5. Protecting staff and children

5.1. Good practice guidelines

These guidelines provide good practice advice for staff, volunteers and councillors working with children, young people and adults at risk.

All staff should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour in order to protect themselves from possible allegations. Common sense examples of how to create a positive culture and climate are included in Appendix B. Also included in this appendix are examples of practice to be avoided, practice never to be sanctioned and incidents requiring immediate reporting.

For those staff experiencing abuse, whether outside or inside of the workplace, support measures will be put in place that could include counselling and signposting to appropriate support vehicles.

5.2. Specific guidance for managers providing work experience placements and employment under the age of 18

All managers offering work experience or employment to those under 18 years of age should be familiar with the contents of these safeguarding guidance notes.

Where activities described in Appendix B (e.g., time alone with the student or employee or providing a lift in your car) are necessary for the provision of genuine work experience, the following steps should be followed

• A full risk assessment for the placement should be completed by the placement supervisor and copied to the school and to HR. A template is usually provided by the school. Advice on completing the risk assessment can be gained from HR.
• HR will contact the school or work experience co-ordinator to gain confirmation of the parent’s written consent to the student undertaking such activities.
• The supervisor and any other member of staff who will have unsupervised access to a student should complete the Work Experience Disclosure form and return to the HR Team. This can be found here.
• If an individual is under 18 then they cannot work 1:1 with a member of staff, for example travelling in a car, site visits, or being in a closed meeting room, unless the member of staff has a Basic DBS check. If there are two members of staff with the young person at all times then neither of them are required to be DBS checked.

5.3. Code of ethics and conduct

The Government produced Caring for the Young and Vulnerable? Guidance for preventing abuse of trust, 1999. The guidance is based on the principle that all organisations involved with caring for young people or adults at risk should have codes of conduct to protect against sexual activity within relationships of trust.

On appointment staff are required to sign up to the Employees’ Code of Conduct. The Code encourages:

• the development of an open and positive environment
• poor practice to be identified
• investigations to be carried out
• disciplinary action to be taken if appropriate.