comments on disciplinary process above).

  • Management has a duty to ensure that all matters raised under the policy are taken seriously.

PROCESS

Stage 1: Potential whistleblower considers reasonableness of suspicion

1. An employee /office holder becoming aware of a situation which he/she suspects is an activity about which he/she might blow the whistle under the policy, should in the first instance consider if his/her grounds for suspicion are reasonable. S/he should also consider whether he/she wishes to follow up the suspicion with one of the more informal methods of investigation or the most formal, representation directly to the Foundation.

2. If the employee/officer holder chooses the whistleblowing policy as the most appropriate mechanism for his/her concern (or the more informal procedures have been tried and the result has proved unsatisfactory in the eyes of the employee) the employee/office holder may, if he/she wishes, raise the matter in confidence with his/her line manager in the first instance. If, for whatever reason, he/she does not wish to consult his/her line manager but nonetheless wants a second opinion, a member of the Board of Trustees may be consulted in confidence.

3. If the line manager or member of the member of the Board of Trustees is alerted under the policy, that person should advise the employee/office holder in question in no more than five working days whether he/she also considers the suspicion reasonable and, also, that the use of the policy is appropriate in the circumstances. The employee/officer holder may still alert their line manager even if the member of the Board of Trustees does not concur with his/her suspicion and/or feels that invoking the policy will be inappropriate, provided he/she still believes there are reasonable grounds for suspicion.

4. Whether or not the employee/officer holder informs a member of the Board of Trustees, a person considering blowing the whistle must not prevaricate, make obvious investigations or set any traps. It may prove detrimental to any further investigations if the person believed to be involved in the wrongful activity is approached.

Stage 2: Raising the suspicion and initial investigation

5. Once the employee (and any member of the Board of Trustees consulted) believes there are reasonable grounds for suspecting an activity falling within the policy and that the use of the policy is appropriate, the employee should alert the trustee designated for Safeguarding matters. S/he will take the basic details of the concern and the whistleblower’s contact details. S/he will then decide how the initial evaluation should be conducted (usually by commissioning professional assistance), consider the outcome and recommendations, and be briefed on the progress of any subsequent investigation (challenging where necessary its adequacy and conclusions). Usually at this point the Board will be informed that a whistleblowing issue has arisen, but its involvement in the investigation may be limited to being informed (this reflects the delicacy of the nature of a whistleblowing investigation. More information will later be provided to enable the introduction of new, stricter controls).

6. In most cases the designated member of the Board of Trustees will have an initial conversation with the whistleblower for a basic assessment of the case, then request an internal auditor to undertake any further interviewing of the whistleblower, assessing the evidence and making a recommendation on further action. These first steps should normally take place within a few working days and those staff responsible will ensure that the matter is considered as quickly as possible without affecting the quality and depth of the investigations required. The whistleblower will be informed of the result of the investigation, though there may be some aspects which will remain confidential, for instance, certain aspects of any resulting disciplinary proceedings.

7. If the designated member of the Board of Trustees decides that the matter should not be taken further but the whistleblower is unhappy with the decision a desk review of the documentation by the trustee, a one-to-one interview between him/her and the whistleblower may take place.

8. If the case is still dismissed and the whistleblower is still dissatisfied, he/she may use the most formal procedure of direct representation to the whole Board. In the light of having already had the suspicion discounted after investigation, taking such a step should be recognised as a serious allegation and spurious or vexatious claims may result in disciplinary action.

Stage 3: Detailed investigation

9. If after the initial investigations there appear to be grounds for the suspicion further work will take place. The police might be involved, or in particularly complex cases experts, for example forensic accountants, may be brought in if necessary. The investigations will still be as swift as possible, as this will increase the chances of revealing the wrongdoing.

10. As the result of finding any wrongdoing being perpetrated, the appropriate disciplinary or other procedures will be brought into play as and when necessary.

11. If the suspicion is ultimately found not to have grounds the whistleblower may appeal as in paragraphs 7 and 8 above.

Stage 4: Follow up to investigation

12. After the investigations have taken place any necessary changes to rectify errors resulting from the wrongdoing should be implemented if possible.

13. If not already involved, the wrongdoer’s director / head of department (and any other relevant staff) will, in consultation with the Trustees, review the risks the situation has revealed, and create new controls to combat these.

14. When appropriate thereafter, the trustees will be alerted. Any other relevant reporting body will also be informed. The Trustees’ annual report will refer to the policy and may record whether or not it has been used in the year.

To Whom should I blow the whistle?

15. If you feel confident in alerting the Trustees about your concern, then your initial contact should be to the Clerk to the Trustees by email or the designated trustee for Safeguarding by post. Their respective contact details are as follows; Jackie.turner@fishergerman.co.uk or tel 01858 411228

or write to David Legh, at Cubley Lodge, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 2FB

16. Any concern that suggests that a criminal offence has taken place or is suspected should be referred to Leicestershire Police by contacting Leicestershire Constabulary by using the on-line report forms available on their website or tel 101.

This Policy will be reviewed annually as part of the Board’s review of all Safeguarding Policies.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees on 19th March 2019

Signed ...................................................................... R E T Sanders, Chairman