Safeguarding Policy

The purpose of this policy is to outline the duty and responsibility of staff working on behalf of Training with Hart in relation to Safeguarding Adults at risk and Children.

Everyone has the right to be safe from harm and must be able to live free from fear of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Everyone who partakes in training is entitled to do so in a safe and enjoyable environment.

Training with Hart is committed to helping all staff and leaners of our courses to understand their responsibility to safeguarding others from harm and abuse.

All suspicions and allegations of abuse and poor practice will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

As a training provider, Training staff are unlikely to work directly with at risk individuals, however if, while giving training we see, hear or are told about poor/dangerous practice in links with both adults and children at risk we have a responsibility to report concerns to the Training with Hart Manager immediately. The Manager will ask for a full report on what you saw/hear or were told before making a decision on what to do next.

Definition of an Adult at Risk:

Adult at Risk is a person aged 18 or over who is in need of care and support regardless of whether they are receiving them, and because of those needs are unable to protect themselves against abuse or neglect.

In recent years, there has been a marked shift away from using the term ‘vulnerable’ to describe adults potentially at risk from harm or abuse.

Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by another person or persons, most abuse is directly breaking the law.

An adult is anyone aged 18 or over. Adult safeguarding is protecting a person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.

Capacity refers to the ability to make a decision at a particular time, for example, when under considerable stress. The starting assumption must

always be that a person has the capacity to make a decision unless it can be established that they lack capacity (MCA 2005).

All children must be protected from the risk or harm, abuse and neglect at all times.

Types of Abuse

Self-neglect: this covers a wide range of behaviour such as: neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings and includes behaviour such as hoarding. An indicator of this could be when an individual’s appearance becomes unkempt, does not wear suitable clothing and deterioration in hygiene.
Modern Slavery: encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude. Traffickers and slave masters use whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment.
Domestic Abuse: including psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse. It also includes so called 'honour' based violence. You may notice a power imbalance between a resident and a family member or staff member.
Discriminatory: discrimination is abuse which centres on a difference or perceived difference particularly with respect to race, gender, or disability or any of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act.
Organisational Abuse: including neglect and poor care practice within an institution or specific care setting such as a hospital or care home, for example, or in relation to care provided in one’s own home. This may range from one off incidents to on-going ill treatment. It can be through neglect or poor professional practice as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices within an organisation.
Physical Abuse: includes hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, misuse of medication, restraint, or inappropriate sanctions.
Sexual Abuse: including rape, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, sexual teasing or innuendo, sexual photography, subjection to pornography or witnessing sexual acts, indecent exposure and sexual assault or sexual acts to which the adult has not consented or was pressured into consenting.
Financial or Material Abuse: including theft, fraud, internet scamming, coercion in relation to an adult’s financial affairs or arrangements, including in connection with wills, property, inheritance or financial transactions, or the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions, or benefits.
Neglect: including ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health social care or educational services, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition, and heating.
Emotional or Psychological Abuse: this includes threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, harassment, verbal abuse, isolation or withdrawal from services or supportive networks.
Cyber Bullying: cyber bullying occurs when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online or repeatedly targets another person through emails or text messages, or uses online forums with the intention of harming, damaging, humiliating or isolating another person. It can be used to carry out many different types of bullying (such as racist bullying, homophobic bullying, or bullying related to special educational needs and disabilities) but instead of the perpetrator carrying out the bullying face-to-face, they use technology as a means to do it.
Forced Marriage: forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties are married without their consent or against their will. A forced marriage differs from an arranged marriage, in which both parties’ consent to the assistance of a third party in identifying a spouse. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 make it a criminal offence to force someone to marry.
Mate Crime: a ‘mate crime’ as defined ‘when vulnerable people are befriended by members of the community who go on to exploit and take advantage of them. It may not be an illegal act but still has a negative effect on the individual.’
Radicalisation: the aim of radicalisation is to attract people to their reasoning, inspire new recruits and embed their extreme views and persuade vulnerable individuals of the legitimacy of their cause. This may be direct through a relationship, or through social media.

Responsibilities and Communication

Training with Hart has responsibility for ensuring that the policy and procedures are implemented, including referring any appropriate disciplinary action to the national governing body as appropriate.

In Wales this includes being able to report suspected abuse or concerns to the local authority, CIW and Social Care Wales as well as the Safeguarding Adults Board, which oversees multi-agency work aimed at protecting and safeguarding vulnerable adults.

The Police - The Police play a vital role in Safeguarding Adults with cases involving alleged criminal acts. It becomes the responsibility of the police to investigate allegations of crime by preserving and gathering evidence. Where a crime is identified, the police will be the lead agency and they will direct investigations in line with legal and other procedural protocols.

In the event that you are concerned about contact discussed during a training session, please contact Issy Hart.

Additionally, all staff working for Training with Hart must download the Wales Safeguarding Procedures App.

Safeguarding Policy PDF