The purpose and scope of this policy statement

‘I Can & I Am’ works with children, staff, parents and businesses as part of its activities. These include:

– Visiting schools and universities to give presentations to school pupils
– Visiting schools and universities to give presentations to school parents
– Visiting schools and universities to give presentations to school staff
– Visiting businesses to give presentations to members of staff
– Providing one to one mentoring services from James Shone with young people within school or at James Shone’s home

The purpose of this policy statement is:

• to protect children and young people who receive services from I Can & I Am. 
• to provide parents, staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of ‘I Can & I Am’, the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff and students.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A summary of the key legislation and guidance is available from nspcc.org.uk/childprotection.

We believe that:

• children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
• we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

• the welfare of the child is paramount
• all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have a right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
• some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

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

• valuing, listening to and respecting them
• appointing a nominated child protection/safeguarding lead and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding
• developing child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures which reflect best practice
• using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
• sharing our safeguarding policy with users of the I Can & I Am services via our website.
• recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
• providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures
• 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
• recording and storing information professionally and securely.

Contact details:

Nominated child protection lead:
Name: Rebecca Burton
Email: rebecca@icanandiam.com
I Can and I Am
The Orchard, 7A
Warminster Road,
Beckington,
Frome,
Somerset,
BA11 6SP
Charity Number: 1163075

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

This policy was last reviewed on: 9th October 2019