This policy applies to all Volunteers including Trustees, Committee Members, Managers, Coaches and Helpers.

Bessingby Park Rangers Football Club (BPR FC) will not tolerate the abuse of adults in any of its forms and is committed to safeguarding adults with care and support needs from harm.

This policy outlines the steps BPR FC will make to safeguard an adult with care and support needs if they are deemed to be at risk or at risk. This policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of BPR FC in working together with other organisations in promoting the adult’s welfare and safeguarding them from abuse and neglect.

BPR FC will ensure that decisions made will allow adults to make their own choices and include them in any decision making. BPR FC will also ensure that safe and effective working practices are in place.

This policy is intended to support volunteers working within BPR FC to understand their role and responsibilities in safeguarding adults. All staff and volunteers are expected to follow this policy.

The key objectives of this policy are for all volunteers of BPR FC to:

• have an overview of adult safeguarding

• be clear about their responsibility to safeguard adults

• ensure the necessary actions are taken where an adult with

• care and support needs is deemed to be at

risk

Copies of this policy should be available within BPR FC and BPR FC will not tolerate the abuse of adults in the organisation and staff and volunteers should be made aware of how this policy can be accessed.

What is Safeguarding adults?

Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.’

BPR FC will not tolerate the abuse of adult volunteers and will ensure that their work reflects the principles above and ensure the adult with care and support needs is involved in their decisions and informed consent is obtained. BPR FC should ensure that the safeguarding action agreed is the least intrusive response to the risk. Partners from the community should be involved in any safeguarding work in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse. BPR FC should be transparent and accountable in delivering safeguarding actions.

BPR FC will not tolerate the abuse of adults BPR FC will ensure that adults are involved in their safeguarding arrangements and each individual is dealt with on a case by case basis. As adults may have different preferences, histories and life styles, the same process may not work for all.

Who do I go to if I am concerned?

The named responsible person for safeguarding duties for BPR FC is Raj Thakar – Welfare Officer.

All volunteers should contact Raj Thakar for any concerns/queries they have in regards to safeguarding adults. A log of the concern must be kept.

Raj Thakar will be responsible to make decisions about notifying adult social services if required and consider alternative actions, where necessary.

Raj Thakar will also ensure that the safeguarding adults policies and procedures are in place and up to date. They will ensure a safe environment is promoted for volunteers and adults accessing the service BPR FC. Raj Thakar will ensure they are up to date with their safeguarding adults training.

What should I do if I am concerned?

Staff and volunteers at BPR FC who have any adult safeguarding concerns should:

• Take emergency action if someone is at immediate risk of harm/in need of urgent medical attention. Dial 999 for emergency services

• Get brief details about what has happened and what the adult would like done about it, but do not probe or conduct a mini-investigation

• Seek consent from the adult to take action and to report the concern. Consider whether the adult may lack capacity to make decisions about their own and other people’s safety and wellbeing. If you decide to act against their wishes or without their consent, you must record your decision and the reasons for this.

  1. Report

  Name the person to whom staff/volunteers need to report any potential safeguarding concerns. This will usually be the organisation’s designated safeguarding lead (see above)

  2. Record

• Take a written statement from all those involved.

• As far as possible, records should be written contemporaneously, dated and signed.

• Keep records about safeguarding concerns confidential and in a location where the alleged abuser will

  not have access to the record. Access should not be given to any unauthorised personal for accessing confidential information including the sharing of passwords.

  3. Refer

1. In making a decision whether to refer or not, the designated safeguarding lead should take into account:

2. the adult’s wishes and preferred outcome

3. whether the adult has mental capacity to make an informed decision about their own and others’ safety

4. the safety or wellbeing of children or other adults

5. whether there is a person in a position of trust involved

6. whether a crime has been committed

This should inform the decision whether to notify the concern to the following people:

• the police if a crime has been committed and/or § family/relatives as appropriate

• the BPR FC Committee

The designated safeguarding lead should keep a record of the reasons for referring the concern or reasons for not referring.

Incidents of abuse may be one-off or multiple and may affect one person or more. Volunteers should look beyond single incidents to identify patterns of harm. Accurate recording of information will also assist in recognising any patterns.

What are your roles and responsibilities?

All volunteers at BPR FC are expected to report any concerns to the named person for safeguarding. If the allegation is against one of BPR FC volunteers, seek advice from BPR FC safeguarding lead Raj Thakar.

The designated safeguarding adults lead should be responsible for providing acknowledgement of the referral and brief feedback to the person raising the original concern. Feedback should be given in a way that will not make the situation worse or breach the Data Protection Act. If the police are involved, they should be consulted prior to giving feedback to the referrer to ensure any criminal investigation is not affected.

Complaints procedure

BPR FC promotes transparency and honesty when things go wrong. All volunteers should apologise and be honest with the relevant people when thing go wrong.

BPR FC is committed to ensuring that staff and volunteers who in good faith whistle-blow in the public interest, will be protected from reprisals and victimisation.

Confidentiality and information sharing

BPR FC expects all volunteers to maintain confidentiality at all times. In line with Data Protection law, BPR FC does not share information if not required.