Your privacy is important to us. This statement describes the practices we follow with respect to the privacy of all visitors to all of the pages on www.ihbelfast.com.
Please note that when you connect to any of our pages, the server that hosts our site will automatically track the IP address of your computer, the date and time that you entered and left the site and which pages you browsed. We use this information only for statistical purposes and in order to improve the experience and services we offer on this site.
For this purpose, we use session cookies when you visit our site. A cookie is a small text file written to your computer that helps us know your preferences while you are surfing our website and therefore know how our web works. A session cookie is a temporary file that is deleted from your computer when you close your browser. Our cookies do not store passwords or any personal information about you.
We do not track your personal information such as name, address, and telephone number etc. unless you have expressly given them to us.
We have technological and operational security functions in place to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction.
Online registration and payment for our courses takes place by secure server.
If you wish to see the information that we have about you, modify the data or erase the information from our database, please contact us, by any one of the means given in the contact details at the foot of this page.
The personal information that you give us is not available to third parties at any time. We use the information you provide only for the reasons specified in this document.
We do not carry third-party advertising on our site. We do provide links to third-party websites and if you visit them you will obviously be subject to their privacy policies, not ours.
Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Policy (hereinafter referred to as “Young People”)
We recognise that the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults is paramount and that they have equal rights of protection. We have a duty of care when they are in our charge and will do everything we can to provide a safe and caring environment whilst they attend our activities.
In cases of disclosure of abuse by children, young people, vulnerable adults parents or carers, we are obliged to share the information with the lead person for safeguarding who may have to refer our concerns to children’s social care services, or the police in an emergency.
Concerns about the behaviour of adult/s in the organisation will be referred without delay to the Lead Person for Safeguarding who will contact the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) at Children’s Social Care Services, or the police in an emergency.
In the rare situations that the concerns are about the lead person, it is important to refer to the deputy person. This may not be appropriate, in which case any member of staff may personally refer direct to the LADO.
We ensure and emphasise that everyone in our organisation understand and know how to share any concerns immediately with the safeguarding lead and deputy. We do this by training/poster/staff handbook/staff areas/enrolment information. Everyone including both the lead and deputy for child safeguarding will deal with concerns using the following:
We have clear policies in line with SAFE recommendations about handling allegations, dealing with complaints and our own disciplinary and grievance procedures and these details will be made available to all adults, children, parents and carers as necessary by training/ poster/ staff handbook/staff areas/enrolment information.
We are mindful that the three procedures may confuse the next appropriate steps to take. We are clear that, in any case where a complaint has been made with regards to any inappropriate or poor practice, we will discuss the situation with children’s social care services before making an open decision about the best way forward.
It is the responsibility of the child protection lead and/or deputy to ensure that these procedures are rigorously adhered to. In the case that the child protection lead is implicated, the deputy should be informed. In the exceptional circumstances that both are involved, it is the duty of the person concerned to contact children’s social care services direct.
Children’s social care services will manage any investigations, overseen by the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) in accordance with Local Safeguarding Children Board (SCB) procedures. These are available on the SCB website.
With regards to disciplinary and grievance procedures, we are very clear that we will take no steps until we have fully discussed and agreed a strategy with the Local Authority Designated Officer, children’s social care services and/or the police. Any investigation will override the need to implement any such procedures. Providers of child care, educational, health or other formal services are responsible for making any referral of an individual who does or may pose a danger to children and young people. Other organisations will liaise with their LADO and local agencies if such a referral needs to be made.
All records will be securely kept in the safe, Accountant’s Office first floor landing in building 109 University Street. Only the child safeguarding lead and/or deputy will have access and records will only be kept as long as necessary.
Normally these records will be passed to children’s social care services as soon as possible. All records will be handwritten (and if recorded electronically, kept in a secure area) by the person with the concern within 24 hours, on headed paper or incident sheets and will be factual, non-judgmental. All such records will have a front page listing the papers in chronological order.
It is helpful to record any known details of the child/children or young people involved e.g. name, address, date of birth etc. All records should be factual. It is equally important to record the reasons for making the decision not to refer to children’s social care services as when the decision is taken to refer. Always sign, clearly detail name and job role of the person making the record. date and time these records.
We recognise that the welfare of all children is paramount and that all children and young people; regardless of ability or culture, have equal rights of protection. We have a duty of care when children and young people are in our charge and we will do everything we can to provide a safe and caring environment whilst they attend our activities.
We promote the highest standard of safeguarding practice in all our activities with children, young people, their families and/or carers. We will adhere rigorously to this policy in all aspects of our work when anyone in our organisation is accessing any form of digital or electronic communication, including the internet, mobile phones, games, photography, videos. This policy should be read in conjunction with our Safeguarding Children and Young People and Photography Policies
The responsibility of managing E-Safety can be both demanding and challenging, and therefore must be appointed at managerial/trustee or committee level to personnel who are available when we are operational.
Their role is to oversee and ensure that our E-Safety policy is fully implemented. This includes ensuring they and all staff receive E-Safety information and child protection training as appropriate. The deputy should be available to support or cover for the nominated lead. He/she will also handle any complaints or allegations against the nominated lead if appropriate. This policy will be made available to all adults, children, young people and parents/carers by training, poster, staff handbook, staff areas information and enrolment information.
Recent advances of the internet, mobile phones and other electronic technology has made access to information and communication increasingly easy for everyone. It is estimated that 98% of young people can access the internet away from school. In addition to research for homework, the majority use social networking sites including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter; along with playing games such as Call of Duty and streaming music using e.g., iTunes or Spotify.
Recent Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP) research in 2007 with 6,000 young people aged 11-16 years, demonstrated that 25% had met a new “friend” from the internet for real, 25% of whom had met that person alone, 2% had taken a trusted adult, the remainder had taken a friend of their own age. Government guidance is clear, that all organisations working with children, young people, families, parents and carers have responsibilities. It is important to remember that children and young people can also abuse and that such incidents fall into the remit of this policy.
“All agencies providing services to children have a duty to understand E-Safety issues, recognising their role in helping children stay safe online while also supporting adults who care for children”.
Safeguarding Children in a Digital World, BECTA 2007; 02.1
