> Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding Policy

Basking Babies acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of babies, infants and children involved in its classes and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice.

The purpose of this policy is:

to protect babies, infants and children (including children of adults who use our services) who receive Basking Babies services from harm.
to provide staff, franchisees and volunteers, as well as babies, infants, children and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Basking Babies and its franchisees, including instructors, head office staff, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England

The policy recognises that the welfare and interests of children are paramount in all circumstances. It aims to ensure that regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, socio-economic background, all babies, infants and children:

have a positive and enjoyable experience of baby massage and baby yoga and of any other classes or services provided by Basking Babies in a safe and child centred environment;
are protected from abuse whilst participating in baby massage and baby yoga classes or outside of the activity.

Basking Babies acknowledges that some children can be particularly vulnerable to abuse additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues and we accept the responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare.

As part of our safeguarding policy Basking Babies will:

promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people;

ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns relating to children;
ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of incidents/concerns of abuse and support provided to the individual/s who raise or disclose the concern;
ensure that confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns are maintained and securely stored;
prevent the employment/deployment of unsuitable individuals;
ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation.

Basking Babies will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

valuing, listening to and respecting them
appointing a nominated child protection lead for safeguarding (Carla Davison, owner and founder of Basking Babies);
adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for franchisees, staff and volunteers;
developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures;
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 franchisees, staff and 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 via leaflets, posters, group work and one- to-one discussions
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 staff and 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, 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 and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.

The policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in Basking Babies.

Monitoring

The policy will be reviewed a year after development and then every three years, or in the following circumstances: