Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding

It is HOPE HOUSE HAITI'S (UK) policy that all staff and volunteers working for the group will aim to create an environment where young people are protected as much as possible from potential abuse. All staff and volunteer members will report any concerns about a child or somebody else’s behaviour using the procedures laid down in this policy.

Joan Baker is the designated Safeguarding person (DCPP) for Hope House Haiti (UK) and can be contacted at any time on 07711 616009 if ever a concern should arise regarding child protection issues. All staff and volunteers will be provided with copies of the child protection policy as part of their induction.

Any allegations or disclosures must be recorded in the Designated Register, held by the DCPP, as soon as practicable. The role of the DCPP is to:

Act as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for all Safeguarding matters relevant to Hope House Haiti (UK).
Expeditiously and effectively report safeguarding concerns to the appropriate agency.
Ensure all staff members have a copy of the child protection procedure.
Help any other staff members with any child protection issues.
Make sure that appropriate information is available at the time of a referral and the referral is confirmed in writing.
Keep contact with police, social services, NSPCC and other agencies.
Keep people who need to know aware of any action taken and any further action to be taken e.g. disciplinary.
Ensure that all records are kept properly and confidentially.
Contact different organisations to review the child protection program regularly to check that procedures are correct and comply with current good practice.

Confidentiality must never be promised to a child in case a situation arises where information must be passed on for the safety or welfare of the child. However, other than following the correct procedures, confidentiality of all people concerned in an allegation and investigations should be kept at all times. For instance, any incident written in the designated book should be written on separate pages from others so people don’t get to see other peoples’ reports or concerns.

All volunteer staff and anybody else who comes into contact with children and left with them unsupervised will be checked appropriately.

Hope House Haiti (UK) accepts its responsibility of duty of care towards children and any person who may encounter any concerns whilst working at Hope House Haiti (UK), and they will be supported when they come forward with any concerns in good faith.

GOOD PRACTICE

Hope House Haiti (UK) stands to ensure that:

All people are treated with respect and dignity.
Those who act on behalf of Hope House Haiti (UK) should not meet or work alone with a child where the activity cannot be seen unless this is necessary for pastoral reasons, in which case a written note of this will be made and kept noting date, time and place of visit.
Premises used will be assessed for safety for children and a risk assessment report will be carried out if deemed necessary.
Any Hope House Haiti (UK) organised transport of children in the UK will be checked to ensure the vehicle is suitable and insured and that the driver and escort are appropriate.
Promotion of safeguarding is recognised to include undertaking those tasks which enable all people to reach their full potential wherever possible.

These measures are intended to safeguard those working with the children, as well as the children themselves, who may be vulnerable.

CODE OF PRACTICE

Hope House Haiti (UK) expects all staff and volunteers to be aware of this code of practice and adhere to it at all times.

The examination progress with a child should be as open as possible and it is important than no more time should be spent alone with a child than is necessary.
It is important to never have any physical contact with a child at any HHH events in the UK e.g. school visits, fundraising.
It is not good practice to take a child alone in a car or on any journey.
Never make any suggestive or inappropriate remarks to a child, even to be said in jest could get taken the wrong way or offend.
Never try and dissuade a child from making a disclosure of abuse.
It is important for all staff and volunteer members to be aware that child abusers come in all ages (even other children) they can be any gender, ethnic origin or social background. It is also important not to favour people and have pre-conceptions; it could prevent the right action to be taken in a situation.
Staff and volunteers at Hope House Haiti (UK) must always value and respect children as individuals and must always exclude bullying, shouting, racism and sexism.

Please refer to Appendix One below- Hope House Haiti Safeguarding Code of Conduct for guidance and best practice principles relating to volunteers working in the field at Hope House in Haiti

CATEGORIES OF ABUSE

Physical Abuse.   Non-accidental injury – deliberately inflicted:
Hitting, shaking, squeezing, burns, bruises, broken limbs, scalds, bites, cuts, gripping, giving a child inappropriate drugs or alcohol. Attempting to poison, suffocate or drown.

Neglect.   Persistent or severe failure to meet a child’s basic needs:
Lack of adequate food, inappropriate diet, exposing child to cold, leaving child unattended, inappropriate clothing, failing to attend personal hygiene and failing to seek medical attention.

Sexual Abuse. Taking advantage of a child for the sexual gratification of an adult, including inter alia:
Flirting and verbal suggestiveness, Inappropriate fondling, masturbation, oral sex, anal sex, full intercourse, use of foreign objects, exhibitionism, exposing child to pornography, making pornographic materials and ritualistic abuse.

Emotional Abuse.    Persistent lack of affection and interaction:
Continuously failing to show love and affection, persistent rejection, criticism, belittling, bullying, frightening, harassment, taunting, threatening, ridiculing and ignoring.

RESPONDING TO AN ALLEGATION OF ABUSE

Take action if the child is in immediate danger – call emergency services, if appropriate, and remove the child from danger.
Do not confront the person who is the alleged abuser.
Preserve evidence.
Listen to the child.
Allow them to talk at their own pace.
Reassure and support the child
Do not promise to keep secrets, as you may have to take it to someone else.
Tell them what the next step is and who will be told.
Inform the DCPP immediately
Record what the child said as accurately as possible recording date, time, names, who took the information, sign and the date that it was recorded.
Do not decide for yourself whether abuse has taken place - that is for the professional child protection agencies to decide.

DISCLOSURE DO's AND DON'Ts

Stay calm and try not to show disbelief or shock.
Listen carefully.
Reassure them that they were right to tell you and you are treating the information seriously.
Let them know what you are going to do next (inform the appropriate manager) and that the service will take steps to protect and support them.
Report to your DCPP.
Complete a safeguarding form

Don’t

Do not stop someone who is freely recalling significant events; allow them to share whatever is important to them.
Do not press for more information.
Do not be judgmental.
Do not promise to keep secrets.
Do not contact the alleged abuser.
Do not discuss with anyone other than the person to whom you are reporting the matter.

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST A VOLUNTEER

Where an allegation concerns a volunteer, report the matter without delay using the above guidelines.
Allegations concerning volunteers will be fully investigated in line with the Disciplinary Procedure, which could result in summary dismissal.

PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING CONCERNS

There are many ways in which suspicions or concerns are raised:

Via a staff or volunteer member
A Child disclosing abuse
Visible Bruising or signs of physical hurt which may or may not be accompanied by unusual behaviour.

If a trustee has concerns, they should report it to the DCPP straight away by telephone or in person. The DCPP should also then receive a written safeguarding form signed and dated within 24hrs to put in the designated book. It is of utmost importance that these procedures should be carried out as quickly as possible so as not to threaten the welfare of the child. If the concerns are with regard to a member of staff the DCPP should be contacted immediately by telephone.

If a volunteer for Hope House Haiti (UK) has any concerns, they should make their team leader aware before contacting the DCPP.

The DCPP will consider all reports and will either report them straight to the authorities or after seeking advice (possibly from NSPCC or alike) decide not to refer concerns to the authorities but will keep a detailed record of the reports in the designated book.

The procedure for handling a situation of suspected abuse is given at the end of this document.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Safeguarding shall always be Hope House Haiti's (UK) major priority while selecting staff and appropriate recruitment procedures shall be followed. These include:

A clear description of any role available so the most suitable appointee shall be selected.
Vacancies shall be advertised widely to ensure equality of opportunity.
The identity of applicants must be proved and personal details obtained through use of application form.
All applicants will be subject to a DBS (CRB) check and a copy kept with each applicants details.
All applicants must be given a copy of the safeguarding policy.
Several selection techniques shall be used to maximise the chance of staff recruitment (interview, reference, checks)

Safeguarding shall always be Hope House Haiti's (UK) major priority when volunteers express an interest to attend a trip to Haiti with the charity. With that in mind appropriate application procedures shall be followed. These include:

An application form must be completed.
A DBS check must be carried out on all applicants.
Two references must be obtained; one church, and one professional or personal. Referees must have known the applicant for a minimum of one year.
All applicants must be given a copy of the safeguarding policy.

If the DBS check raises any concerns about a volunteer, Hope House Haiti (UK) reserve the right not to accept the applicant.
Any applicant wishing to re-visit HHH within 3 years of their original application, need not re-apply but require an unexpired DBS and to resign acknowledge of this Safeguarding Policy.
If concerns relating to a volunteer are raised in a reference obtained on behalf of a volunteer then Hope House Haiti (UK) have the right not to accept the applicant.

TRAINING AND SUPERVISION

All volunteers will be offered training in line with our safeguarding policy.

SAFEGUARDING FORM

Click here to download the safeguarding form

APPENDIX 1 Safeguarding Code of Conduct

OVERACHING PRINCIPLE

Hope House Haiti (HHH) (UK) believe that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse or neglect of any kind and we recognise our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people with whom we are in contact.

PURPOSE OF THIS CODE OF CONDUCT

To ensure the safety and protection of all children whom come into contact with volunteers working in the field as part of a HHH (UK) trip. This will include any children of trustees or volunteers who travel to Hope House.
To provide volunteers with guidance on acceptable conduct when at Hope House.
To provide general guidelines to protect our volunteers from inadvertently placing themselves in situations that may be considered inappropriate.
To provide volunteers with guidance regarding procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or at risk of, harm.

We recognize that:

The welfare of the child and young person is paramount.
All children, regardless of age, disability, sex, racial heritage, religious or other beliefs, sexual orientation or identity, or any other personal qualities, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm, abuse and neglect.
Hope House works with vulnerable children, especially children who suffer emotionally and psychologically as a result of abandonment, being orphaned or being past or current victims of abuse or exploitation and other relational issues from their past life experiences. While it is very important to avoid any inappropriate physical contact, it is also important to note that a total avoidance of physical contact with such children may also be inappropriate and can be considered a form of neglect.

RESPONSIBILITY OF HOPE HOUSE HAITI (UK)

As a charity we will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

Ensuring all volunteers that travel to Hope House undergo appropriate recruitment procedures including Police checks / DBS screening or equivalent according to country of origin, and that the charity will have sought references.
Ensuring all volunteers receive appropriate safeguarding training prior to deployment to Hope House.
Ensuring that volunteers are monitored routinely, with the provision of supervision, support and further training where appropriate.
Ensuring all volunteers read and sign to acknowledge understanding of this code of conduct.
Ensuring volunteers are subject to a three-month probationary period.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Volunteers should be mindful that they are guests in the family home that is Hope House.
All volunteers are expected to recognise that culturally acceptable modes of physical interaction are varied, that the expectations of children, volunteers and staff may be different from our own, and to act sensitively and appropriately.
Physical contact should be appropriate, take into account cultural practices, and volunteers should seek guidance from, and follow the example given by Yvrose and Pierre Richard.
Relationships between team members, or between a team member and a person from the local community, during mission trips, are inappropriate. Any such relationships could detract from the purpose of the mission.
The holistic needs of the child (physical and emotional) should be considered at all times, taking into account the importance of physical contact in the day to day living - for example it is normal practice for the family members to hug each other at the start and the end of the day, and the family would normally include volunteers in this practice.
If you are in any doubt please ask the advice of Yvrose, PR, or HHH UK team leader.
Smoking within the compound, taking of illicit drugs and consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol is not acceptable.
Use of language must be appropriate.
Volunteers will sleep in single sex accommodation, with the exception of married couples who will be accommodated in designated rooms when available.
Volunteers will not enter children’s dormitories or bathrooms unless accompanied by another volunteer or a designated member of staff.
Always work in an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved one-to-one situations and encouraging open communication with no secrets).
Always treat all children and young people equally, with respect and dignity and avoiding favoritism.
Always put the welfare of each child or young person first, before achieving activity goals.
Aim to build balanced relationships based on mutual trust which empower the child or young person to share in any decision making process.
Aim to be excellent role models at all times.
Strive to make activities fun and enjoyable and promote fair play.
Strive to give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.
Volunteers should refrain from disciplining the children and young people, although stepping in to stop a potentially dangerous situation would be considered acceptable.

MEDICAL AND DIRECT CARE ROLES

Direct care activities should generally only be performed by volunteers who are recruited to fill such roles (such as part of a designated medical trip or undertaking the role of a direct care giver for a period of time). Multiple different direct care givers for an individual child should be avoided if possible. This allows development of a trusting relationship between the child / young person and their care giver, and reduces the documented risk of abuse associated with having multiple direct carer givers.
Children and young people should be encouraged to undertake personal care needs themselves up to their level of ability.
If volunteers need to do things of a personal nature for a child or young person (such as changing or personal hygiene needs) this should only be carried out with full agreement of a staff member of Hope House and with agreement of the child or young person involved. If the child or young person is fully dependent on you, talk with him / her about what you are doing and give choices if possible.
When medical professionals need to carry out any physical examination or treatment, especially if of an intimate nature, this should always be carried out with a chaperone present, and ensuring privacy and dignity for the child or young person.

ACTION TO TAKE IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS

If any child reports abuse to a volunteer whilst at HH, or if a volunteer has any suspicions or concerns regarding abuse, this should be reported to Yvrose immediately.
The details will be recorded in an incident book kept at Hope House. This will allow appropriate action, according to local guidelines and practices to take place.
If the volunteer for any reason felt reporting the allegation or event to Yvrose was not in the best interests of the child or young person concerned, the next step would be discuss with the team leader in the field.

In the event there is no team leader in the field or if they are not available, then volunteers travelling as part of a HHH(UK) trip should contact Joan Baker (HHH UK safeguarding lead) for advice on Tel: +44 (0) 7711 616009 or email: joan@hopehousehaiti.co.uk.