Children’s Safeguarding Policy for EJCL Ltd t/a CrossFit Iron Duke

CrossFit Iron Duke abides by the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and is committed to safeguarding practice that reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice requirements.
• We recognise the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation has 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
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

Purpose:
CrossFit Iron Duke will:
• Protect children and young people who receive CrossFit Iron Duke’s services from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services
• 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 CrossFit Iron Duke, including senior paid staff, volunteers and students. Failure to comply with the policy and related procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

Definitions:
The Children Act 1989 definition of a child is: anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday, even if they are living independently, are a member of the armed forces or is in hospital.

Adult at Risk:
• An adult who has needs for care and support (whether or not the authority is meeting any of those needs),
• is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, and
• as a result of those needs is unable to protect himself or herself against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.

Child and Adult Abuse: Children and adults may be vulnerable to neglect and abuse or exploitation from within their family and from individuals they come across in their daily lives. There are 4 main categories of abuse, which are: sexual, physical, emotional abuse, and neglect. It is important to be aware of more specific types of abuse that fall within these categories, they are:
• Bullying and cyberbullying
• Child sexual exploitation
• Child Criminal exploitation
• Child trafficking
• Domestic abuse
• Female genital mutilation
• Grooming
• Historical abuse
• Online abuse

Safeguarding children: Safeguarding children is defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 as:
• protecting children from maltreatment.
• preventing impairment of children’s health or development.
• ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

We believe that:
• children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
• we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

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.
• safeguarding children who come from Black, Asian and minoritized ethnic communities
• safeguarding d/Deaf and disabled children and young people
• safeguarding LGBTQ+ children and young people
• safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities

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

Legal Framework:
This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation is available from nspcc.org.uk/learning.

Training and Awareness:
CrossFit Iron Duke will ensure an appropriate level of safeguarding training is available to its Owners, Employees, Volunteers and any relevant persons linked to the organisation who requires it (e.g. students).
For all employees who are working or volunteering with children, this requires them as a minimum to have awareness training that enables them to:
• Understand what safeguarding is and their role in safeguarding children.
• Recognise a child potentially in need of safeguarding and take action.
• Understand how to report a safeguarding Alert.
• Understand dignity and respect when working with children.
• Have knowledge of the Safeguarding Children Policy.

Similarly, employees and volunteers may encounter concerns about the safety and wellbeing of an adult at risk of abuse.

Confidentiality and Information Sharing:
CrossFit Iron Duke expects all employees and volunteers to maintain confidentiality. Information will only be shared in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection.

However, information should be shared with the Local Authority if a child is deemed to be at risk of harm or contact the police if they are in immediate danger, or a crime has been committed.

Recording and Record Keeping:
A written record must be kept about any concern regarding an adult with safeguarding needs. This must include details of the person involved, the nature of the concern and the actions taken, decision made and why they were made.

All records must be signed and dated. All records must be securely and confidentially stored in line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Safe Recruitment & Selection:
CrossFit Iron Duke is committed to safe employment and safe recruitment practices, that reduce the risk of harm to children from people unsuitable to work with them or have contact with them.

All staff are expected to comply with a basic DBS check request with all staff working with children and young/vulnerable adults to comply with an enhanced DBS check request.  All staff are to have a good understanding of what constitutes a safeguarding or welfare concern and how to provide support, guidance in such instances and the channels for escalating a concern.

Social Media:
All employees and volunteers should be aware of CrossFit Iron Duke social media policy and procedures and the code of conduct for behaviour towards the children we support.

Use of Mobile Phones and other Digital Technology:
All employees and volunteers should be aware of CrossFit Iron Duke policy and procedures regarding the use of mobile phones and any digital technology and understand that it is unlawful to photograph children and young people without the explicit consent of the person with parental responsibilities. [as agreed, and signed on photo release form]

Important Contacts:
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Name: Kerry Cooley
Email address: kerry@crossfitironduke.com
Telephone number: 023 9217 7810

Deputy Safeguarding Lead
Name: Rachel Dare
Email address: info@crossfitironduke.com
Telephone number: 023 9217 7810

Directors of CrossFit Iron Duke
Name: Kerry & Toby Cooley
Email address: info@crossfitironduke.com
Telephone number: 023 9217 7810

Police Emergency – 999
Non-emergency – 101
NSPCC Helpline – 0808 800 5000

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.
This policy was last reviewed on: 19 September 2024

APPENDIX
Reporting Procedures
All staff have a responsibility to report safeguarding concerns and suspicions of abuse. These concerns will be discussed with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) as soon as possible.
• Staff will report their concerns to the DSL (in the absence of the DSL they will be reported to the Deputy DSL)
• Any signs of marks/injuries to a child or information a child has given will be recorded and stored securely
• If appropriate, the incident will be discussed with the parent/carer, such discussions will be recorded, and the parent will have access to these records on request
• If there are queries/concerns regarding the injury/information given, then the following procedures will take place:

The Designated Safeguarding Lead will:
• Contact the Local Authority children’s social care team to report concerns and seek advice. If it is believed a child is in immediate danger, we will contact the police. If the safeguarding concern relates to an allegation against an adult working or volunteering with children then the DSL will follow the reporting allegations procedure (see below).
• Record the information and action taken relating to the concern raised
• Speak to the parents (unless advised not do so by LA children’s social care team)
• The designated safeguarding lead will follow up with the Local Authority children’s social care team if they have not contacted the setting within the timeframe set out in Working Together to Safeguarding Children (2018). We will never assume that action has been taken.

Keeping children safe is our highest priority and if, for whatever reason, staff do not feel able to report concerns to the DSL or deputy DSL they should call the Local Authority children’s social care team or the NSPCC and report their concerns anonymously.

POLICY also covers: RAW Kids Gymnastics Waterlooville, CrossFit Iron Duke Teens & Kids and Strong Girls Squad.