our policies

Safeguarding the young people we support at Centre 33 is always our foremost priority and all our policies are devised and developed with that principle in mind. We invest in training, development of expertise and rigorous procedures to ensure we meet our own high standards in this area.  

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We are in a privileged position of trust with children and young people.  We are highly aware of this and the boundaries of that trust. All children and young people should be and feel safe on our premises and at our activities. Those we work with are particularly vulnerable and we are aware that they can be targeted as a result.  We take any concerns seriously and deal with them appropriately.

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 Our policies and accompanying procedures support staff and volunteers at Centre 33 to work together to safeguard, protect and promote the welfare of children and young people up to the age of 25. It is essential that everybody working or volunteering for Centre 33 understands their safeguarding responsibilities. 

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Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is everyone’s responsibility and all who come into contact with children and young people have a role to play. In order to do this effectively, staff and volunteers make sure their approach is child/young person led and always consider what is in the best interests of the child/young person.

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Centre 33 believes that:

• young people should never experience abuse of any kind

• we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all young people, to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

• the welfare of young people is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take

• working in partnership with young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare

• all young people, regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse

• some young people 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 young people who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.

To achieve this, Centre 33 keeps them safe by:

• valuing, listening to and respecting them

• appointment of a nominated Designated Safeguarding Lead for children and young people 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

• sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and young people via one-to-one discussions

• making sure that 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

• 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.

If you access Centre 33 services, you should be aware that if there is a safeguarding issue or we have concerns where you (or another person) may be at risk of harm, our employees are under a legal duty to follow safeguarding procedures and may need to share these concerns with others and cannot offer confidentiality.

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What to do if you have concerns about the welfare of a child, young person or adult:

If you believe a child, young person or adult is in immediate danger, call the police on 999 straight away.

If you are worried about the welfare of a child, young person or adult, please contact your local authority’s child protection or adult social care services.

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Alternatively, you can get also advice and help from the NSPCC by calling their Helpline on 0808 800 500 or emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk.

We encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, promoting dignity and respect for all, and where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued.

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• We commit to actively reaching out to all communities of young people, investigating how we can welcome them to our services and breaking down any barriers to access.

• We commit to challenging instances of sexism, racism and other power imbalances that may leave some people in our services or on our team at risk of harm or disadvantage.

• We commit to valuing and improving diversity in our workforce, governing body and volunteer base–we want to reflect the communities we work with.

• We commit to using language and communications that don’t alienate, discriminate against or misrepresent any group.

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We are inspired by the actions of local young people and their awareness of the climate emergency. We share their feelings and concerns.

We believe that voluntary organisations/charities are responsible for operating with good environmental practices and in a sustainable manner.

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We are therefore committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral and fundamental part of our strategy and operating methods at Centre 33.

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This contributes to our duty of care towards future generations.

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