Safeguarding Policy for the Protection of Young People and Vulnerable Adults
As adopted 10 July 2021
Background and Scope
The Society of Royal Cumberland Youths (Society) organises ringing and social events for members and non-members. The Society's focus is not on training new ringers but on promoting excellence amongst those who have already attained a considerable level of skill.
The Society’s activities are defined as those organised by the officers in the name of the society such as the weekly practices, the country meeting and the dinners. Peals organised by members and attributed to the society are not covered by this policy.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding relates to the protection of the health, well-being and human rights of individuals, to allow people, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults, to live free from abuse, harm and neglect.
All members should have safeguarding in mind and treat others with respect. Of particular relevance to the Society is that safeguarding relates to vulnerable adults as well as children.
For society events one of the ringing officers (being the Master, the Senior Steward, the Junior Steward) or the Assistant Secretary will be present and responsible for safeguarding. If not, the Master will appoint someone suitable to fulfil this role.
Any children attending our events must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Any individual attending an event who is subject to restrictions should provide details to the Secretary, who will liaise with the St Martin-in-the-Fields’ safeguarding team (contact details below).
Training
The ringing officers and the Assistant Secretary will receive suitable training on safeguarding matters; this will be refreshed as appropriate. The Society will retain evidence of this training. The current level of training regarded as suitable is C0 & C1.
Suitable training can be obtained from the Diocese of London. Alternatively there are on-line courses available such as that accessible through The Church of England's National Safeguarding Training Portal.
Raising Concerns
The Assistant Secretary is the Society's safeguarding officer and any concerns should be raised with him. In his absence, or if the concerns relate to the Assistant Secretary, the matter should be raised with any of the ringing officers.
If the young or vulnerable person is still in danger then the police should be notified immediately by dialling 999
This policy complements those of dioceses and individual parishes, in particular the policy for St Martin-in-the-Fields (which can be viewed here) and the Diocese of London (which can be viewed here).
Handling Allegations or Incidents
Contacts
St Martin-in-the-Fields Safeguarding Team
Tel: 020 7766 1100
Email: safeguarding@smitf.org
Revision and approval
The policy will be kept under continuous review to ensure its relevance and compliance with the law.
Any amendments to this policy require the approval of a business meeting before being adopted, unless the diocese of London safeguarding team consider it sufficiently urgent to change policy in the event of an extreme circumstance. In this case the changes will be discussed at the next possible business meeting.
Last Updated: May 2021
Approved at a Society business meeting held on 10 July 2021
In the event of an allegation or incident, the Secretary or other responsible officer will refer the matter as soon as possible to the safeguarding team at St Martin-in-the-Fields who will provide guidance and help.
In the handling of safeguarding issues, those involved must ensure any information is kept confidential in line with the handling of sensitive data under data protection legislation.