Policies & Procedures

 Complaints

The majority of issues raised by parents, the community or young people, are concerns rather than complaints. The Eyres Monsell Club for Young People is committed to taking concerns seriously, at the earliest stage, in the hope of keeping the number of formal complaints to a minimum and without needing formal procedures. However, depending on the nature of the complaint, you may wish or be asked to follow the clubs formal complaints procedure. For the club to be able to investigate a complaint, it needs to be made within six months of the incident occurring. If a complaint is older than six months it will not be investigated.

The prime aim of the Eyres Monsell Club for Young Peoples policy is to resolve the complaint as fairly and speedily as possible. Formal complaints will be dealt with in a sensitive, impartial and confidential manner. Malicious complaints may incur appropriate action by the club.

The following details outline the stages that can be used to resolve complaint

The Eyres Monsell Club for Young Peoples policy has four main stages.

In summary, they are as follows:

• Stage 1: A concern is raised informally with a staff member.

• Stage 2: Formal complaint is heard by the Responsible Leader or a senior member of staff.

• Stage 3: Complaint is heard by the Centre Manager.

• Stage 4: Complaint is heard by the Management Committee.

 Confidentiality

Here to listen… Not to tell…
We provide a confidential service to all young people who visit the Eyres Monsell Club for Young People. This means that what you tell us will go no further than the youth work staff unless you or someone else is at risk of serious harm. If we ever have to tell someone what you’ve told us, we would aim to talk to you about this first.

If you want to know more about confidentiality, please feel free to ask a member of staff.

1. A young person’s personal details are kept strictly confidential and are only accessible to authorised members of staff.

2. All staff must observe Eyres Monsell CYP confidentiality policy.

3. The register and personal details of young people are kept in a secure but accessible place at all times.

4. Staff will not discuss individual young people, other than for the purpose of planning or group management.

5. Parents may have access to their children’s records at any time.

6. Files with young peoples’ details will not be taken to staff’s homes and will be kept on the club premises at all times.

7. All employees work under the principle that confidentiality is extremely important and plays a large part in much of the work carried out with children and young people. However, under no circumstances will any individual in the employment of Eyres Monsell Club for Young People keep confidential any information that raises concerns about the safety and welfare of a child or young person. This statement relating to confidentiality is made known to all who access any provision of the Eyres Monsell Club for Young People.

8. Youth workers should always work within the law. It should be noted that there is no legal obligation to report a crime, except if the information disclosed might be of assistance in preventing acts of terrorism. However, in some circumstances, a youth worker could be liable in law if serious harm came about from his/her failure to disclose to an appropriate authority.

9. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory, states that the wishes of a young person must be taken into account when considering their best interests.

10.Young people, particularly those under 16 years, should be encouraged to involve their parent(s) or guardian(s) in decisions about their health and care, particularly in respect to the Eyres Monsell Safer Sex service. If a young person chooses not to do this, his or her wishes should be respected. The only exception to this is where a young person is at risk.

11.From time to time it may be appropriate and beneficial to share information about a young person with other agencies on issues other than those that come under the umbrella of child protection. It is important in these circumstances that protocols are established to cover procedures for initiating referrals, exchange and security of information, confidentiality, responsibilities and accountabilities. The rights of the young person should be preserved wherever possible.

 Safeguarding

1. If there is any suspicion that a child is being abused by anyone then it should be reported to the nominated child protection officers immediately. 

2. There are many different types of abuse that we look out for: physical, sexual, emotional and neglect. All play scheme workers should understand these types of abuse.

3. All cases of suspect abuse should be immediately referred to the Safeguarding Lead or responsible leader, and NOT discussed with any other members of staff. Any member of staff who has the initial suspicion of child abuse must write a report and submit it to the manager within 24 hours.

4. When a child discloses information, it is important for youth workers to: stay calm, listen and believe the child. Do not ask leading questions or put words into the child’s mouth. Note the main points calmly and accurately. Repeat only what the child has said and clarify to make sure you have understood the child correctly. Always use the child’s language. Never promise to keep the disclosure a secret.

5. The manager will assess the situation and speak to the child. The responsible leader and Safeguarding lead will write a report on the incident and this report will be kept confidentially on file.

6. The manager should contact either: a) Department of Social Services b) Police Child Protection Unit.

7. Co-operate with the various authorities in the investigation.

8. Attend a case conference if requested to do so.

9. Keep up to date with new policies issued by the authorities.

10. Hold a list of telephone numbers for the Department of Social Services and the Police Child Protection Unit.

Our safeguarding team consists of one DSL and two Deputy DSL’s. These staff members have all attended and completed the Designated Safeguarding Lead training. 

Our  Safeguarding Team:

Designated Safeguarding Lead- 

Louise Wylie (Centre Manager)

 

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead/s-

Paul Carlton (Deputy Centre Manager) 

Keanan Bartram (Community and Comms Manager)

 

 Health & Safety

Our statement of general policy is:
•  To safeguard both the young people and staff whilst taking part in activities both on site and off site.
•  To provide adequate control of the health & safety risks arising from our work activities.
•  To consult with our employees on matters affecting their health & safety.
•  To provide and maintain safe equipment.
•  To ensure safe handling and use of substances.
•  To provide information, instruction and supervision for employees.
•  To ensure all employees are competent to do their tasks and to give them adequate training.
•  To prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health.
•  To maintain safe and healthy working conditions.
•  To review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.

Overall responsibility for Health & Safety is that of the Centre Manager : Louise Kaufman (Centre Manager)

Day to day responsibility for Health & Safety is that of the Deputy Manager/ Community and comms Manager : Paul Carlton (Deputy Manager), Keanan Bartram (Community and Communications Manager) 

 EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Eyres Monsell Club for Young People (EMCYP) staff and volunteers are strongly committed to providing equality of treatment, equality of access and equality of opportunity.

EMCYP has a commitment to providing accessible services and it identifies that the chance of facing discrimination is high.

EMCYP actively opposes prejudice and discrimination against its staff, volunteers, service users and visitors because of their: age, physical ability, HIV status, political beliefs, race/ethnicity, unrelated criminal convictions, civil partnership status, caste, appearance, class, marital status, religious, sexual orientation.

The purpose of EMCYP is to challenge any behaviour that is deemed as discriminatory and promote positive attitudes amongst staff, volunteers, service users and visitors.

 SPECIAL NEEDS

1. At EMCYP we recognise that many children and young people will have a special educational need at some time. The majority of these will be moderate, mild and temporary. A few will have profound and long-term difficulties.

2. At EMCYP, we understand that children and young people may experience learning difficulties, behavioural and emotional problems and or physical/sensory needs. A very able child may also require special provision.

3. Our aim at EMCYP is to ensure that every child and young person will receive the best possible informal education to enable him/her to develop as an individual and to meet their full potential.

4. All activities will be planned to enable all children and young people to make progress and for all to experience success.

5. Activities will be adapted appropriately to meet the needs of all children.

6. All staff at EMCYP will be responsible for ensuring they meet the learning needs of all children and young people in their care.

7. We aim to keep parents fully aware of their child’s needs and progress.

8. We recognise the importance of equal opportunities, taking in to account all individuals needs.

9. Admission for a child or young person with special educational needs is as for all children and young people.

To view full details of our policies and procedures, please click on the following documents below to download.

Below you will find all of our policies and procedures.