Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding Policy

JDK Fitness understands that it is absolutely essential that anyone working in close proximity with children has a secure understanding of safeguarding and understands the role they play in protecting children.  Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility.

The purpose of this policy statement is:

• to protect children and young people who attend any of the JDK services from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services
• to provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their
  families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child
  protection.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of JDK Fitness, including senior managers, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers and students.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding refers to the process of protecting children (and adults) to provide safe and effective care. This includes all procedures designed to prevent harm to a child.

What is Child Protection?

Child Protection is part of the safeguarding process, protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.  This includes the child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

Key Principles 

• Children and young people have a right to enjoy sport, free from all forms of abuse, exploitation and poor practice.
• All children and young people have equal rights to protection from harm.
• All children and young people should be encouraged to fulfil their potential, and inequalities should be challenged.
• Everybody has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children.
• Sporting organisations have a duty of care to children and young people who take part in sport.

Supporting documents
This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies, procedures, guidance and other related documents:

• 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.

Roles and Responsibilities

We all have a role to play in ensuring the well-being and safety of children, young people, their families and each other.  It is NOT the responsibility of the JDK Fitness staff to make judgements about whether what a child says is true or not. Our team will pass on any concerns they may have to the schools Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

As part of our safeguarding policy JDK Fitness will:

• Promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
• Ensure every JDK Fitness Instructor understands their role and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate education/training to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people.
• Ensure that concerns are detailed and recorded accurately and then passed on to the schools DSL.
• Ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and the schools procedures are followed by all coaches.

We recognise 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.

What does that mean for JDK Fitness staff?

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

• valuing, listening to and respecting them
• appointing a nominated child protection lead for children and young people, a deputy and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding
• 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 [more information about this is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/fororganisations]
• sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions
• 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
• staff will complete the Basic Child Protection / Safeguarding courses and ongoing onsite training and refresher training.

Responding to an allegation against a staff member or adult working in the setting and what to do if there are concerns about the inappropriate behaviour of an adult

When responding to an allegation against a staff member or adult in a setting, the immediate focus should be on the safety of those involved. A written record of the concern, including the time, date, location, and witnesses, should be made. The Designated Safeguarding Lead or appropriate senior manager should be notified immediately. They will then guide the next steps, which may include temporary removal of the staff member, contacting the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), and potentially involving the police. 

1. Initial Action by the Person Receiving the Allegation/Concern:

• Treat the matter seriously: Do not dismiss or downplay the concern. 
• Make a written record: Include the time, date, place, and what was said, in the person’s own words if possible. 
• Sign and date the record: This helps establish the accuracy of the report. 
• Immediately report to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or appropriate senior manager: Do not investigate on your own. 

2. Initial Action by the Designated Safeguarding Lead/Senior Manager:

• Do not investigate or interview the staff member or child at this stage: Focus on documenting the concern and ensuring safety. 
• Obtain written details of the concern: Signed and dated by the person who first received the information. 
• Record any information: Times, dates, location of incidents, and potential witnesses. 
• Consider temporary removal of the staff member: If necessary, to ensure the child’s safety. 
• Contact the LADO: Within the required timeframe (often 24 hours). 
• Involve the police: If the allegation involves a potential crime. 

3. If Concerns About Inappropriate Behaviour are Raised:

• Document the behaviour: Record the specific actions, times, dates, location, and witnesses. 
• Share concerns with the Designated Safeguarding Lead/Senior Manager: They will determine the appropriate course of action. 
• Follow the organization’s procedures for managing allegations: This will guide the investigation and any disciplinary actions. 
• Prioritize the safety of children: Take immediate steps to protect them if there is a risk of harm. 
• Contact the LADO: If the concerns are serious or involve potential harm. 
• Involve the police: If a crime may have been committed. 

Child-on-child abuse

All staff understand the importance of challenging inappropriate behaviours between children that are abusive in nature. Examples of which are listed below.

1. Downplaying certain behaviours, for example dismissing sexual harassment as “just banter”, “just having a laugh”, “part of growing up” or “boys being boys” can lead to a culture of unacceptable behaviours, an unsafe
2. All staff should be aware that children can abuse other children (often referred to as child-on-child abuse), and that it can happen both inside and outside of school or college and online.
3. All staff understand that even if there are no reports in their schools or colleges it does not mean it is not happening. It may be the case that abuse is not being reported. As such it is important that when staff have any concerns regarding child-on-child abuse they should speak to their designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy).

Child-on-child abuse is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:

• bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)
• abuse in intimate personal relationships between children (sometimes known as ‘teenage relationship abuse’)
• physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages physical abuse)
• sexual violence
• sexual harassment such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse
• causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, such as forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party
• consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos (also known as sexting or youth produced sexual imagery)
• upskirting which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission
• initiation/hazing type violence and rituals (this could include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group and may also include an online element).

Safeguarding Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities

Children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities can face additional safeguarding challenges. Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure their child protection policy reflects the fact that additional barriers can exist when recognising abuse and neglect in this group of children. These can include:

• Assumptions that indicators of possible abuse such as behaviour, mood and injury relate to the child’s disability without further exploration;
• Being more prone to peer group isolation than other children;
• The potential for children with SEN and disabilities being disproportionally impacted by behaviours such as bullying, without outwardly showing any signs; and
• Communication barriers and difficulties in overcoming these barriers.

To address these additional challenges, schools and colleges should consider extra pastoral support for children with SEN and disabilities.’

                                                                                    (Keeping Children Safe in Education, Jan 2021)

Studies have shown that children with SEND are 3.8 times more likely to be neglected or physically abused, 3.1 times more likely to be sexually abused and 3.9 times more likely to be emotionally abused. In fact, findings show that 31% of children with SEND suffer abuse compared with 9% of the rest of the population. Further to this, children with SEND are also at a higher risk of experiencing multiple abuses and of enduring multiple episodes of abuse.

In order to get help when they the fear or experience abuse, we recognise and understand that children with SEND have significant additional barriers to overcome in comparison their peers. These include:

• Some children may not recognise the abuse
• Children might not be able to ask for help
• The child may rely on their abuser to meet their needs – making it even more difficult to speak out
• Parents and professionals may miss signs of abuse/neglect, mistaking them as part of a child’s condition
• Professionals working with children with SEND may not be trained to spot the signs of abuse and neglect
• Children with disabilities and their families may feel isolated or without support due to a limited number of accessible services, meaning they may not know where to find help
• Abusers may try to excuse their behaviour, blaming it on the difficulties of caring for a child with SEND
• Professionals who work to support parents’ ability to meet their child’s additional needs may overlook parental behaviours that are not adequate
• Child protection professionals might not have the specialised skills to properly communicate with the child, or to accurately assess or understand a disabled child’s needs.

Children at Risk of Criminal Exploitation

Criminal exploitation of children is a form of harm that is a typical feature of county lines activity. Drug networks or gangs exploit children and young people to carry drugs and money from urban areas to suburban and rural areas. Exploitation can occur even if activity appears to be consensual.

All staff will consider whether children are at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families. These are referred to as Extra-Familial Harms/Contextual Safeguarding and/or Risks Outside the Home.

JDK will address indicators of child criminal exploitation with staff through training. Staff will follow the procedures outlined in this policy if concerns of criminal exploitation arise. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will complete Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s Contextual Risk Screening Tool | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk) and refer to Social Care if there is a concern that a young person may be at risk of criminal exploitation.

We recognise that young people who go missing can be at increased risk of child criminal exploitation, modern slavery and/or trafficking and has procedures in place to ensure appropriate response to children and young people who go missing, particularly on repeat occasions.

Children at Risk of Child Sexual Exploitation

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology. CSE can be a one-off occurrence or a series of incidents over time and range from opportunistic to complex organised abuse. It can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and may, or may not, be accompanied by violence or threats of violence.

Potential indicators of sexual exploitation will be addressed within staff training, including raising awareness with staff that some young people who are being sexually exploited do not show any external signs of abuse and may not recognise it as abuse. Staff will follow the procedures outlined in this policy if concerns of child sexual exploitation arise.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead will complete the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s Contextual Risk Screening Tool | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk) and refer to Social Care if there is a concern that a young person may be at risk of CSE.

JDK recognises that young people who go missing can be at increased risk of sexual exploitation and has procedures in place to ensure appropriate response to children and young people who go missing, particularly on repeat occasions.

Children at risk of ‘Honour- Based’ Abuse (HBA) including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Honour-Based Abuse can be defined as:
‘An incident or pattern of violence, threats of violence, intimidation, coercion, control or abuse (including but not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, economic, spiritual, faithrelated or emotional abuse) motivated by the perpetrator’s perception that an individual has shamed, or may shame, the perpetrator, the family, or community or has otherwise broken, or may break, the perceived norms of the community’s accepted behaviours, including by speaking out about the abuse and where the perception of shame may also prevent a victim from accessing support or help.’

JDK takes these concerns seriously and staff are made aware of the possible signs and indicators that may alert them to the possibility of HBA through training. Staff are required to treat all forms of HBA as abuse and follow the procedures outlined in this policy.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 bans marriage for 16 and 17-year-olds, who no longer will be allowed to marry or enter a civil partnership, even if they have parental consent, as the legal age of marriage rises to 18. It is now illegal and a criminal offence to exploit vulnerable children by arranging for them to marry, under any circumstances whether or not force is used.

JDK will manage any concerns relating to forced marriage sensitively and will report concerns immediately via the procedures outlined in this policy.

FGM is a procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. FGM is illegal in the UK. Any indication that a child is at risk of FGM, where FGM is suspected, or where the woman is under 18, will be dealt with under the child protection procedures outlined in this policy. Staff will report concerns to the DSL, who will make appropriate and timely referrals to social care. In these cases, parents will not be informed before seeking advice and the case will still be referred to social care even if it is against the pupil’s wishes.

In accordance with the Female Genital Mutilation Act, it is a statutory duty for childcare providers in England and Wales to report ‘known’ cases of FGM in under-18s which they identify in the course of their professional work to the police. Staff should still consider and discuss any such case with the DSL and involve social care as appropriate, but the teacher will personally report to the police that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out.

Children who have returned home to their family from care

The school recognises that a previously looked after child potentially remains vulnerable. JDK will vigilantly monitor the welfare of previously looked after children, keep records and notify Social Care as soon as there is a recurrence of a concern in accordance with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Children Partnership Board Multi-Agency Procedures.

Children showing signs of Abuse, Neglect and/or Exploitation

School recognises that experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation may have an adverse impact on those children which may last into adulthood without appropriate intervention and support. School may be the only stable, secure and predictable element in the lives of children at risk. Children who have experienced abuse, neglect or exploitation may display this through their own behaviour, which may be challenging and defiant or passive and withdrawn. We recognise that children may develop abusive behaviours and that these children may need to be referred on for appropriate support and intervention.

All staff should be aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with factors outside the school or college and/or can occur between children outside of these environments. All staff, but especially the Designated Safeguarding Lead (and Deputies) should consider whether children are at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families. Extra-familial harms take a variety of different forms and children can be vulnerable to multiple harms including (but not limited to) sexual abuse (including harassment and exploitation), domestic abuse in their own intimate relationships (teenage relationship abuse), criminal exploitation, serious youth violence, county lines and radicalisation.

Children at Risk of Radicalisation

Children are susceptible to extremist ideology and radicalisation. Similar to protecting children from other forms of harm and abuse, protecting children from this risk should be a part of a safeguarding approach.

The following member of staff is the Prevent Lead and has undertaken Prevent Lead training: Jessica Kew

Staff are required to be alert to changes in children’s behavior which could indicate they need help or protection. Concerns that a child is at risk of radicalisation are referred to the DSL in the usual way. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (and Deputies) should be aware of local procedures for making a Prevent referral using the Prevent National Referral Form found on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Safeguarding Board website.

National Prevent referral form (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk)
See also Prevent Duty Guidance: for England and Wales,’ HM Government, (March 2024).

Hardware Provision and Use

Where staff have been issued with a device (e.g. setting laptop or iPad) for work purposes, personal use
whilst off site is not permitted unless authorised by the manager. The setting’s laptop/devices should be
used by the authorised person only. Only technology owned by the setting will be used on the premises
and on setting visit or outings. This includes mobile devices for everyday use and, in case of emergency,
a mobile phone is provided. Staff taking photographs or recording with technology not owned by our setting is specifically not allowed.

All staff have a shared responsibility to ensure that children are supervised when using the internet and
related technologies to ensure appropriate and safe use as part of the wider duty of care and responding
or reporting promptly issues of concern.

Setting issued devices only should be used for work purposes and, if containing sensitive information or
photographs of children, should not leave the premises unless encrypted.

Online searching and installing/downloading of new programs and applications is restricted to authorised
staff members only. Children should not be able to search or install anything on a setting device.

Setting issued devices should not leave the premises unless encrypted and this must be acknowledged
in the policy. In the case of an outing, all data must be transferred/deleted from the setting’s camera/device before leaving the setting.

Online Safety and the use of Mobile technology

We recognise the importance of safeguarding children from potentially harmful and
inappropriate online material, and we understand that technology is a significant component
in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues.

To address this, the team aims to:

• Have robust processes (including filtering and monitoring systems) in place to ensure the online safety of pupils, staff, volunteers and governors
• Protect and educate the whole school community in its safe and responsible use of technology, including mobile and smart technology (which we refer to as ‘mobile phones’)
• Set clear guidelines for the use of mobile phones for the whole school community
• Establish clear mechanisms to identify, intervene in and escalate any incidents or concerns, where appropriate

The 4 key categories of risk:
Our approach to online safety is based on addressing the following categories of risk:

Content – being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content, such as pornography,
fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, antisemitism, radicalisation and extremism
Contact – being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users, such as peer-to-peer
pressure, commercial advertising and adults posing as children or young adults with the intention
to groom or exploit them for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes
Conduct – personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm, such
as making, sending and receiving explicit images (e.g. consensual and non-consensual
sharing of nudes and semi-nudes and/or pornography), sharing other explicit images and
online bullying; and
Commerce – risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and/or
financial scams

To address the risks above, we will:

• Educate children about online safety as part of our curriculum. For example:
  o The safe use of social media, the internet and technology
  o Keeping personal information private
  o How to recognise unacceptable behaviour online
  o How to report any incidents of cyber-bullying, ensuring pupils are encouraged to do so, including where they’re a witness rather than a victim
• Train staff, as part of their induction, on safe internet use and online safeguarding issues including cyber-bullying, the risks of online radicalisation, and the expectations, roles and responsibilities around filtering and monitoring. All staff members will receive refresher training as required and at least once each academic year
• Educate parents/carers about online safety via communications sent directly to them. We will also share clear procedures with them so they know how to raise concerns about online safety
• Make sure staff are aware of any restrictions placed on them with regards to the use of their mobile phone and cameras, for example that:
  o Staff are allowed to bring their personal phones to school for their own use, but will limit
  such use to non-contact time when pupils are not present
  o Staff will not take pictures or recordings of pupils on their personal phones or
  cameras

Contact Details

Jessica Kew and Jessica Hall are the JDK Fitness’ Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and can be contacted via email at jess@jdk.fitness and jessica@jdk.fitness.

Further support or advice regarding safeguarding can be found below:

NSPCC 

nspcc.org.uk or telephone 0808 800 5000

Childline

https://www.childline.org.uk/ or telephone 0800 1111

This policy was ratified on 1st January 2021.

Cambridgeshire County Council Social Care

0345 045 5203   8am-5.30pm (Mon-Thu) / 8am-4.30pm (Fri)

Cambridgeshire County Council Emergency Duty Team

01733 234724  (out of hours)

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

Email: LADO@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Telephone: 0345 045 5203 (Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm)

Telephone 01733 234 724 (Emergency Duty team – out of hours queries)

Other policies relating to Safeguarding:

• Safe Recruitment Policy
• Missing Child Policy
• Intimate Care Policy
• Administering Medication
• Arrivals and Departures
• Behaviour Management
• Data Protection
• Mobile Phone and Wearable Technology
• Permission to Use Photographs
• Record of Pre-Existing Injuries
• Uncollected Children
• Online Safety
• Whistleblowing
• Staff Code of Conduct