Safeguarding Policy

Barnes Educational Services (BARNES) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children and young people in its care and expects all employees and host families to share this commitment.

The safety and welfare of children, or Child Protection, means protecting children from physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect as enshrined in the Children Act 2004.

We aim to ensure that all students in our care experience a caring and secure environment at all times in which they feel safe, respected and valued as individuals.

BARNES will take all reasonable measures to:

  • Help to safeguard the student's interests by ensuring a safe environment.
  • Treat all students with care and respect and free from discrimination.
  • Protect each student from any form of abuse from other adults or students.
  • Provide host families with a copy of BARNES' Child Protection Policy.
  • Maintain links and work closely with Agencies who have a statutory responsibility to deal with child welfare and child protection concerns.
  • Offer guidance to students to enable early detection of incidents of abuse.
  • Be alert to signs of abuse within BARNES, the host family environment or within the school/college attended by the student.
  • In order to maintain student welfare as the top priority, promote an environment of trust, openness and clear communication.
  • Ensure that BARNES employees and host family members over the age of 18 years who come into direct contact with students are formally screened through the completion of an Enhanced DBS check and are recruited using safe recruitment practices.
  • Have at least one Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP) for child protection available at all times who has received Child Protection training to a minimum of level 2.
  • Respond to any reported allegation or suspicion of child abuse in an appropriate manner, informing all relevant external agencies where necessary.

If you have any reason to believe that a child in your care is suffering from any form of abuse or neglect then please report it immediately in confidence to either of the following Designated Safeguarding Persons:

Ric Carby - +44 (0) 7748 113782

Rachel Carby - +44 (0) 117 904 1137

BARNES Safeguarding policy is reviewed annually to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

 

E-Safety

In today's electronic world protecting children online is a key area for concern. BARNES offers the following advice since the online world can be quite different to the real world:

  • Remember that once you have posted a picture online anyone can share it or edit it.
  • Avoid giving out your personal details or pictures to online friends until you know them in person, whilst always remembering that it is easy to share details quickly online.
  • Not everything you see is a true reflection of reality. Don't get hung up on posts about people's 'perfect' lives or bodies.
  • People are not always who they say they are and so be careful how much you share and don't meet up with them alone.
  • Don't say something online that you wouldn't be comfortable saying face to face with someone (including during live conversations over the internet which can be recorded). Posting threats or abuse can cause serious emotional harm to someone and might be reported to CEOP leading to you getting into serious trouble.
  • Watch out for people trying to attract you into extreme thoughts and ideas. Many terrorists were first radicalised online by people they trusted. 
  • Don't open files from people you don't know; it could be a virus, something that gets access to all your information or something inappropriate.
  • Spam/Junk email & texts: don't believe it, reply to it or use it.

If you feel uncomfortable talk to your host family or call us immediately.

The following sites provide excellent advice that's worth reading:

Stop Cyber Bullying

Childnet International

Report abuse to CEOP

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