Child Protection in Arts: Frequently Asked Questions: Answers

Child Protection Procedures

20. “I know Child Protection is everyone’s responsibility but where do I start?”

See ‘Checkpoints: an auditing tool’.

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21. “We have to have a child protection policy and procedures to apply for grants; what do they look like?”   

If you are working with or providing services for children, young people or vulnerable adults you should have a written protection policy and set of procedures in place and all your staff should be fully aware of them, understand their responsibilities and be ‘signed up’ to the policy and procedures.

Getting started 

The following questions may help you focus your policy:

• how is it that you are involved with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults?
  
• Why does your organisation feel it is important to ensure that children, young people and/or vulnerable adults involved with you are safe?
  
• what is your understanding of terms such as ‘children’, ‘young people’ and ‘vulnerable adults’ and how do you ensure that all relevant staff have the same understanding?
  
• what is ‘abuse’? Where and how might abuse take place in the work carried out by your organisation?
  
• what measures will you put in place or do you already have in place to protect children, young people and/or vulnerable adults?
  
• how will you support your paid staff/volunteers in their understanding and awareness of the importance of safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults?
  
• how will you apply your policy for protection of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults and how does the policy ‘fit’ with other corporate policies you have? (These might include recruitment, induction, training, whistle-blowing, disciplinary as well as others.)

Your policy does not need to be more than two sides of A4 but it should provide the foundation for:

• an understanding across your organisation of your role in protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults
  
• practical objectives for ensuring the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults
  
• reasons why you need to work out procedures, including for:
  
  • project planning and implementation
    
  • staff recruitment and training
    
  • responding to allegations of abuse
    
  • who takes lead responsibility within your organisation for protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults
    
• acquiring basic information on current legislation and issues
  
• accessing further information and advice

The NSPCC firstcheck document (see Practical Resources) is a comprehensive resource which is helpful in gaining an understanding around issues of child protection and in developing a policy and set of procedures. In addition to this document NSPCC produce stopcheck (see Practical Resources). This is an explanatory booklet to help small groups or organisations that are required to develop child protection policies or procedures. It explains simply what is meant by safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and is intended to help small voluntary groups who:

• are required to develop a child protection policy as a condition for funding, charitable status, insurance or other purposes
  
• have experienced an incident of child abuse and want to know what to do in the future
  
• simply want to take the initiative in making their organisation as safe as possible for children, young people and vulnerable adults.

The right procedures for you

Procedures set out how you put your policy into practice. They will be particular to how your organisation engages with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults. Your written procedures should include:

• recruitment practices
  
• training provision
  
• project planning
  
• risk assessment and risk management
  
• project implementation
  
• what to do if there is a problem

Your policy and procedures should be dated and should be reviewed and updated regularly.

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Answers compiled by Michelle Walmsley, Consultant Child Protection Trainer, Manchester. October 2003.

Sources include:

• ‘firstcheck’, NSPCC, email: infounit@nspcc.org.uk
  
• ‘Our Duty to Care’, Volunteer Development Agency, Tel: 028 9023 6100
  
• ‘Keeping Arts Safe; protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in arts activities’, Arts Council England/NSPCC, April 2003. See: www.tipp.org.uk
  
• ‘More Than a Policy: Towards Meaningful Child Protection in the Arts’ – TiPP/Arts Council England, April 2003. See: www.tipp.org.uk
  
• ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, Home Office, Department for Education and Employment, Department of Health, 1999.
  
• ‘The Framework for the Assessment of Children and their Families’, DoH, DfEE, H.O., 2000.
  
• ‘Every Child Matters’, Government Green Paper, 2003.