Safeguarding Policy

Introduction

The Story Museum, dedicated to universal access, extends a warm welcome to visitors of all ages and abilities. As a responsible organisation, the museum diligently maintains a safe and healthy environment for all users of its facilities and services, encompassing trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors, tenants, and visitors, without regard to age or physical ability.

Committed to ensuring the appropriate and safe treatment of all individuals, this policy establishes guidelines for interactions on site, during outreach, and in digital environments. Beyond the explicit safeguarding of children, young people, and vulnerable adults from abuse, it aims to cultivate a holistic culture of health and safety.

To ensure continuous improvement in safeguarding practices, this policy is supported by a dynamic Safeguarding Action Plan that meets and surpasses statutory requirements, fostering a secure environment for staff and visitors, with a particular focus on children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

All trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors, tenants, and visitors are responsible for supporting this policy.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Safeguarding Policy, The Story Museum would like to outline clearly the definition of the following terms within this document:

• Children: Within this document, the term "children" encompasses all individuals under the age of 16. This definition aligns with standard legal and safeguarding practices.
• Young People: The term "young people" specifically refers to individuals aged 16 to 25 years. This distinction is made to address the unique needs and developmental stages of this age group.
• Vulnerable Adult: The Story Museum defines a vulnerable adult as any person who, due to circumstances or personal factors, is or perceives themselves to be unable to:
  • Safeguard their own well-being.
  • Protect themselves from significant harm, abuse, or exploitation.
  • This definition acknowledges both objective vulnerability and the subjective experience of feeling vulnerable.
• Staff: For the purposes of this document, the term "staff" is used broadly to include all individuals who contribute to or represent The Story Museum. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Employees (both full-time and part-time)
  • Trustees
  • Volunteers
  • Freelancers
  • Contractors
  • Tenants

Contextual Safeguarding

Within the context of The Story Museum, it is important for us to define safeguarding and abuse with the key groups that will be engaging with our space:

The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) defines safeguarding as the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding means: protecting children from abuse and maltreatment, preventing harm to children’s health or development, and ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care.

The SCIE (Social Care Institute of Excellence) states that protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted including, where appropriate, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.

Abuse, a spectrum of harmful actions perpetrated by individuals of any age, encompasses a range of behaviours that inflict significant harm. This includes, but is not limited to domestic abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, online abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, bullying and cyberbullying, child trafficking, grooming, and harmful sexual behaviour. For detailed definitions, please refer to Appendix 1.

safeguard-me.co.uk (2024

Acronyms

Equality Statement

Some children have an increased risk of abuse, and additional barriers can exist for some children with respect to recognising or disclosing it. We are committed to anti-discriminatory practice and recognise children’s diverse circumstances. We ensure that all children have the same protection, regardless of any barriers they may face. We are all vigilant to the special needs (SEN), disabilities or health conditions that our children have, and recognise this may make them even more vulnerable to abuse.

We give special consideration to children who:

• Are young carers
• May experience discrimination due to their race, ethnicity, religion, gender identification or sexuality
• Have English as an additional language
• Are known to be living in difficult situations – for example, temporary accommodation or where there are issues such as substance abuse or domestic violence
• Are at risk of FGM, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, or radicalisation
• Are asylum seekers
• Are at risk due to either their own or a family member’s mental health needs
• Are missing from education

Keeping Children Safe In education 2024, GOV.UK

Objectives

Our objectives are to:

• Provide an environment which is safe and welcoming for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• To ensure that all staff know and respect the rights of all members of the public who visit the museum, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• Provide procedures and guidance for all staff for their own protection.
• Ensure the protection of children, young adults and vulnerable adults while at the museum or while taking part in museum-led activities off-site or via digital media.
• To provide the staff with the knowledge and confidence to carry out the safeguarding procedures.

Procedures and Practice

The Story Museum and everyone who works for it is committed to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults by:

• Providing effective management for staff through induction and annual in-service training, supervision and support
• Ensuring that all staff follow the museum’s written procedures and Code of Behaviour & Practice to set a culture of good practice.
• Ensure that all staff know the policies and are empowered to implement the procedures that support Safeguarding. These are:

• Alcohol & Drugs
• Communications Policy & Procedures
• Data Breach Policy
• Data Management Policy
• Disciplinary Policy & Procedures
• Employee Privacy Statement
• Equality Opportunities Policy
• Grievance Policy & Procedures
• Personal Harassment Policy & Procedures
• Safe Recruitment Policy & Procedures
• Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention and Disposal of Disclosures Policy & Procedures
• Social Medial Policy & Procedures
• Whistleblowing Policy & Procedures

• Ensuring that all staff know how to implement the operational procedures in place to support Safeguarding. These are:

• Lost Child Procedures
• Found Child Procedures
• Lost & found child form
• Safeguarding Incident Procedures Safeguarding Incident Report Form
• Procedures for responding to allegations of abuse
• Safeguarding Children, Young People & Vulnerable Adults Code of Practice
• Visitor Complaints Procedure

• Risk assessing activities and events and applying the NSPCC guidelines for appropriate adult: child ratios to assess the appropriate framework for the activity.
• Ensuring all members of staff understand they have a duty to report concerns of abuse and know the procedures for doing so via the Reporting Disclosures procedures or Whistleblowing.
• Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents/carers as per the procedures detailed in the Procedures for reporting disclosures and responding to allegations of abuse.
• Following the Safe Recruitment procedures for all staff.
• Informing staff that not adhering to the policy and guidelines will lead to formal disciplinary action.
• Publicising our guidelines in our visitor information documentation.
• The Board Safeguarding Champion and the Designated Safeguarding Officers will review the Safeguarding Policy and Safeguarding Action Plan annually, implementing changes where necessary.
• Adopting safeguarding procedures for all staff which minimise any opportunity for abuse and establish appropriate treatment of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect the staff to uphold the following behaviour as outlined in the Safeguarding Code of Practice as follows:

Do:

• Ensure your behaviour is always appropriate. This includes avoiding suggestive or offensive language and not engaging in inappropriate contact.
• Never intentionally be in a 1 to 1 situation with a child or vulnerable adult. If you find yourself in this situation, try to get out of it as soon as possible for example by finding a third party or moving locations.
• Value everyone as an individual – make children aware of safety and give them guidelines to follow so that they can take some responsibility for their own safety.
• Take any allegations or concerns about abuse seriously and refer concerns immediately following the museum procedures.
• Ensure that you know who the Designated Safeguarding Officer is and how to report any concerns that you might have.
• Use age-appropriate resources for all activities.
• Work with colleagues to watch out for each other to ensure that they are not behaving in ways which could be misinterpreted.
• Keep yourself up to date with procedures and ask your manager or the DSO if you are unsure what to do.
• For all external meetings use Teams or a TSM Zoom Account.

Don’t:

• Make promises or offer to keep a secret.
• Have favourites, or be perceived to have favourites
• Develop social relationships with children or vulnerable adults – this includes exchanging personal and social media information, gifts or arranging to meet outside working hours.
• Share personal zoom/digital account details.
• Do not take photos.
• Our staff have undergone training to support them if a child makes a disclosure, and will follow these guidelines:

If a child/young person or adult makes a disclosure to you

• Listen to and believe them. Allow them time to talk freely.
• If you need to ask further questions remember you must not ask leading questions, but you can clarify and gather further details.
• Remember your training around this: T.E.D and the “WH” questions:

• Tell me
• Explain to me
• Describe to me
• Where ……….
• Who ……….
• What …………
• When…………

• Stay calm and do not show that you are shocked or upset.

Personnel

• Board Safeguarding Champion: Perri Evans
• Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO): Sarah Fussell, Operations & Commercial Director
• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officers (DDSOs):

• Lucy Webber, Head of Learning
• Ruby Livesey, Head of Visitor Services
• Ameneh Enayat, Head of Creative Programme
• Kelly Codling-Bray, Community Producer (pending)
• Ellie Godfrey, Volunteer Coordinator

Review

The Story Museum reserves the right to amend policies and procedures without prior notice to reflect changes in legislation or significant changes in operational strategy. All Safeguarding Policies will be reviewed annually.
Reviewed: February 2025

Appendices Content

The following sources should be referred to alongside the Policy and Procedures documentation:
Appendix 1: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – ‘Definitions of Types of Abuse’ Document
Appendix 2: Information Sharing
Government Guidelines
OSCP (Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership [formally known as OSAB)
OSAB (Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adult Board)
Appendix 3: Oxfordshire’s Threshold of Needs
Appendix 4: Who is the Oxfordshire LADO?
Appendix 5: MASH Referral InformationAppendix 6: Key Story Museum Policies and Procedures Staff Handbook & Policies or on request via the DSO.