Active Lambeth Safeguarding Statement

Safeguarding is everyone’s business and all Lambeth Council employees, elected councillors, volunteers, commissioned services and contractors’ staff who have direct or indirect contact with children, young people and adults, or who have access to information about them, have a responsibility to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Lambeth Council has a responsibility under the Children Act 2004 and under the Care Act 2014 for making appropriate arrangements to ensure its functions are discharged having regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and of adults at risk in its area. Government guidance makes it clear that safeguarding is a shared responsibility and depends upon effective joint working between agencies and professionals that have different roles and expertise.

Lambeth Council’s Safeguarding policy is based on the following principles: –

• Everyone has the right to live their life free from violence, fear and abuse.
• All adults have the right to be protected from harm and exploitation.
• All adults have the right to independence which involves a degree of risk.

Active Lambeth, as a Council service will:

• Promote safeguarding as everybody’s business; ensuring all employees, managers, elected members, commissioned services and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding and are supported to develop and maintain this understanding.
• Implement clear procedures and protocols to ensure it meets its obligations towards the safeguarding of children, young people and adults.
• Ensure that its services are clearly accountable for safeguarding.
• Provide assurance to members of the public, service users, employees, partners and people working on behalf of the Council that there are arrangements in place to safeguard and protect children, young people and adults.
• Ensure services are planned and delivered in a way which seeks to safeguard children, young people and adults; and employees are able to conduct themselves safely.
• Ensure local services work together where appropriate around the safeguarding needs of children, young people or adults, and that they are actively involved in developing and evaluating the services which are provided for them.
• Invest in preventative and early intervention services for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk.
• Ensure the Council, Active Lambeth, and partner organisations, in relation to multi-agency working arrangements, have a shared understanding of the duty to safeguard.
• Implement safer recruitment and vetting procedures ensuring that all necessary checks are undertaken and respond promptly to any allegations against staff.
• Provide staff training and encourage ongoing professional development.
• Ensure that the Council and partner agencies working with children and families have clear policies for dealing with allegations against people who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• Accept the moral and legal responsibility to provide for the health, safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who use our service and will implement procedures to safeguard their well-being and protect them from abuse regardless of their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief or sexual identity.
• Respect and promote the rights of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• Recruit and train its employees in best practice to safeguard and protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from abuse.
• Monitor the operation of the Safeguarding Policy and record appropriate data.
• Review this policy on a 3-yearly basis or if there is a major change in the organisation or in relevant legislation.

The aim of the Council’s Active Lambeth, Safeguarding Policy is to promote good practice through:

• Providing children, young people and vulnerable adults with appropriate safety and protection whilst accessing the services provided by Active Lambeth, a Council service.
• Allowing all staff to make informed and confident responses to child protection and adult safeguarding issues.

If you are concerned about a safeguarding issue during a session in an Active Lambeth Facility, follow the advice below:

• Record what the person has said or what has been seen. Include dates and times and ensure confidentiality is maintained on a need-to-know basis.
• Report your concerns to the Facility or Duty Manager, who will contact a designated Active Lambeth Safeguarding Officer and or report matters of whistleblowing for internal investigation:
• Other means of contact are:

In an emergency, always call 999

• Our Commitment

• Require all staff to comply with the Council’s Safeguarding Policy.
• Respond to any allegations appropriately and take action in accordance with the Council’s Safeguarding Policy/Procedure and Disciplinary Procedure where appropriate.
• Provide support to employees against whom allegations are made and take appropriate action where false or malicious allegations are made.
• Work within the framework of the Council’s Safeguarding Children Board and Safeguarding Adults Board.
• Promote the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults through inter-agency working.
• Make referrals to statutory bodies, where required to do so.

Active Lambeth has an Equality and Diversity policy available upon request. To view our Equality and Diversity statement visit here.

If you require further information relating to Active Lambeth’s Safeguarding Policy, please send an email to ActiveLambeth@lambeth.gov.uk