Woodland Baines Safeguarding Policy

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Woodland Baines are safeguarding specialists who provide support, assessment, supervision, and training. Woodland Baines values are to work proactively to develop and enhance safeguarding practice, align and partner with charities and organisations to lend our hand and help make a
difference to people when they need it. Woodland Baines aims and values are;

• We are committed to ensuring the voice of children and people affected by
  exploitation and abuse is at the heart of what we do.
• We aim to put the needs of the sector, those who have a duty to safeguard
  and protect above pure profit.
• We want to deliver exceptional quality services that are accessible, and
  affordable for all.

Woodland Baines are contracted by various organisations and individuals and deliver a range of services in relation to welfare, safeguarding and protection. These services include;

• Domestic and international multi-disciplinary training and professional development
• A range of assessment services
• Professional and position of trust coaching
• Independent audit, case review and investigation
• Independent quality assurance
• Professional safeguarding supervision
• Other services for the safeguarding community
• We also work directly with children and adults affected by abuse and exploitation

As such, Woodland Baines Associates, Directors and Contractors encounter children and adults, and have discussions with safeguarding professionals where Modern-Day Slavery and Human Trafficking is a concern. The Woodland Baines Safeguarding Policy details the responsibilities of Associates, Directors and Contractors in relation to all safeguarding concerns including Modern-Day Slavery and Human Trafficking.

The purpose of this policy is to promote the safety and welfare of children and adults, including safeguarding professionals by protecting them from, and preventing abuse, neglect and exploitation.

This policy recognises the continuum of child welfare and safeguarding need, including child protection, transitional safeguarding practice as young and more mature adult welfare is addressed by the concepts of `duty of care` and `making safeguarding personal’. This policy also includes safeguarding responsibilities for both children and adults described in the Prevent Duty in the UK.

This policy should primarily provide an interface with client organisation welfare, safeguarding and protection policies, and ensure clear pathways for response to needs and concerns for Woodland Baines Associates, Contractors and Directors in the course of their work.

This policy sets out arrangements to ensure that; 

• Woodland Baines prioritise the safety and welfare of children and adults who may be vulnerable and/or at risk as defined in the latest statutory guidance and best practice in England, or such domestic legislation when working in devolved nations and internationally.
• Woodland Baines Associates, Contactors and Directors are suitable to perform their respective roles. That such suitability is appropriately monitored, and concerns assessed appropriately, independently, and proportionately.

Given the international scope of Woodland Baines operations, the frameworks on and definitions on which this policy relate (although not exhaustively) are;

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

 Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (in England)
And congruent multi-agency safeguarding statutory guidance in devolved nations of the UK,
relevant domestic frameworks, legislation, and guidance in force in other nations where applicable

 Care and Support Statutory Guidance (in England) 2024
And congruent multi-agency safeguarding statutory guidance in devolved nations of the UK,
relevant domestic frameworks, legislation, and guidance in force in other nations where applicable

 The Principles of `Making Safeguarding Personal`

 The Prevent Duty: England and Wales 2024

Woodland Baines Associates, Directors and Contractors may encounter children and adults, including safeguarding professionals who may be at risk of harm during the course of delivering Woodland Baines safeguarding services.

Associates, Contractors and Directors will;

• Ensure that they familiarise themselves with safeguarding policies and staff codes of conduct of client and partner organisations ahead of any desk review or face-to-face fieldwork.
• Ensure that Woodland Baines safeguarding supervision and other agreements for independent review, investigation, assessment and position of trust coaching are in place before commencing work and are fully understood by adult professionals and children participating in a way that is congruent with children’s rights, age, development and understanding.
• Primarily refer to client or partner organisational safeguarding policy and procedure, codes of conduct should concerns arise during desk review or face-to-face fieldwork or training delivery about the welfare of any child or adult who may be at risk.
• Primarily refer to client or partner organisational policy and procedure, codes of conduct should concern about the conduct of a person in a position of trust arise in the course of desk review or face-to-face fieldwork, suitability assessment, training delivery or otherwise.
• Alert and consult with Woodland Baines Directors where concerns arise during desk review or face-to-face fieldwork and training delivery about the welfare of any child or adult who may be at risk, and there is no client organisational safeguarding pathway.
• Alert and consult with Woodland Baines Directors should concerns about the conduct of a person in a position of trust arise during desk review or face-to-face fieldwork, suitability assessment, training delivery or otherwise, and there is no client organisational safeguarding pathway.
• Alert and consult with Woodland Baines Director and chair of the Woodland Baines Advisory Group should concerns about the suitable conduct of another Woodland Baines Director.
• Notify without delay Woodland Baines Directors should they be subject of voluntary interview, or interview under caution in respect of an alleged criminal offence.
• Notify without delay Woodland Baines Directors should they be struggling with life circumstances which may reasonably cause temporary or longer-term vulnerability which may indicate a possible conflict of interest, or dip in suitability for safeguarding and protective work.

Directors and Advisory Group will;

• Take appropriate safeguarding and protective action should a child or adult be at risk of harm, referring to, and working with local agencies and support services for children or adults at risk where client and partner organisations do not have systems in place, or fail to take such action within a reasonable timescale.
• Ensure proportionate safer recruitment checks when contracting Associates, Contractors and Advisory Group members.
• Monitor and risk assess the conduct and suitability of Associates, Contractors, Directors and Advisory Group members.
• Support client and partner organisations and safeguarding professionals where concerns and the need for support and protection are identified.
• Work with and refer to Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO) in England or relevant law enforcement agencies and authorities with investigative powers in other jurisdictions where a Woodland Baines Associate, Contractor, Director or Advisory Group member is the subject of an allegation meeting the definition of the `allegations harms threshold’ in England, or where a client or partner organisation has failed to do so within a reasonable timescale.
• Keep appropriate records on a restricted area of Box. Review the retention of such records in line with GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018 (in England). 

This version of our Safeguarding Policy was last updated in June 2024