Safeguarding It is difficult and unpleasant to admit, but any child in the UK could be put at risk of harm or mistreatment, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, health, or level of ability or disability. Hope House & Tŷ Gobaith are committed to protecting the children and young people we support from significant harm. What is safeguarding? Safeguarding is about everyone working together to ensure that all children and adults who are at risk are cared for and given the best possible chances in life. Our safeguarding procedures If any team member at Hope House or Tŷ Gobaith has any concerns that a child, young person or adult at risk is being, or is at risk of being, abused or harmed, that information will be passed on to the shift team leader and the hospice care management. This information will then be shared with the designatedsafeguarding lead. Families, children and young people can also raise concerns with our safeguarding leads. A decision will then be made as to whether the information needs to be referred on to the local Children’s Social Care Team or Adult Team (Social Services) for them to investigate. We do not have a choice. If we believe there is risk of significant harm taking place we have to do this. If we can, we will share the information we discuss with Social Services with parents or carers. We may not be able to do this if Social Services staff advise us not to. Our duty of care Making a referral to Social Services means that we have a concern or worry about what we have seen or been told. It is our duty as professional child care workers to pass those concerns on. For the purposes of safeguarding, children are viewed as being aged from 0 to 18 years. People over 18 years old who require extra help – they may have a learning disability, long term illness, mental illness or physical disability – are also protected as “adults at risk. Safeguarding against abuse Children or adults at risk may be physically harmed or abused by being hit or injured, or touched or hurt in a sexual way. They could also experience psychological abuse such as being bullied, treated unkindly or unfairly, consistently shouted at, or made to feel unloved and bad about themselves. Safeguarding against neglect Children or adults at risk may also be harmed through being neglected - such as being left on their own, not having enough food to eat, not having the right clothes to wear or not being given the right medication. Our designated safeguarding leads We have designated safeguarding leads based at both Hope House & Tŷ Gobaith. They are available to answer any questions or worries you may have about the safety of a child, young person or adult at risk, or any other queries about safeguarding in general. Guidelines At Hope House & Tŷ Gobaith we have policies and procedures on safeguarding children and adults. These explain how all team members should look after children and adults at risk and promote their rights, needs and safety. These documents are available for anyone who comes to Hope House or Tŷ Gobaith. If you have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child, young person or adults at risk you should report those concerns to your local Children’s or Adult Social Care Department or to the Police. You could also access further advice and support from the Help and Advice section of the the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk. Safeguarding Diogelu Staff and volunteer guide for safeguarding children Canllaw staff a gwirfoddolwyr ar gyfer diogelu plant Staff and volunteer guide for safeguarding adults Canllaw staff a gwirfoddolwyr ar gyfer diogelu oedolion Manage Cookie Preferences