What does ‘Safeguarding’ mean?

Safeguarding is the term used to describe measures one must take to protecting people who may be in vulnerable circumstances and it is each individuals key responsibility when offering help.

We are committed to promoting good practice in relation to working with and preventing the abuse of children and vulnerable adults. To help us do this effectively we have implemented Protection and Safety policies which are designed to protect participants in all our projects. We are committed to fostering communities that have the utmost respect for the safety of both children and vulnerable adults.

We have referenced Government guidance on ‘safeguarding’ heeded advice from appropriate bodies policy and risk assessed how our people interact with the general public: on site, at meetings, in our office and arranging and attending repairs in their homes.

What we do and the impact it has is risk assessed and reviewed as guidance changes and/or as issues are raised. In doing our work we taken into consideration individuals have requirements, ages, nationalities, languages and mobility and during a pandemic may be ‘self-isolating’ or ‘sick’. Staff and operatives are given appropriate role-based guidance on Covid-19 . Ringley's management reviews processes and acts as a channel for escalating concerns and holds the final decision on staffing matters. We have a range of mitigating actions in place to ensure the safety of individuals we interact with and our staff.

For app based technology these include but are not limited to:

Two factor authentication so that users cannot sign up without the control or ownership of a phone or device, Identify checks, Photographs requested to assist in building trust, Driving licence submission for those driving others DBS checks for staff out on site

We will escalate any concerns and work in conjunction with Social Services, the Police and/or NSPCC where applicable, We train our staff not to give out personal details such as phone numbers and emails without consent.

Child Protection Policy Statement

Ringley is committed to delivering a range of services to adults. We do not provide spaces or places for children to meet or supervision of activities. It is for parents and carers to meet, vet and check out any and all arrangements involving children and never to leave children or young people in the care of others without having taken personal responsibility to form relationships over time to build mutual trust. We do not endorse any particular resident or adviser in any childcare matters and children are not allowed in site offices whatsoever. Parents are strongly advised that they should always seek the help of Registered childminders and childcare providers who can be found on the Ofsted Register.

Mental Health Policy Statement

All our people have a duty to be sensitive to the mental capacity of the person they are assisting and to understand the individual’s capacity to interact or make decisions and therefore have a duty to make sensitive judgements. Any abuse is always wrong.

Complaints may be referred to ‘Adult social services’ to investigate within a framework based on the Care Act/Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act guidance, or where suspected to be a criminal offense will be referred to the Police.

Those wanting to offer help are referred to the Government guidance “Safeguarding policy: protecting vulnerable adults https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-policy-protecting-vulnerable-adults