Rokpa Trust Safeguarding Children

1.1        All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial or ethnic background, religious belief, or sexual orientation, have the right to be protected from harm, abuse, and neglect.

1.2        We take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously and follow UK legislation, statutory and regulatory guidance, and best practice to ensure the safety of those who come into contact with the charity.  We strive to provide a safe and welcoming environment in which people feel valued and listened to, and where their rights are respected.

1.3        Rokpa Trust works proactively to ensure an open and aware environment where concerns for the safety and wellbeing of a child can be raised and managed in a fair and just manner, prioritising the best interests of the child.

1.4        Rokpa Trust seeks to work collaboratively with statutory agencies, parents, guardians, carers and schools to ensure children’s welfare is safeguarded. We encourage open communication and will provide copies of this policy on request.

2.1        The purpose of this policy is to outline the duty and responsibility of staff, teachers and volunteers involved with or working for Samye Ling and the Samye Dzongs (“Centres”) in relation to safeguarding children. Children are persons under the age of 18.

2.2        This policy applies to all Trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors, and anyone working on behalf of Rokpa Trust.

3.1        The ultimate responsibility for safeguarding compliance rests with the Trustees of Rokpa Trust.

3.2        Trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors, and anyone working on behalf of Rokpa Trust have a duty to promote the welfare and safety of children. These persons may receive disclosures of abuse and observe children who are at risk. This policy will enable them to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues.

3.3        It is important that children are protected from abuse. All complaints, allegations or suspicions must be taken seriously. The procedures below must be followed whenever an allegation of abuse is made or when there is a suspicion that a child has been abused. In particular:

• Listen carefully and do not interrupt or ask leading questions.
• Reassure the child or person raising concerns where relevant, and tell them they have done the right thing by speaking up. 
• Do not promise confidentiality.
• Write a full record of the disclosure as soon as possible, detailing the nature of the allegation and any other relevant information. Use the child or reporting party’s own words as much as possible  This must include information in relation to the date, the time, the place where the alleged abuse happened, your name and the names of others present, the name of the complainant and, where different, the name of the child who it is alleged has been abused, the nature of the alleged abuse, a description of any injuries observed, the account which has been given of the allegation.

3.4        Any suspicion, allegation or incident of abuse or concern that that a child needs protection must be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (“DSL”), using the contact details displayed on the relevant Centre’s public notice board.  A report must be made even if you become aware of information about a concern that is non-recent or from an anonymous source. Under no circumstances should a volunteer, teacher or worker carry out their own investigation into an allegation or suspicion of abuse. 

3.5        In the absence of the DSL or, if the suspicions in any way involve the DSL, then the report should be made to the relevant Centre Manager, using the contact details displayed on the relevant Centre’s public notice board.

3.6        If any suspicion, allegation or incident of abuse implicate both the DSL and the Centre Manager, then the report should be made to the Rokpa Trust Trustees, using the contact details below.

3.7        If a child is in immediate danger or has sustained a serious injury, contact the emergency services, informing them of any suspicions.

3.8        Whilst allegations or suspicions of abuse will normally be reported to the DSL, the absence of the DSL or Centre Manager should not delay referral to children’s social services or the police. Action should also be taken to put safeguarding measures in place to prevent further harm.

4.1        The role of the designated officer is to deal with all instances involving protection of children needs that arise within the Centres; make referrals to statutory agencies; and ensure the relevant Centre’s staff and volunteers are aware of safeguarding policies and procedures.

4.2        All written notes or other information and evidence must be passed across to the DSL / Centre Manager.  The DSL / Centre Manager will collate and clarify the precise details of the allegation or suspicion and pass this information on to relevant statutory agencies who have a legal duty to investigate. 

4.3        A written record of the date and time of the report shall be made and the report must include the name and position of the person to whom the matter is reported. The telephone report must be confirmed in writing to the relevant local authority department within 24 hours.

4.4        Suspicions must not be discussed with anyone other than those nominated above. All records relating to the concerns must kept in a secure place.

4.5        The DSL / Centre Manager may need to inform others depending on the circumstances and/or nature of the concern, including the Trustees who are responsible for safeguarding and who may also need to liaise with the insurance company or the charity commission to report a serious incident.

4.6        The DSL / Centre Manager is responsible to ensure that a copy of this policy is displayed on the Centre’s public notice board, and that the relevant contact details below remain up to date.

5.1        All staff and volunteers should be aware of the signs of abuse and neglect, which may include:

• physical signs of injury (bruises, cuts, burns).
• sudden changes in behaviour or emotional state.
• sexualised behaviour or knowledge inappropriate for their age.
• poor hygiene or signs of neglect (malnutrition, lack of medical care).

6.1        Under no circumstances may children visit a Centre unaccompanied, or be left unattended at any Centre.

6.2      Parents, guardians or carers may bring children to the Centres provided they accept full responsibility for the children at all times. This applies equally to “family days” that may occasionally be hosted by Centres.

6.3      Children under the age of 18 may only stay overnight at any Centre if accompanied by a parent, guardian or carer.

6.4      If a school visits a Centre, the school is responsible for planning and managing the visit in line with legal requirements and its current policies, including seeking consent from parents or guardians for the visit where necessary. The school must ensure that the children will at all times be properly supervised by a sufficient number of school staff. Should there be any welfare concerns about children in school parties these should be raised with the school’s nominated child protection lead or designated safeguarding officer in the first instance.

6.5      In the case of both overnight stays and school visits, we will require the parent / school representative to sign a child safeguarding acknowledgement form when they check in at reception. We will ensure that the family or school group is accommodated in a self-contained unit with integrated bathroom facilities.

6.6      If a Centre hires out rooms to an independent person or organisation for an event which will be attended by children, the Centre manager will discuss Rokpa Trust’s safeguarding expectations with the person or organisation representative. A written undertaking must be obtained from the organisers that they will comply with this policy, and that they have their own safeguarding policy, DBS checks etc in place.

7.1        The Trustees, volunteers, teachers and workers are not qualified or expected to look after children and are not eligible to be checked by DBS in England and Wales or by Disclosure Scotland in Scotland.^[1]

Notwithstanding this, all Trustees and Branch Committee members must undergo basic DBS / DS checks.

8.1        When someone attending a Centre is known to have abused children, is under investigation, or is known to be a risk to adults with care and support needs, a risk assessment should be carried out. Rokpa Trust will take specialist advice on how to proceed in such cases.

9.1        All Trustees, staff and volunteers must receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role.