St Giles Safeguarding Statement

At St Giles Trust we actively seek to promote:

  • the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk as paramount in every intervention we undertake and every decision we make;
  • active partnership work with children, young people, their parents, carers to empower them to make decisions and choices to keep themselves and others safe from harm;
  • the equal rights of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation and the fact that everyone has an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse;
  • strong partnership working with all statutory services, voluntary agencies, health services and education and to share information that safeguards those potentially vulnerable;
  • some children and adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, communication needs, level of support required or due to mental unwellness;
  • the need to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse;
  • a culture of ‘second chances’ through our peer led approach to working with children, young people and adults. 

We will seek to keep children, young people and adults safe by:

  • valuing, listening to and respecting them;
  • appointing a nominated safeguarding lead (“Designated Safeguarding Lead” or DSL), a deputy and a lead board member for safeguarding;
  • adopting safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers;
  • 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 before commencement in post;
  • recording and storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance [more information about this is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/for organisations];
  • making sure that children, young people, families and individuals know where to go for help if they have a concern about feeling unsafe at home, in their community or when working with St Giles Trust;
  • using our safeguarding adults and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know; we strive to involve 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 and are adhered to with action being taken to investigate appropriately;
  • ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, adults, 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, families, and individuals treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns of safety;

Contact Details: 

The DSL for St Giles Trust is: Andy Cross who can be contacted at Andy.cross@stgilestrust.org.uk 

The Deputy DSL is : Jo Fitzsimmons  - Johanna.Fitzsimmons@stgilestrust.org.uk 

St Giles Trust CEO is Tracey Burley.  

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