The Roundhouse has a duty of care to safeguard all Young People involved in the Roundhouse from harm. The Roundhouse works with Young People aged 11 to 30 years some of which may be Adults ‘at Risk’. This policy is therefore linked to the Roundhouse’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy (November 2022) and the Safer Working Practice: Guidance for Staff working with Children and Adults at Risk. (November 2022). The Roundhouse will also adhere to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS), and to the London Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedure (2019).
The Roundhouse’s work is guided by the following principles;
The Roundhouse acknowledges that some participants can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and we accept the responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare (see Appendix C)
The policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in the Roundhouse. Failure to comply with the policy and procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.
The aim of the Roundhouse‘s Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy is to promote good practice.
Adult: An ‘Adult’ is defined as a person who has reached the age of 18.
Child/Children: A ‘Child’ is defined as a person under the age of 18
Young People / Young Person: The term ‘Young Person’ does not have legal status. The term acknowledges that people in the upper age ranges of the official definition of a Child aged 16 -17 may not think of themselves as ‘Children’. The Roundhouse also uses the term Young Person / Young Adults to encompass Adults aged 18-30 years of which some may be considered an Adult at Risk.
Adult at Risk: is an Adult 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” Taken from 2019 London Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures and reflects definition in Section 42 of the Care Act 2014.
Staff: References to ‘Staff’ refer to any adult who is employed, commissioned or contracted to work with or on behalf of children and young people in either a paid or unpaid capacity by the Roundhouse.
Designated Safeguarding Officer:The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) for the Roundhouse is the Associate Director of Young People: responsible for the strategic lead for safeguarding, ensuring organisational compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures
Deputy Safeguarding Officer is the Senior Youth Work Manager and Partnerships and Impact Director – responsible for overseeing safeguarding across the organisation.
Out of Hours safeguarding responsibilities are with the Duty Manager out of office hours (Monday – Friday 5pm – 10pm) Saturday and Sunday: 9am – 10pm)
For the purpose of this policy the term Adult at Risk refers to Young People / Young Adults aged 18 to 30 years.
In the context of the Roundhouse’s work with Young People an Adult at Risk may therefore be a person who:
Note: For the avoidance of doubt this does not mean that just because a person has a disability they are inevitably at Risk. For example, a person with a disability who has the mental capacity to make decisions about their own safety could be perfectly able to make informed choices and protect themselves from harm. In the context of safeguarding Adults, the vulnerability of the Adult at Risk is related to how able they are to make and exercise their own informed choices free from the duress, pressure or undue influence of any sort, and to protect themselves from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
This policy applies to all staff, trustees and volunteers of the Roundhouse irrespective of their role or contract type and any person or organisation working on our behalf including;
The Roundhouse believes that the responsibility for safeguarding is shared by everyone working and volunteering with us, but with a clear leadership and accountability structure running through the organisation.
Protection from abuse is a human right.
For the purpose of this safeguarding policy the term abuse is defined as: ‘a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons which results in significant harm.’ (No Secrets 2000)
The categories of abuse described within the Care and Support Statutory Guidance are expansive and cover a range of abusive situations or behaviours. It is important to recognise that exploitation is a common theme in nearly all types of abuse and neglect.
For further information on the different forms of abuse please refer to Appendix A.
All concerns and allegations will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. The Roundhouse recognises that whilst some incidents and allegations will require the support and / or intervention of external agencies, others may be supported through existing internal support mechanisms.
There are several circumstances under which the Roundhouse might have concerns that a Young Person has been or is being abused:
Disclosure can happen particularly frequently in the arts as creative activity can unlock emotions that have been suppressed. Young People are more likely to disclose to someone they see as passing through (e.g. artists delivering workshops) rather than an established member of staff. Disclosure is often presented as a secret, as the person can be concerned about the repercussions of having confided.
Disclosure can take place:
Staff should be alert to the indicators of abuse and consider whether abuse may have occurred. The presence of an indicator is not proof that abuse has occurred, but:
The absence of such indicators does not mean that abuse or neglect has not occurred. A list of possible indicators is highlighted in Appendix B. Please be aware that a young person can be abused by another young person.
If a participant discloses that they have been a victim of abuse, or if an employee has concerns that a child/ young person or adult is at risk of harm or abuse, they should immediately:
1. Inform the young person that what they say may not be able to be kept confidential (if they are at risk of harm or someone else is). Do not promise confidentiality.
2. If they continue, allow the young person to speak without interruption, accepting what is said. Reassure them that they have done the right thing while passing no judgement.
3. Ensure no situation arises that could cause any further concern.
4. Record the facts as you know them on an incident form and pass to the Designated Safeguarding Officer at the soonest opportunity.
5. Escalate to the Designated Safeguarding Officer immediately.
If a member of staff suspects abuse, or has concerns about another staff member, but it has not been disclosed, follow the process as above but without Steps 1 and 2.
The Designated Safeguarding Officer is responsible for ensuring accurate records are kept and will classify the incident / allegation based on the information provided to help differentiate the types and level of concern. If staff are unsure, concerns should always be reported.
The Roundhouse will take the following approach if external agencies need to be involved:
The Roundhouse is committed to the safe and secure management of confidential information, as detailed in the organisation’s GDPR Policy, however data protection legislation is not a barrier to sharing reasonable safeguarding concerns.
If it is necessary to share information concerns with the Designated Safeguarding Officer or, in their absence, social services, to prevent a young person or adult at risk from suffering neglect or physical, mental or emotional harm then that information must be shared.
The Designated Safeguarding Officer will make the decision as to whether it is appropriate to contact the parents or guardians of the young person. This decision may be taken with advice from external agencies.
Safeguarding procedures should not normally be used without the adult’s knowledge and consent.
The adult at risk must always be asked what they want to happen, unless:
Exceptions: Acting Without the Person’s Consent
The only exceptions to the requirement that the adult at risk consents to using the safeguarding process are:
Public Interest – An Adult at Risk has the mental capacity to refuse a referral however the Designated Safeguarding Officer may have a duty to trigger a Safeguarding Concern to prevent harm to others.
Vital Interest – Vital interest is if there is threat to life or limb, then the Designated Safeguarding Officer can make a referral to adult social care without the consent of the Adult at Risk.
The Safeguarding Officer will:
If the Adult at Risk has the capacity and does not consent to a referral and there are no public or vital interest considerations the Safeguarding Officer will:
The Safeguarding Officer will make a referral if there is an overriding public interest or vital interest or if gaining consent would put the Adult at further risk, a referral must be made. This would include situations where:
In all circumstances where a referral is made without consent the Safeguarding Officer will inform the Adult at Risk and explain the reasons unless telling them would jeopardise their safety or the safety of others. If the Adult at Risk is considered to not have the mental capacity to make a decision relating to their safety, and if no appropriate decision maker is available such as a parent or carer the Safeguarding Officer will proceed with a referral to the Adult Social Care Access and Response Team in accordance with the provisions set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) provides a statutory framework to empower and protect people who may lack capacity to make decisions for themselves and establishes a framework for making decisions on their behalf.
The presumption is that Adults have the mental capacity to make informed choices about their own safety and how they live their lives.
This includes their ability:
Further, a person is not able to make a decision if they are unable to:
Mental capacity is time and decision specific. This means that a person may be able to make some decisions but not others at a particular point in time. Their ability to make a decision may fluctuate over time.
The aim of the Government’s Prevent Strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In the Act this has simply been expressed as the need to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. Prevent covers international and domestic terrorist threats, and includes the activities of far right groups and animal rights groups.
The Roundhouse will raise concerns with appropriate authorities as part of it’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy, if it is identified that any young person / adult at risk is expressing vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs on any of its programmes.
The Roundhouse will continually review and evaluate its Safeguarding practice in line with the Safeguarding Review Procedure. The Associate Director of Young People will report to the Business, Audit and Risk Committee (BAR) for the trustee board summarising departmental evaluations, analysing safeguarding data and trends, and identifying any key areas for improvement and headlines.
The Roundhouse will seek to collect relevant information relating to medical and support needs prior to participation in order to assess and support participant needs in order to ensure they are safe on our programmes.
Participants in our programmes will receive information about how to keep themselves safe whilst participating in the programme and the expected standards of behaviour as part of the Roundhouse Young Creatives Code of Conduct Young people who do not follow this will be managed through relevant processes.
The Roundhouse operates a Safe Recruitment Policy, based on best practice, that is applicable to all roles irrespective of contract type and is overseen by the Head of People and Associate Director of Young People.
The Roundhouse ensures that staff are able to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities more effectively by providing a comprehensive induction and ongoing training relevant to their roles. There is a Safeguarding Training Matrix for details of training requirements depending on role and responsibilities. These will be organised and monitored by the Associate Director of Young People who will record participation and completion
Staff cannot pass their probation without all relevant safe recruitment checks being signed off.
The Roundhouse expects all staff to behave in a professional manner when working with our participants. This may differ depending on role and the level of engagement with young people and adults at risk; it includes use of social media and professional appearance. The Roundhouse’s Safer Working Practice: Guidance for Staff who work with Children and Adults at Risk (see Appendix D). provides clear advice on appropriate and safe behaviours for all Staff working with Young People. All staff are required to adhere to the document as part of the Roundhouse’s Safeguarding Children and Young People and Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policies.
Any allegation that an employee or volunteer has behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed a participant, will be taken seriously and dealt with sensitively and promptly. There is a separate procedure for dealing with allegations against staff and volunteers.
The Roundhouse has a clear whistleblowing procedure, referenced in staff training and codes of conduct, and promotes a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk to be addressed. Concerns about any form of malpractice are to be raised with the People Team.
Written consent to take and use images of Young People should be obtained prior to the taking of photographs and/or video footage. Where images of Young People are being mass produced or highly prominent, comprehensive information regarding use of images e.g. in print, multi-media, broadcast; and what purpose e.g. promotion, publicity, evaluation; and where possible an indication of who the audience will be e.g. the general public, the participating Young People and their families, and partner organisations, are to be communicated as part of Informed Consent processes. Young People’s names should not appear with any images posted online.
If the Roundhouse is commissioning a professional photographer / filmmaker or inviting the press to an event, it is important that they understand our expectations of them in relation to safeguarding.
The Roundhouse will:
The Roundhouse must obtain written permission for the filming/photographs to be taken of young people.
Broadcasting and social media internet usage are legitimate teaching aids. However, when it is used the Roundhouse will ensure that Young People and their parents/carers understand that it is part of the creative project or course. We will also ensure that Young People are equipped to protect themselves when engaging with the internet independently and/or as part of a project. Photographs of Young People on websites can pose direct or indirect risks. For example, images accompanied by personal information – ‘this is X who likes to sing’ – could be used by an individual to learn more about a Young Person prior to ‘grooming’ them for abuse. Or the content of the photo could be used or adapted for inappropriate use.
The Roundhouse will make careful decisions about the type of images / video footage that represent our arts activities with Young People. When assessing risk, the most important factor is the potential of inappropriate use of the images and video footage. The Roundhouse will ensure that e-safety guidelines are disseminated and put into practice.
Areas that should be considered prior to use of images / video footage:
The Paul Hamlyn Roundhouse Studios are a dedicated space for young people aged 11- 25 years of age. Whilst we recognise this facility caters for both minors and young adults we have made reasonable efforts to ensure that all persons benefiting from our services can do so in a safe and supported way. We therefore exercise due diligence through:
13.1. External Hires (for any space on the Roundhouse Estate)
External hiring organisations and individuals are responsible for the children, young people and adults at risk in their care and must follow their own Safeguarding / Child Protection / Adults at Risk policy. The group contact is the designated responsible person for the participants and should always ensure compliance with supervision ratios and chaperones as stipulated in the hire contract / service level agreement.