The purpose and scope of this policy statement
The purpose of this policy statement is:
- to protect children and young people who are members of Shropshire Junior Chess Club from harm.
- to provide 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 volunteering on behalf of Shropshire Junior Chess Club as well as children who use our services and their families.
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.
Supporting documents
This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies, procedures, guidance and other related documents, including:
- Role description for the Lead Child Protection Officer
- Managing allegations and how to report disclosures or concerns
- Accident and Prevention Policy
- Risk Assessments
- Safer Recruitment Policy
- Volunteers Behaviour Code
- Adult to child supervision ratios
- Lost or Missing Children
- Children’s Behaviour Code
- Anti-Bullying Statement
- Anti-Bullying Procedures
- Online safety
- Photography and Filming Statement
- Volunteer Whistleblowing
- Privacy Notice
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
- 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
- working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.
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
- adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for volunteers
- developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures
- providing effective management volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
- recruiting and selecting volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
- recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance
- sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families
- making sure that children, 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 volunteers appropriately
- creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
- ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
- ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
- building a safeguarding culture where volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.
Contact details for Lead Child Protection Officer
Name: Christopher Lewis
Phone: 01630 801860
Mobile: 07508 487092
Email: christopher.d.lewis44@gmail.com
This policy statement came into force on 16th December 2020
We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually
This policy statement and accompanying procedures were last reviewed on: 17th July 2022
