1.1 Policy Statement

The Roundhouse believes that no child or young person should experience abuse of any kind.  We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe.  We are committed to practise in a way that safeguards them and the people we work with. 

The Roundhouse’s work is guided by the following principles;

• The welfare and interests of children and young people are paramount in all circumstances.  
• Regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, socio-economic background, all children and young people should: 

• • have a positive and enjoyable experience of our programmes in a safe and person-centred environment;
  • be protected from abuse and harm.

• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
• All staff (paid/unpaid) should be clear on how to respond appropriately

The Roundhouse acknowledges that some participants e.g. those with disabilities, those who are looked after by the local authority, those for whom English is not their first language or who come from a challenging home environment, can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and we accept the responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare (see Appendix C)  

The policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in the Roundhouse.  Failure to comply with the policy and procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

1.2 Policy Aims

The aim of the Roundhouse‘s Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy is to promote good practice:

• Providing children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of the Roundhouse.
• Support staff to make informed and confident responses to specific safeguarding issues.

1.3 Definitions 

Child: A child is defined as anyone who has not reached the age of 18.  This is enshrined in UK law and the UN Convention of Human Rights.  For the purposes of this policy and relevant procedures the term “child” and “young person” are used to mean the same thing.

Safeguarding children is defined in “Working together to safeguard children 2018” as:

• protecting children from maltreatment;
• preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
• ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Young Person: The term ‘Young Person’ does not have legal status. The term acknowledges that people in the upper age ranges of the official definition of a Child aged 16 -17 may not think of themselves as ‘Children’. For the purpose of this document ‘Young People’ refers to those aged 11 – 17 years.

Staff: References to ‘Staff’ refer to any adult who is employed, commissioned or contracted to work with or on behalf of children and young people in either a paid or unpaid capacity by the Roundhouse.

Designated Safeguarding Officer: The Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) for the Roundhouse is the Associate Director of Young People: responsible for the strategic lead for safeguarding, ensuring organisational compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures

Deputy Safeguarding Officer is the Senior Youth Work Manager and Partnerships and Impact Director – responsible for overseeing safeguarding across the organisation.

Out of Hours safeguarding responsibilities are with the Duty Manager out of office hours (Monday – Friday 5pm – 10pm) Saturday and Sunday: 9am – 10pm)

1.4 Definition of to whom these guidelines apply

This policy applies to all staff, trustees and volunteers of the Roundhouse irrespective of their role or contract type and any person or organisation working on our behalf including;

• Any situation involving Young People whether or not accompanied by adults. 
• All staff, freelancers, volunteers, contractors and consultants working in/on Roundhouse property.  
• In the case of contractors and consultants it is incumbent upon the relevant Head of Department  that  all  relevant persons  are made aware of this policy.

1.5 General Duties of Staff

The Roundhouse believes that the responsibility for safeguarding is shared by everyone working and volunteering with us, but with a clear leadership and accountability structure running through the organisation. 

• Trustee Board: reviews and approves the Safeguarding Policy and has a named trustee with specific responsibility for safeguarding     
• CEO: sets the organisational culture of safeguarding and ensures that the Associated Director of Young People is appropriately resourced and supported to carry out the duties of the role.
• Partnerships and Impact Director: Deputy Safeguarding Officer (in the absence of the Associate Director of Young People) and lead director overseeing safeguarding across the organisation. Biennial completion of NSPCC Safeguarding Training
• Associate Director of Young People: Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) within the Roundhouse. Biennial completion of NSPCC DSO Training – responsible for the strategic lead and ensuring organisational compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures. 
• Senior Youth Work Manager: Deputy Safeguarding Officer (in the absence of the Associate Director of Young People). Biennial completion of NSPCC Safeguarding Training – responsible for leading safeguarding training across the organisation, the response to safeguarding incidents and concerns and liaising with external agencies.
• All staff (core, seasonal, temporary, contracted and volunteers): are responsible for ensuring that the welfare of participants remains paramount in all that we do.

Protection from abuse is a human right.

• All suspicions and allegations should be taken seriously, and responded to swiftly.
• Staff are not trained to deal with situations of abuse or to decide if abuse has occurred. It is not the role of any Staff to conduct any investigative proceedings. All incidents should be reported to the Roundhouse Designated Safeguarding Officer who will liaise with the Children’s Safeguarding and Social Work (CSSW) Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team in Camden Council or relevant Local Authorities.

Abuse is defined as: “a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or by others (e.g. via the internet).” 

Children may be vulnerable to neglect and abuse or exploitation from within their family and from individuals they come across in their day-to-day lives. These threats can take a variety of different forms, including: sexual, physical and emotional abuse; neglect; exploitation by criminal gangs and organised crime groups; trafficking; online abuse; sexual exploitation and the influences of extremism leading to radicalisation. Whatever the form of abuse or neglect, The Roundhouse will put the needs of children, young people and vulnerable adults first when determining what action to take. 

Abuse may be perpetrated by a range of people including family members, adult(s) known to the young person and other young people, and offences are committed by females as well as males. 

The Roundhouse recognises that abuse, neglect and safeguarding issues are rarely stand alone events that can be covered by one definition or label. In most cases multiple issues will overlap with one another. 

Child protection is part of the safeguarding agenda that focuses on preventing maltreatment and protecting Young People at risk of neglect or abuse. Under the Children Act 1989, Children’s Safeguarding and Social Work (CSSW) have a legal duty to investigate and take any action to protect Young People where there are concerns that they are at risk of suffering significant harm, 

For further information on the different forms of abuse please refer to Appendix A.

2.1 National framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect children and young people. The Roundhouse acknowledges its responsibilities under “Working together to Safeguard Children (2018)” and recognises its duty to cooperate if named as a relevant partner by a Safeguarding Partner. 

The Roundhouse works across many local authorities and has based policy and practice on the published guidance of Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) as this is the location of the organisation. 

All concerns and allegations will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. The Roundhouse recognises that whilst some incidents and allegations will require the support and / or intervention of external agencies, others may be supported through existing internal support mechanisms.

3.1 Recognition of indicators of Abuse 

There are several circumstances under which the Roundhouse might have concerns that a Young Person has been or is being abused:

• Disclosure from a Young Person – They may tell you about abuse they have experienced either currently or historically.
• Disclosure from a third party – A parent, relative, carer, neighbour or another Young Person may share concerns.
• Observation – Staff may be concerned through observing one or more indicators of abuse, including an injury for which there is no adequate explanation or behavioural changes. 
• Colleague conduct – There may be concern about the conduct of a colleague(s) when working with Young People.

3.2 How disclosure can take place

Disclosure can happen particularly frequently in the arts as creative activity can unlock emotions that have been suppressed. Young People are more likely to disclose to someone they see as passing through (e.g. artists delivering workshops) rather than an established member of staff. Disclosure is often presented as a secret, as the person can be concerned about the repercussions of having confided. 

Disclosure can take place:

• Verbally
• Non-Verbally – through creative expression in writing, music/song lyrics, etc. and by displaying sexually aware behaviour beyond years and expected level of experience.

3.3 Staff Responsibilities

Staff should be alert to the indicators of abuse and consider whether abuse may have occurred. The presence of an indicator is not proof that abuse has occurred, but:

• Must be regarded as an indicator of the possibility of significant harm.
• Justifies the need for careful assessment and discussion with the Roundhouse’s Designated Safeguarding Officer (or in the absence of that individual, the Deputy Safeguarding Officer).
• May require consultation with and/ or referral to Camden’s Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

The absence of such indicators does not mean that abuse or neglect has not occurred. A list of possible indicators is highlighted in Appendix B. Please be aware that a child / young person can be abused by another child / young person. 

3.4. What to do if a young person makes a disclosure to you

If a participant discloses that they have been a victim of abuse, or if an employee has concerns that a child, young person or adult is at risk of harm or abuse, they should immediately:

1. Inform the young person that what they say may not be able to be kept confidential (if they are at risk of harm or someone else is). Do not promise confidentiality.

2. If they continue, allow the young person to speak without interruption, accepting what is said. Reassure them that they have done the right thing while passing no judgement.

• Listen carefully to what the young person says without interrupting
• Questions should be necessary, open and non-leading
• Stay calm – don’t show shock or horror 
• Be sensitive – offer a safe and private environment for the young person to talk
• Be reassuring – tell the young person that they were right to tell/have done nothing wrong
• Be responsive – acknowledge how difficult it was for the young person to tell, explain what needs to happen next, that you will need to tell someone and pass this information on to keep them safe
• Don’t be afraid of being wrong, or be concerned about starting an investigation – you will be supported

3. Ensure no situation arises that could cause any further concern.

4. Record the facts as you know them on an incident form and pass to the Designated Safeguarding Officer at the soonest opportunity.

• Don’t delay action in response to a disclosure
• At the earliest opportunity make a written record 
• Write down what they have said ‘Verbatim’ – in their words
• Fill in Safeguarding Disclosure Form (Appendix G), available on Roundup or by asking the Duty Manager or Youth Work Team at the Studios Reception

5. Escalate to the Designated Safeguarding Officer immediately.

If a member of staff suspects abuse, or has concerns about another staff member, but it has not been disclosed, follow the process as above but without Steps 1 and 2.

3.5. Incident Reporting / Recording

The Designated Safeguarding Officer is responsible for ensuring accurate records are kept and will classify the incident / allegation based on the information provided to help differentiate the types and level of concern. If staff are unsure, concerns should always be reported.

3.6. Police and Social Services – Who to contact

The Roundhouse will take the following approach if external agencies need to be involved:

• Child Protection and Welfare Concerns: inform Social Services in the borough in which the young person lives.
• Criminal offence committed against a young person or vulnerable adult: inform the police in the borough in which the offence has occurred.

3.7. Information Sharing and Confidentiality

The Roundhouse is committed to the safe and secure management of confidential information, as detailed in the organisation’s GDPR Policy, however data protection legislation is not a barrier to sharing reasonable safeguarding concerns.

If it is necessary to share information concerns with the Designated Safeguarding Officer or, in their absence, social services, to prevent a young person or adult at risk from suffering neglect or physical, mental or emotional harm then that information must be shared.

The Designated Safeguarding Officer will make the decision as to whether it is appropriate to contact the parents or guardians of the young person. This decision may be taken with advice from external agencies.

The aim of the Government’s Prevent Strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In the Act this has simply been expressed as the need to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. Prevent covers international and domestic terrorist threats, and includes the activities of far right groups and animal rights groups.

The Roundhouse will raise concerns with appropriate authorities as part of it’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy, if it is identified that any young person / adult at risk is expressing vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs on any of its programmes.

The Roundhouse will continually review and evaluate its Safeguarding practice in line with the Safeguarding Review Procedure. The Associate Director of Young People will report to the Business, Audit and Risk Committee (BAR) for the trustee board summarising departmental evaluations, analysing safeguarding data and trends, and identifying any key areas for improvement and headlines.

6.1. Participant Recruitment

The Roundhouse will  seek to collect relevant information relating to medical and support needs prior to participation in order to assess and support participant needs in order to ensure they are safe on our programmes.

6.2. Participant Code of Conduct and Behaviour Management

Participants in our programmes will receive information about how to keep themselves safe whilst participating in the programme and the expected standards of behaviour as part of the Roundhouse Young Creatives Code of Conduct, Young people who do not follow this will be managed through relevant processes.

7.1. Staff Recruitment

The Roundhouse operates a Safe Recruitment Policy, based on best practice, that is applicable to all roles irrespective of contract type and is overseen by the Head of People and Associate Director of Young People.

7.2. Staff Training

The Roundhouse ensures that staff are able to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities more effectively by providing a comprehensive induction and ongoing training relevant to their roles.  There is a Safeguarding Training Matrix for details of training requirements depending on role and responsibilities. These will be organised and monitored by the Associate Director of Young People and Senior Youth Work Manager who will record participation and completion. 

7.3. Probation

Staff cannot pass their probation without all relevant safe recruitment checks being signed off.

7.4 Professional Conduct

The Roundhouse expects all staff to behave in a professional manner when working with our participants. This may differ depending on role and the level of engagement with young people and adults at risk; it includes use of social media and professional appearance. The Roundhouse’s Safer Working Practice: Guidance for Staff who work with Children and Adults at Risk (see Appendix E) provides clear advice on appropriate and safe behaviours for all Staff working with Young People. All staff are required to adhere to the document as part of the Roundhouse’s Safeguarding Children and Young People and Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policies.

8.1 Allegations Against Staff

Any allegation that an employee or volunteer has behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed a participant, will be taken seriously and dealt with sensitively and promptly. There is a separate procedure for dealing with allegations against staff and volunteers

The Roundhouse has a clear whistleblowing procedure, referenced in staff training and codes of conduct, and promotes a culture that enables issues about safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people to be addressed. Concerns about any form of malpractice are to be raised with the People Team.

Written consent to take and use images of Young People should be obtained prior to the taking of photographs and/or video footage.  Where images of Young People are being mass produced or highly prominent, comprehensive information regarding use of images e.g. in print, multi-media, broadcast; and what purpose e.g. promotion, publicity, evaluation; and where possible an indication of who the audience will be e.g. the general public, the participating Young People and their families, and partner organisations,, are to be communicated as part of Informed Consent processes. Young People’s names should not appear with any images posted online.

10.1 Photographing / Filming Young People

If the Roundhouse is commissioning a professional photographer / filmmaker or inviting the press to an event, it is important that they understand our expectations of them in relation to safeguarding. 

The Roundhouse will:

• Provide a clear brief about what is considered appropriate in the content of the photography / video footage.
• Issue them with identification that they must display at all times.
• Inform Young People and parents/guardians that a photographer / filmmaker will be present at the event and ensure they consent in writing to filming and/or photography and to its publication.
• Do not allow photographers / filmmakers unsupervised access to Young People or one-to-one photo sessions during the event.
• Do not approve photo / filming sessions outside the events or at a participant’s home.

The Roundhouse must obtain written permission for the filming/photographs to be taken both from the subjects, and if under the age of 16 written consent is required from their parents/carers. 

10.2 Broadcasting and Internet

Broadcasting and social media internet usage are legitimate teaching aids. However, when it is used the Roundhouse will ensure that Young People and their parents/carers understand that it is part of the creative project or course. We will also ensure that Young People are equipped to protect themselves when engaging with the internet independently and/or as part of a project. Photographs of Young People on websites can pose direct or indirect risks. For example, images accompanied by personal information – ‘this is X who likes to sing’ – could be used by an individual to learn more about a Young Person prior to ‘grooming’ them for abuse. Or the content of the photo could be used or adapted for inappropriate use. 

The Roundhouse will make careful decisions about the type of images / video footage that represent our arts activities with Young People. When assessing risk, the most important factor is the potential of inappropriate use of the images and video footage. The Roundhouse will ensure that e-safety guidelines are disseminated and put into practice.

Areas that should be considered prior to use of images / video footage:

• Does the material made promote illegal or dangerous activities?
• Is the material produced at risk of being misconstrued when taken out of the context of the workshop or event?
• Does the material discriminate against an individual or group on the grounds of sex, race, colour, creed, ethnic/national origins, sexual orientations, class, age, disability, marital status and those caring for dependants?
• Does the material endanger any of the Young People in the image / video footage? 
• Have the parents of Young People under the age of 16 provided written consent for this footage to be used in the public realm e.g. on the internet?
• Have the Young People provided written consent for this footage to be used in the public realm?
• Photographs / video footage of young people under the age of 16 will not include names

Child performers are occasionally used in Roundhouse performance events. There are no age limits for the performers, however there are strict guidelines on the length and number of performances in which they are allowed to participate. 

The child must be licensed to perform by the local authority of the area in which s/he lives. Roundhouse Artistic Programming, Events or Youth Policy and Engagement team coordinate the engagement and participation of child performers, liaising with the event producer to ensure necessary licences and working conditions are in place. A child may perform up to four days out of every six months without licence or pay, or if the performance is organised by a school or certain other bodies and the child is not paid. It is the responsibility of the licence holder to provide a suitable adult to act as chaperone for the child. See Appendix I for Child Performer guidelines. 

Children taking part in performances need to be accompanied by a parent or registered chaperone at all times. The parent / chaperone will be responsible for ensuring the welfare needs of the child are met, including the child’s journey to the performance, during the performance, and during any intervals or periods of quiet. 

A thorough risk assessment of hazards must be undertaken and suitable precautionary measures must be in place. The relevant Head of Department is responsible for ensuring the event producer adheres to the following responsibilities:  

• Undertake/obtain a suitable risk assessment  
• Obtain a copy of the local authority licence for the child/children and ensure compliance by cross checking with any updates to the proposed performance and rehearsal times  
• Ensure that suitable security arrangements are in place for the child/children.  
• Ensure separate dressing rooms are set aside for the child/children. Splitting male and female as necessary.  
• Monitor rehearsals and performances for risks and hazards to the child/children.

Queries relating to children in performance can be directed to Camden Council Education Welfare Service, 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG Telephone: 020 7974 1653, Email: ce@camden.gov.uk