INTRODUCTION
CamGlen Radio recognises that all children and young people have a right to protection from abuse. This organisation takes seriously its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people under the age of 16 and young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who are affected by disability or are vulnerable.

We will:
o Respond swiftly and appropriately to all suspicions or allegations of abuse, and provide parents/carers and children and young people with the opportunity to voice their concerns
o Have a system for dealing with concerns about possible abuse
o Maintain good links with statutory social services and police
o Integrate this policy and procedure across the organisation and link with other processes where appropriate, including recruitment and requirement for membership of PVG scheme where relevant, equalities, confidentiality, complaints procedures, risk management, monitoring and planning, organisational learning, staff and volunteer support and performance management systems

THE POLICY
CamGlen Radio recognises that many children and young people today are the victims of neglect, and physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Accordingly, the CamGlen Radio has adopted the policy contained in this document (hereafter "the policy"). The policy sets out agreed guidelines relating to responding to allegations of abuse, including those made against staff and volunteers. CamGlen Radio recognises the need to build constructive links with social services and police. These guidelines have been prepared in accordance with current research and advice. They will be kept under review and be supported by appropriate training.

The policy applies to all staff and volunteers who act on behalf of the organisation and who come directly into contact with children and young people and/or with their parents/carers and families. Every individual has a responsibility to inform the designated person in respect of child protection, or their deputy, of concerns relating to safeguarding children and young people. The designated person must decide if the concerns should be communicated to social services or the police or if any further action if required.

DEFINITIONS OF ABUSE
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Somebody may abuse or neglect a child or young person by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children and young people may be abused in a family or in an institution or community setting; by those known to them, or more rarely by a stranger. Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child or young person. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent/carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child or young person whom they are looking after.

EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child or young person such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's or young person’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to the children or young person that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the need of another person. It may involve causing children or young people frequently to feel frightened or in danger, other exploitation or corruption of children or young people. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child or young person, though it may occur alone.

SEXUAL ABUSE
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child or young person is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities such as involving children or a young person in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children or young persons to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

NEGLECT
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's or young person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of their health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child or young person from physical harm, or danger or the failure to ensure address to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness, to a child's or young person’s basic emotion.
For further information and detail, see Appendix 2

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE
o Write down the nature of your concern and anything the child or young person may have told you using, so far as possible, the words used by the child or young person. Remember to sign and date the notes taken
o You must report concerns as soon as possible to the designated person (see Appendix 1), who is nominated by the Board of Directors to act on their behalf in referring allegations of suspicions of neglect or abuse to the statutory authorities.
o If it is an emergency, and the designated persons cannot be contacted, then social services or the police should be contacted directly (see Appendix 4)
o If you have observed a member of the organisation acting in a way that has caused you to be concerned, and feel the matter needs to be investigated you should contact the designated person outlining your concerns and the basis for them. The designated person will take your concerns seriously and decide on an appropriate course of action. This may involve the use of the organisations disciplinary procedures and / or a referral to social services / police
o If the concerns involve the designated person, this should be reported to the Director of the organisation, or to the Chair of the Board of Directors Staffing Sub Group, or to social services / police
o Suspicions should not be discussed with anyone other than those named above. However, the matter should be discussed with at least one of the above prior to any other action being taken, except in an emergency situation where an individual is in immediate danger
It is the right of any individual to make direct referrals to the child protection agencies or police. We would expect that an individual would use this procedure in the line of duty. However, if you feel that the organisation has not responded appropriately to your concerns, it is open to you as an individual to contact the child protection agencies or police directly.

WHAT TO DO ONCE A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON HAS TALKED TO YOU ABOUT ABUSE
o Be supportive to the child or young person. Listen with care, but do not ask any unnecessary questions. Take what the child or young person is saying seriously, and advise them you will have to pass the information on
o Make a note immediately of what has been said, writing down exactly what the child or young person has said, write down what you said in reply, when they said it and what was happening immediately beforehand. Record dates and times of the events and when the record was made. Keep all notes secure
o Report your discussion as soon as possible to the designated person. Once a child or young person has talked about abuse the designated person must consider if it is safe for the individual to return to a potentially abusive situation
o On a rare occasion it might be necessary to take immediate action to contact social services and/or the police to discuss putting into effect safety measures for the child or young person so that they do not return home or into the same situation

WHAT TO DO IF A PARENT/CARER DISCLOSES BEHAVIOUR OR AN EVENT THAT SUGGESTS A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON MAY BE AT RISK
o Unless where doing so will put the staff member or volunteer themselves at immediate risk, explain to the parent/carer that the organisation has a duty to act on information that suggests a child or young person is at risk of harm, or that an individual may harm themselves. Discuss the matter with the parent/caregiver and encourage them to seek appropriate support, signposting or referring as appropriate
o Record the details of the interaction in the parent/caregiver’s file if there is one, or keep notes secure
o Follow the reporting procedure above if there is concern about a child or young person i.e. report to the designated person

NEXT STEPS
In all of the above cases, debriefing and initial support will be provided by the designated person, who will also then collate anonymized information and feed into organisational processes. However, once the matter has been dealt with by the designated person you may also speak to your line manager regarding personal support or development need, maintaining the confidentiality of the individuals or family involved.
Once the matter has been brought to their attention, and if a referral is to be made, the designated person will act according to the procedures below, using the appropriate forms (see Appendix 3).

> ALLEGATIONS OF PHYSICAL INJURY, EMOTIONAL ABUSE OR NEGLECT
If a child or young person has an injury which may be a non-accidental injury, or symptoms of neglect and a referral is to be made then:
o The designated person should contact social services. If there has been a deliberate injury or where there are concerns about the person’s safety the child's parents or other carers should not be contacted before first consulting with social services
o Where emergency medical attention is necessary it should be sought immediately. The designated person should inform the doctor of any suspicion of abuse
o If a referral is being made without the parent's knowledge and non urgent medical treatment is required, social services should be informed. Otherwise, speak to the parent/carer and suggest medical attention be sought for the child or young person
o If appropriate the parent/carer should be encouraged to seek help from social services prior to a referral being made. If they fail to do so in situations of real concern the designated person will contact social services directly for advice

> ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE
In the event of allegations of sexual abuse the designated person will:
o Contact social services or police directly. The designated person will not speak to the parents/carers
o Under no circumstances should the designated person, or any other member of the organisation, attempt to carry out any investigation into the allegations or suspicions of sexual abuse. The role of the designated person is to collect the exact details of the allegations or suspicion and to provide this information to the child protection agencies, social services or police that will investigate the matter
> Allegations against staff or volunteers will be investigated through appropriate procedures with utmost urgency. Where there are concerns that a child or young person has been put in danger of abuse, or has suffered abuse owing to the actions of a member of staff or volunteer, this will be dealt with through grievance/disciplinary procedures and/or be reported to social services or the police.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE GENERAL WELFARE CONCERNS ABOUT A CHILD
There are many circumstances that may cause harm to a child, and require a response, but fall short of a concern that a child is being abused. Nevertheless, a build up of concerns over time may become serious enough that the child is considered to be at risk of abuse.
Where you have general welfare concerns about a child you should:
o Address the incidents as they arise within the practice guidance of the organisation, including discussing with the parents/carers
o Discuss your concerns with your line manager
o Liaise with other agencies that are working with the child
o Record your actions, and note your concern on the chronology of significant events
You should review general welfare concerns periodically, to see whether the build up of concerns is significant enough to pass on to social services.

POLICY REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed at least every year or in response to new legislation.
Next review must take place before May 2023.

APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Designated Person’s Contact Details and Alternatives
Appendix 2 Definitions: taken from National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2010
Appendix 3 Referral forms
Appendix 4 Key External Contacts
Other organisational policies and procedures can be found in the Staff and Volunteer Handbooks
Structured training opportunities are listed in the organisation’s training programme
If other development needs are identified, these can be discussed with your line manager and the appropriate organisational learning forms submitted

POLICY STATEMENT ON SAFEGUARDING
VULNERABLE ADULTS
INTRODUCTION
CamGlen Radio recognises the rights of vulnerable adults to live free from harm and the organisation’s duty to minimise risk and to respond where concerns are raised. With this policy, CamGlen Radio is responding to the growing awareness of the vulnerability of some adults to abuse or neglect and to current legislation and guidelines for good practice.
The characteristics of adult abuse can take a number of forms and cause victims to suffer pain, fear and distress reaching well beyond the time of the actual incident(s). Victims may be too afraid or embarrassed to raise any complaint. They may be reluctant to discuss their concerns with other people or unsure who to trust or approach with their worries. There may be some situations where victims are unaware that they are being abused or have difficulty in communicating this information to others.
The aim of this policy is to ensure the safety of vulnerable adults by outlining clear procedures and ensuring that all staff members are clear about their responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES
All members of staff and volunteers acting on behalf of CamGlen Radio have a responsibility to be aware of this policy and to report any suspicions that they might have concerning adult abuse.
CamGlen Radio's responsibilities include ensuring that:
o staff are aware of who to notify both within the organisation and relevant external agencies, if abuse is identified or suspected
o support is given and where possible the safety of individuals is secured and that all referrals to services have full information in relation to identified risk and vulnerability
o support is given to those who make a complaint or allegation or expression of concern, whether staff or service users, carers or members of the public
o vulnerable adults have the right to be made aware of the policy
o staff are carefully selected, screened and supervised
o all employees that have access to or work with vulnerable adults are Disclosure checked
o staff are aware of the policy and are adequately trained
o this policy and procedure is integrated across the organisation and links with other processes where appropriate, including recruitment and requirement for membership of PVG scheme where relevant, equalities, confidentiality, complaints procedures, risk management, monitoring and planning, organisational learning, staff and volunteer support and performance management systems

DEFINITIONS
A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from harm or from being exploited. This may include a person who:
o is elderly and frail
o has a mental illness including dementia
o has a physical or sensory disability
o has a learning disability
o has a severe physical illness
o is a substance misuser
o is homeless
o is in an abusive relationship

What is abuse?
Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. It can take a number of forms:
o Physical abuse e.g. hitting, pushing, shaking, inappropriate restraint, forcefeeding, forcible administration of medication, neglect or abandonment
o Sexual abuse e.g. involvement in any sexual activity against his/her will, exposure to pornography, voyeurism and exhibitionism
o Emotional/psychological abuse e.g. intimidation or humiliation
o Financial abuse e.g. theft or exerting improper pressure to sign over money from pensions or savings etc.
o Neglect or acts of omission e.g. being left in wet or soiled clothing, or malnutrition
o Discriminatory abuse e.g. racial, sexual or religious harassment
o Personal exploitation – involves denying an individual his/her rights or forcing him/her to perform tasks that are against his/her will
o Violation of rights e.g. preventing an individual speaking his/her thoughts and opinions
o Institutional abuse e.g. failure to provide a choice of meals or failure to ensure privacy or dignity
Rights of Vulnerable Adults
The vulnerable adults have the right to:
o be made aware of this policy
o to have alleged incidents recognised and taken seriously
o to receive fair and respectful treatment throughout
o to be involved in any process as appropriate
o to receive information about the outcome

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE, OR SUSPICIONS OR ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE ARE REPORTED TO YOU
If an allegation is made to a member of staff or volunteer, or there is a suspicion of abuse then the member of staff or volunteer should:
o Ensure that all those making a complaint, allegation, or expression of concern, whether staff, volunteers, service users, carers or members of the public are reassured that:
- they will be taken seriously
- their comments will usually be treated confidentially but their concerns may be shared if they or others are at significant risk
- if service users, they will be given immediate protection from the risk of reprisals or intimidation
- if staff or volunteers they will be given support and afforded protection
o Take notes of the allegation or concerns including any dates, venues, events and other details
o Retain notes and records in a secure place
o If told about the allegation of abuse in confidence, you should attempt to gain the consent of the person to make a referral to another agency if it is required
o Inform the designated person as soon as possible (see Appendix 1 for contact details)
o If you have observed a member of the organisation acting in a way that has caused you to be concerned, and feel the matter needs to be investigated you should contact the designated person outlining your concerns and the basis for them. The designated person will take your concerns seriously and decide on an appropriate course of action.
This may involve the use of the organisations disciplinary procedures and / or a referral to social services / police
o If the concerns involve the designated person, this should be reported to the Director of the organisation, or to the Chair of the Board of Directors Staffing Sub Group, or to social services / police
In emergency situations (e.g. where there is the risk or occurrence or severe physical injury), where immediate action is needed to safeguard the health or safety of the individual or anyone else who may be at risk, social services and/or police must be contacted
Where a crime is taking place, has just occurred or is suspected, the police must be contacted immediately.

NEXT STEPS
The designated person should ensure a written record of the allegation or suspicion of
abuse is made. If a referral is to be made they will complete referral documentation (see Appendix 3) and contact social services or police.
If a staff member or volunteer has been told about the allegation of abuse in confidence, they should have attempted to gain the consent of the person to make a referral to another agency. However, the gaining of the consent is not essential in order for information to be passed on. Consideration needs to be given to:
- The scale of the abuse
- The risk of harm to others
- The capacity of the victim to understand the issues of abuse and consent
If there is any doubt about whether or not to report an issue to social services then it should be reported (see Appendix 4)

POLICY REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed at least every year or in response to new legislation.
Next review must take place before May 2023.

APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Designated Person’s Contact Details and Alternatives
Appendix 2 Definitions: from Adult Support And Protection (Scotland) Act 2007
Appendix 3 Referral forms
Appendix 4 Key External Contacts
Other organisational policies and procedures can be found in the Staff and Volunteer Handbooks
Structured training opportunities are listed in the organisation’s training programme
If other development needs are identified, these can be discussed with your line manager and the appropriate organisational learning forms submitted