Our Policies @ RUSH 2The DEN
Child Protection
Rush 2The DEN is firmly committed to the belief that all children and young people have a fundamental right to be protected from harm, and fully recognises its responsibility for child protection. The safety and protection of all children and young people that Rush 2The DEN supports is paramount, and has priority over all other interests.
The purpose of this Child Protection Policy is to ensure at all times the maximum protection from any kind of harm for all young people involved in anyway with Rush 2The DEN. For the purposes of this policy Rush 2The DEN have defined harm as:
• neglect
• physical abuse
• emotional abuse
• sexual abuse
RUSH 2The DEN should provide an environment in which there are caring
and safe relationships between adults and young people. For such relationships to
develop, informed common sense and sound professional practice must be evident.
The key principles are:
Treat everyone with respect.
Where it is important and appropriate for staff to be alone with a young person never have the door locked and, where possible, maintain a gap/barrier between you and a young person.
Empower young persons to feel comfortable and confident to point out to staff attitudes or behaviour they do not like.
‘Hands on’ educational instructions/support should only be used when verbal or self-modelling is inappropriate or it is necessary for health and safety reasons. Whenever necessary, where possible, it should be done within earshot, and preferably, within vision of others.
The use of physical restraint on a young person should involve the absolute minimum force necessary and is only permissible when staff are certain that a young person is at imminent risk of endangering themselves, others or property. Where possible, they will summon a colleague to witness the situation and give support. Any such incident will be recorded.
Time is dedicated on staff meetings/planned activity time to discuss the topic of keeping young people safe and minimising risk to staff.
Confidentiality
When talking to a RUSH 2The DEN member of staff you have a right to expect anything you say will not be spoken about or passed on to anyone out side The RUSH 2The DEN Staff Team without your permission
Unless…. The RUSH 2The DEN staff member feels that something you have said means you are in a dangerous situation or could be hurt in some way and they are concerned about your safety.
In this case…. The staff member will first ask your permission to tell someone else. If after
this, you still do not want the worker to tell anyone else but the RUSH 2The DEN Staff team believe you need to be protected, the staff member may then decide they have a responsibility to go against your wishes and talk to someone else ( e.g. teacher, doctor or social worker) outside the RUSH 2The DEN.
You will always be told first if this is going to happen.
At all times RUSH 2The DEN Staff will act in your best interest.
If you do not understand any of this please ask a RUSH 2The DEN staff member to explain this to you.
Anti Bullying
At the RUSH 2The DEN we aim to provide a safe and welcoming place for ALL children and young people in the community. All staff are expected to challenge behaviour and attitudes which make individuals or groups of children feel unsafe or unwelcome at the RUSH 2The DEN. This includes all forms of bullying, such as physical aggression; threats; name calling; spreading rumours; purposely leaving people out.
When dealing with bullying behaviour, staff will use a number of strategies
Working with people who are bullies
RUSH 2The DEN’s policy is to ‘condemn the behaviour, not the person’. We will continue to provide services to children/young people who bully. Where appropriate, we may be able to offer individual or small group support, to help address their behaviour and any issues which contribute to it. Wherever possible, we will support their return to the open youth club, providing this is not detrimental to the safety and wellbeing of other club members.
At the RUSH 2The DEN we recognise that bullying is often the result of
individuals and groups being picked on for being seen as different in some way. As well as tackling bullying behaviour, all staff are responsible for challenging the discriminatory attitudes towards race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, and appearance, which lead to bullying. This includes creating and taking opportunities to discuss issues of discrimination with young people and children in the clubs. In this way, we aim to promote an ‘inclusive culture’ in which bullying is challenged by other children and young people, as well as by staff.
At the RUSH 2The DEN, we believe that rewarding positive behaviour is generally more effective than punishing negative behaviour. To this end, all staff encourage and reward behaviour which promotes an ‘inclusive culture’, such as children and young people being friendly to new members or ‘sticking up’ for someone who is getting bullied.
Finally, we recognise that bullying behaviour can also be perpetrated by adults. At the RUSH 2The DEN, we expect relationships between the staff and children/young people to be based on mutual respect. We aim to promote a culture in which children and young people, as well as other members of staff, feel able to object if a member of staff is using their authority unfairly to target particular individuals or groups.