Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do at North West Migrants Forum 

The purpose of this policy statement is:

• To protect from harm children, young people and vulnerable individuals who receive our services.
• To provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their families, with the over-arching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of the North West Migrants Forum, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.

Supporting Documents

This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies, procedures, guidance and other related documents. These are on display and available to read in our headquarters: Embassy Building, 3 Strand Road, Derry, BT48 7 BH

• Role description for the designated safeguarding officer
• Dealing with disclosures and concerns about a child or young person
• Managing allegations against staff and volunteers
• Recording concerns and information sharing
• Child protection records retention and storage
• Code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Behaviour codes for children and young people
• Photography and sharing images guidance
• Safer recruitment
• Online safety
• Anti-bullying
• Managing complaints
• Whistleblowing
• Health and safety
• Induction, training, supervision and support
• Adult to child supervision ratios

We believe that:

• The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
• Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• Extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse

We will seek to keep children/young people safe by:

• Valuing, listening to and respecting them
• Appointing a nominated child protection lead for children as well as two safeguarding officers
• Adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures • Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
• Recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
• Recording and storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance
• Sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families
• Making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
• Using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
• Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately
• Creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
• Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
• Ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
• Building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns