Designated Safeguarding Leads:
Amy Wyllie (Artistic Director) – 07709 424948 or amy@spinningwheeltheatre.com

Rebecca Gibbs (Executive Director) – 07812 130064 or becca@spinningwheeltheatre.com

Harriet Brill (Board DSL) – 07786 544396 or harrietbrill@hotmail.com

Elizabeth Downie (Board DSL) – 07775 778228 or liz@erdconnection.org.uk

For ‘Reporting abuse’ guidelines, see Annex A.

This policy recognises the obligations and duty of care of organisations working with children and young people as covered in the Children Act (1989). This Act defines children and young people as anyone up to the age of 18 years.

A vulnerable adult is a person who is, or may be, in need of community care services because of mental disability or other disability, age or illness, and who is, or who may be, unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation (see Arts Council England, Keeping Arts Safe, 2005).

Safeguarding is defined by government inter-agency statutory guidance as:

• Protecting children/vulnerable adults from maltreatment;

• Preventing impairment of children's and vulnerable adults’ health or development;

• Ensuring that children are growing up in, and vulnerable adults are living in,

  circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and

• Taking action to enable all children and vulnerable adults to have excellent life chances.

We recognise we have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children and vulnerable adults we work with, including our responsibility to report any allegations or concerns that come to our attention. The welfare of the child/vulnerable adult is paramount and The Organisation holds the view that all children and vulnerable adults, without exception, have the right to protection from all forms of abuse.

The body with overall and final responsibility for Safeguarding in Spinning Wheel Theatre is the Board of Trustees. The Artistic Director reports to the Board of Trustees and in turn delegates responsibility for overseeing, implementing and monitoring the policy and investigating shortfalls to the Artistic Director, Executive Director and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs).

Who does this policy apply to?
The Organisation recognises that it is the responsibility of each one of its staff, paid and unpaid, to prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse or acts of neglect or omission of children and vulnerable adults and to report any abuse discovered or suspected.

The Organisation aims to ensure that all children and vulnerable adults are welcomed onto its premises and programmes/activities, and will experience a safe, caring environment in a happy and friendly atmosphere. We do an appropriate Risk Assessment of our activities and premises in advance of sessions. To safeguard children/vulnerable adults we plan the work of the group to minimise situations where the abuse of children/vulnerable adults may occur.

We have adopted the The Children’s Act guidance that recommends that the following staff ratios, number of adults should be present when working with children. If there are not enough leaders, the event will not take place:

0-2 years: 1 leader to every three children

2-3 years: 1 leader to every four children

3-8 years: 1 leader to every eight children

Over 8 years: 1 leader to ten children and one more for every further twelve children.

Vulnerable adults: on assessment of the needs of the individual(s)

An exception to this ratio may apply where the activity is designed for families and parents/guardians/carers are to be present for the activity.

Code of Conduct
Each project will have its own bespoke risk assessment, and expectations for general behaviour is captured in the organisational code of conduct document.

Consent/medical forms
We have consent forms including medical details for children and vulnerable adults attending the activity. See Annex B. Where special activities or events are run, additional consent is received from the parents/carers in advance.
As it is good practice, we keep a record of each activity/session. This record includes a register of participants, with their address and contact phone number, and a register of staff present and details of any significant incidents. These records are kept securely, in line with our Data Protection policy.

Photography/filming
Any photography or filming of children and vulnerable adults at our activities will be subject to the consent of the parents/carers being received in advance of an event with a clear purpose as to why the photos are being taken, by whom and for what purpose. No one will be identified by their full name, age or address. As per our consent form (see Annex B).

Training
We are committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with children or vulnerable adults and to providing appropriate supervision. Our Board DSLs and Artistic and Executive Directors will receive safeguarding training every 3 years.
Other employees working with children/vulnerable adults will be expected to present or undertake a DBS check. All staff will be given, as part of their Induction/Introduction to the role, a guide to recognising the forms of abuse and a copy of this procedure so they know how and who to report any concerns to. (See Annex A for signs and reporting procedures).

Well-being
All staff will have the opportunity to be given regular support meetings to help them with their role and to obtain feedback.
Private spaces for costume changing will be provided for individuals to use if they wish, in order to protect their privacy and dignity.

Safe Recruitment
We recognise the importance of having the right people working with the children/vulnerable adults. To ensure this, we do the following:

• All staff working alone with children/vulnerable adults will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. This process is done immediately when starting, and in advance when this is possible. While waiting for a DBS check to arrive the person will never be left alone with children unsupervised.

• All staff who are working in loco parentis will complete an application form for the role, including two references who can comment on their suitability to work with children/vulnerable adults (Annex C). These references have to be received and accepted before the person is able to start. The person applying also has to provide two forms of identification to verify their identity and address, at least one of which should be recent photographic evidence (e.g., current passport or drivers licence) the other a recent utility bill or other proof of address, which will be stored in compliance with GDPR regulations.

• When working in settings where others are working in loco parentis (i.e., in a workshop where parents/carers are always present), a DBS check is preferred, but is not a legal requirement.

Information Sharing
The Organisation is committed to maintaining good links with the statutory child care authorities. We recognise that the people we work with and their families need to feel reassured that their confidentiality is respected. In most cases we only share information about them with their consent, but there are circumstances where we need to override this consent. The exception to this is where not sharing information would put that child, vulnerable adult or others at increased risk of significant harm. Or, if it would undermine the prevention, detection or prosecution of a serious crime including where seeking consent might lead to interference with any potential investigation.
The safety and welfare of a child or vulnerable adult will always be considered when making decisions on whether to share information about them. Where there is concern that the person may be suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm, their safety and welfare must be the overriding consideration.

Communication with children and vulnerable adults

Communication via telephone
Staff should communicate directly with parents/carers or next of kin of children and vulnerable adults via phone calls or texts.

Communication via email
Staff will, on occasion, be required to email children and young people using their personal email address. In all cases staff should use formal language to avoid any misunderstanding on the part of the recipient and should be carbon copied to the parent/carer as well. Staff members who have concerns regarding content of an email that they send or receive from a child/young person should consult a Designated Safeguarding Lead for guidance.

Social media
Spinning Wheel Theatre recognises that social media can be a legitimate and effective way to communicate with children and vulnerable adults. Current social media applications frequently used by the organisation include X (formally Twitter), Facebook and Instagram and YouTube. Current organisational accounts are as follows:

X: @SpinningTheatre
Facebook: Spinning Wheel Theatre
Instagram: @SpinningWheelTheatre
YouTube: @spinningwheeltheatre5875

Direct messaging with children and vulnerable adults through such forums should not take place through organisational or personal accounts.
Spinning Wheel Theatre does not expect its staff to protect their personal social media accounts (thereby making sure their content is only visible to followers approved by the account holder) however it is does ask all staff to respect their association with the organisation when posting.

Online Participation
Where initiating live, online participatory sessions involving children or vulnerable adults, safeguarding protocols must be followed and additional measures adopted;

• Risk Assessments must be completed before online sessions commence;

• Online Session Consent Forms must be completed before online sessions commence

  (this should include permissions for recordings to take place) – see Annex B;

• Spinning Wheel Theatre will always set up and host the online sessions;

• Spinning Wheel Theatre staff are responsible for ensuring the system is not left open for

  others to misuse or for contact to be made outside of the scheduled sessions;

• Spinning Wheel Theatre will not deliver any 1:1 activity during online sessions;

• Freelance artists must always be accompanied by a Spinning Wheel Theatre staff member for the full duration of the online session;

• All online sessions will be recorded and retained to safeguard staff, as well as for evaluation purposes.

All Spinning Wheel Theatre staff, participants, and parents/carers must agree to the following before participating in online sessions;

• Suitable environment - Everyone must be physically located in safe spaces, appropriate for online sessions;

• Dress code – everyone must be dressed appropriately for online sessions. Attire which would ordinarily be worn at in-person sessions is essential.

• Online Identity – participants must use their real name to be admitted into the session.

• Recording for safeguarding – all online sessions will be recorded and retained for security and evaluation purposes. All participants or parent/carers must agree to recording in advance, or participants cannot take place.

Performances by participants
Children participating in performances are required to be licensed. See Annex F for details on this procedure.

Whistleblowing
The NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line was commissioned by the Home Office in response to a recommendation for “a new whistleblowing national portal for child abuse related reports.” The line offers free advice and support to professionals with concerns about how child protection issues are being handled by an organisation. You can contact this line if you are concerned that:

• Spinning Wheel Theatre’s safeguarding procedures are not clear

• An issue is not being dealt with properly

• You are being treated unfairly regarding a safeguarding concern.

A trained NSPCC practitioner will discuss your concerns, talk you through the whistleblowing process, and liaise with the relevant authorities. Calls can be made anonymously, and callers can request for contact details not to be shared with other agencies.

NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line help@nspcc.org.uk
0800 028 0285

Data Protection
All information will be held in line with GDPR standards. For more information, see our Data Protection policy.

Review
Spinning Wheel Theatre recognises its responsibility to implement, maintain and regularly review procedures, which are designed to prevent and to be alert to such abuse. These reviews will be done by the Board biannually. A record of any incidents will be securely held and investigated.

Policy Reviewed:         April 2024

Next Review:                April 2026