Safeguarding
last updated in April 2026
1.Introduction
Rothsay Education Centre is committed to ensuring that adults at risk who use its services are not abused and that working practices minimise the risk of such abuse.
An adult may be at risk from harm because of age and frailty, illness, disability: physical/learning/mental, alcohol/drug misuse, domestic violence, homelessness, ethnicity or incarceration.
The purpose of this policy is:
- to provide protection for adults at risk who receive Rothsay Education Centre services to provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide the
- Rothsay Education Centre’s approach to safeguarding adults at risk and its responsibilities as people in positions of trust.
Rothsay Education Centre is committed to:
- Safeguarding and promoting the independence, wellbeing and safety of people with care and support needs Raising public awareness of safeguarding
- Promoting work on the prevention of abuse
- Tackling abuse in all settings
- Ensuring that all staff and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding
- Involving people who access services in continual service improvements
- Ensuring that staff and volunteers are provided with appropriate training in safeguarding
2.What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is defined as “protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.” It is not about holding anyone or an organisation to account as other processes exist for that.
The aims of adult safeguarding are to:
- Stop abuse or neglect wherever possible.
- Prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect.
- Safeguard adults in a way that supports them in making choices and having control about how they want to live.
- Promote an approach that focuses on improving life for the adults concerned.
- Raise awareness so that communities play their part in preventing, identifying and responding to abuse and neglect.
- Provide information and support in accessible ways to help adults understand the different types of abuse, how to stay safe and how to raise a concern.
- Address what has caused the abuse
3.What are the aims of this policy?
Rothsay Education Centre will:
- Ensure people accessing services receive information about how to raise concerns if they suspect or experience abuse in any of its forms including neglect
- Empower individuals with knowledge and understanding so that they will be aware of what is appropriate or inappropriate behaviour towards them
- Enable staff and volunteers to recognise poor practice, or abuse and respond appropriately
- Raise awareness of how staff and volunteers can enable people to acknowledge they may be at risk of abuse, and signpost them to effective support
- Ensure rigorous recruitment and selection practice, and adhere to pre appointment checking requirements e.g. references will always be taken up and the Disclosure and Barring process followed where appropriate
- Ensure clear service standards are maintained and where relevant staff and volunteers receive clear operational guidance and appropriate training
4.Link with other policies
This Safeguarding Policy is aligned with and should be read in conjunction with the Rothsay Education Centre’s other key policies, including the Employee Handbook and the GDPR/Retention of Data Policy. Together, these policies work to provide a holistic approach to safeguarding and create a safe, supportive, and respectful environment for all.
5.Safeguarding Adults Legislation
The practices and procedures within this policy are based on the relevant legislation
and government guidance. It is covered by:
6.Definitions
This policy relates to adults at risk who may have care and support needs, whose independence and well-being would be at risk, permanently or periodically, if they didnot receive appropriate support and who may be at risk of abuse, maltreatment or neglect. This includes adults with physical, sensory and mental impairments and learning disabilities however those impairments have arisen e.g. whether present from birth or due to advancing age, chronic illness or injury, and those who may or may not be eligible for community care services whose needs in relation to
Safeguarding is for access to mainstream services and the police, or who are unable to protect themselves. This policy also includes any individual who may be at risk as a consequence of their role as a carer in relation to any of the above.
The duty to identify abuse and report it applies to all staff, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, agency staff, students or anyone working on behalf of Rothsay Education Centre.
7.Nominated safeguarding lead person
The nominated person, Kate Tomlinson, Chief Officer, should be notified immediately by any staff or volunteers who have concerns about a vulnerable adult if:
- abuse, maltreatment or neglect are occurring or suspected
- someone has behaved towards a vulnerable adult in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm
The nominated person will provide advice and support to staff unsure about how to proceed with a particular case, and take line management responsibility for the safe delivery, quality and effectiveness of Rothsay Education Centre services. The nominated person is responsible for ensuring Rothsay Education Centre is aware of developments in safeguarding best practice, advising on changes to policy and practice (in line with Local Safeguarding Partnership policies) and coordinating safeguarding audits and reporting.
One of Rothsay Education Centre Trustees (Hazel Woodward) is nominated to take leadership responsibility for the organisation’s safeguarding arrangements. This includes ensuring that staff have sufficient time, funding, supervision and support to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities effectively.
8.How to raise concerns
- Remain calm and make sure the individual is safe Offer support and reassurance
- Make accurate notes (including dates and times)
- Explain that you must inform your manager (or Safeguarding lead) and where possible try and gain their consent
- Consult the safeguarding timeline in Appendix 2
- If someone is at immediate risk of harm, dial 999 for the police
- Contact Kate Tomlinson, Chief Officer by phone or email as soon as possible. A decision will be made which includes whether to make a referral, who will make the referral, and how information about the concern will be securely recorded, stored and, if appropriate shared.
- To report a concern or to get advice:
- Bedford Borough Council: 01234 276222Central Bedfordshire Council: 0300 300 8122
- Luton Borough Council: 01582 547730
- Out of office hours: 0300 300 8123
When speaking with the individual make sure you do not panic and listen carefully.
Don’t ask leading questions, promise to keep secrets, consult the abuser or disturb or destroy evidence.
Any concerns and actions regarding safeguarding should be recorded using the form set out in Appendix 3.
9.How to report an allegation made against staff or volunteers
An allegation may relate to a person who works with an adult at risk who has:
- behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed an adult at risk;
- behaved towards an adult at risk in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm.
Any such allegation should be reported immediately to the Chief Officer. The relevant local authority should be informed within one working day of all allegations (by contacting the adult safeguarding team and asking to speak with the lead person for concerns regarding people in positions of trust).
The local authority will provide advice and guidance on how to deal with allegations against people in positions of trust who work with adults at risk and will also ensure that there are appropriate arrangements in place to effectively liaise with the police and other agencies to monitor the progress of cases and ensure that they are dealt with as quickly as possible, consistent with a thorough and fair process. Support and advice will be available to individuals against whom allegations have been made.
If Rothsay Education Centre removes an individual (paid worker or unpaid volunteer) from work (or would have, had the person not left first) because the person poses a risk of harm to vulnerable groups, the organisation must make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. It is an offence to fail to make a referral without good reason.
10.Information sharing
Rothsay Education Centre will co-operate in the sharing of appropriate information based on the the seven golden rules to sharing information are (adapted from Information Sharing:
Advice for Practitioners providing safeguarding services for children, young people. parents and carers (May 2024)):
1.All adults at risk have a right to be protected from abuse and neglect. Protection from such harm takes priority over protecting their privacy, or the privacy rights of the person(s) failing to protect them.
2.When you have a safeguarding concern, wherever it is practicable and safe to do so, engage with the adult at risk and/or their carer(s), and explain who you intend to share information with, what information you will be sharing and why.3.You do not need consent to share personal information about an adult at risk and/or members of their family if they are at risk or there is a perceived risk of harm.
4.Seek advice promptly whenever you are uncertain or do not fully understand how the legal framework supports information sharing in a particular case.
5.When sharing information, ensure you and the person or agency/organisation that receives the information take steps to protect the identities of any individuals (e.g., the adult as risk, a child, a carer, a neighbour, or a colleague) who might suffer harm if their details became known to an abuser or one of their associates.
Ensure that the information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with those individuals who need to have it, is accurate and up to date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely.
6.Only share relevant and accurate information with individuals oragencies/organisations that have a role in safeguarding the adult at risk and/or providing their family with support, and only share the information they need to support the provision of their services.
7.Record the reasons for your information sharing decision, irrespective of whether or not you decide to share information.
Any exchange of information must be in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, the Human Rights Act 1998, and the Caldicott Principles.
In Rothsay Education Centre work, the starting point for information sharing is to follow the steps in Sections 5 or 6 of this policy.
Rothsay Education Centre will keep secure records of any work undertaken under this policy including all concerns received and all referrals made, and the responses made to these concerns and referrals. It will keep a record of the decision – whether it is to share information or not – and the reasons for it. If it decides to share, then it will record what it has shared, with whom and for what purpose.
11.Being alert to signs of abuse and neglect and taking action
All staff and volunteers should be alert to the signs and triggers of abuse, maltreatment, neglect and harm. The impact of harm on a person is what is important, not who did it or what the intent was. Our aim is to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm, whether deliberate or not.
Abuse is behaviour towards a person that either deliberately or unknowingly, causes him or her harm or endangers their life or their human or civil rights. Abuse can take place in any setting, public or private, and can be perpetuated by anyone. Abuseincludes physical, sexual, psychological, financial, discriminatory abuse, organisational, modern slavery, domestic abuse, self-neglect and acts of neglect and omission.
See Appendix 1 for more information on each type of abuse.
Rothsay Education Centre will ensure all staff and volunteers are aware of;
- the signs of abuse and neglect,
- how to handle a disclosure through induction,
- training and supervision.
Safeguarding awareness training will be included in the staff training programme.
The seriousness or extent of abuse is often not clear when anxiety is first expressed.
If a member of staff or volunteer is in any way concerned, they should raise their concerns with the nominated safeguarding lead person.
12.Monitoring and review of this policy
This policy will be monitored and reviewed at least annually to ensure it remains
compliant with current legislation, best practice. The review process will involve
consultation with relevant staff, trustees and key stakeholders.
Name: Position: Chair of Trustees
Signed: _________________________ Next review date: April 2027