Safeguarding Policy

The purpose and scope of this policy statement
The purpose of this policy statement is:

• to protect children and young people who receive Charlotte Yoga’s services from harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services;
• to provide staff and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

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

We believe that:

• the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take;
• working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare;

We recognise 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;
• all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to 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;
• extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.

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

• valuing, listening to and respecting them;
• adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our procedures and the conduct of our staff;
• keeping up to date with safeguarding training and paediatric first aid training;
• recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made;
• recording and 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;
• creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment;
• 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.

Contact details
Nominated child protection lead

Name: Charlotte Wyatt

Email: enquiries@charlotteyoga.co.uk