Our Safeguarding Policy

Rhythmic Health is committed to ensuring the safety of everyone involved in its activities and aims to provide a safe environment for all students and staff studying and working at Rhythmic Health and for all visitors to its facilities.

Rhythmic Health recognises that it has social, moral and legal obligations to safeguard the wellbeing and safety of children, young people and adults at risk involved in any of Rhythmic Health’s activities, whether these are conducted in person or online. It further believes that students, staff and visitors to Rhythmic Health have the right to learn and work in a positive environment that is free from harm and all forms of prejudice, harassment, discrimination and bullying.

This includes Rhythmic Health’s duty of care to safeguard children, young people and adults at risk of harm and exploitation during the course of any activity relating to the Rhythmic Health, irrespective of duration or location.

Rhythmic Health has a duty to take reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that children and adults at risk are safe and that reasonably foreseeable harm does not occur as a result of careless acts, deliberate acts or omissions of the organisation. These measures are in addition to those required under general health and safety requirements and legislation.

This Policy sets out Rhythmic Health’s responsibilities in ensuring the protection of these groups in accordance with the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. This applies to all staff, students and volunteers (irrespective of whether they act in a paid or unpaid capacity), who may be working with children, young people or adults at risk of harm through the organisation’s teaching provision or other activities, including outreach programmes.

It is expected that all individuals will conduct themselves whilst on Rhythmic Health business in a professional manner, with integrity, upholding the reputation of Rhythmic Health at all times and in line with the Rhythmic Health regulations, policies and guidance.

It is expected that all staff will be aware, through effective communication of this Policy and associated training, of how to recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.

Those with specific responsibilities as set out in this Policy are expected to have read and understood their responsibilities, to attend training, to ensure that appropriate records are kept relating to safeguarding matters and to ensure that local procedures/arrangements for meeting safeguarding responsibilities are kept up to date and are in line with this Policy.

Relevant legislation:

The Policy is informed by a collection of legislation and guidance

• Children Act 1989

• Data Protection Act 1998

• Sexual Offences Act 2003

• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

• Equality Act 2010

• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

• Protecting Vulnerable Adults 2017

Policy aims

This Policy aims to ensure reasonable and effective steps are taken by Rhythmic Health to safeguard children, young people and adults at risk, both through the provision of a safe environment and through the provision of effective and supportive mechanisms for responding to safeguarding concerns, disclosures and allegations.

The Policy is designed to support the activities of Rhythmic Health involving children, young people and adults at risk and demonstrates that the organisation takes safeguarding seriously.

Rhythmic Health will do so by taking the following actions:

• seeking to make Rhythmic Health a safe and welcoming environment for all, that is free from harm and all forms of prejudice, harassment, discrimination and bullying

• giving all staff information, training and guidance about how to recognise potential harm when it has occurred, how to respond appropriately and how to report it

• making sure anyone can raise safeguarding concerns about any child, young person or adult at risk involved in the activities of Rhythmic Health

• ensuring that staff are suitable to act in their roles, through the provision of relevant checks (including DBS) and appropriate training

• ensuring there are staff with designated safeguarding responsibilities who are trained in responding to safeguarding concerns and disclosures and take a survivor-focussed approach

• having an appropriate referral system in place for dealing appropriately and effectively with serious safeguarding incidents, including reporting to the relevant external organisations.

• providing accessible support services for students and staff

Rhythmic Health has a legal obligation to keep students, vendors, staff, contractors, and visitors safe

Insurance and other vendors expect Rhythmic Health to take all reasonable precautions regarding effective safeguarding

Clear definition of Rhythmic Health policy helps build a reputation as an organisation with impeccable ethical standards

Safeguarding situations

Types of situations from which children, young people and adults at risk should be safeguarded include, but are not limited to, the following:

• financial exploitation

• sexual harassment, abuse or exploitation

• physical, emotional, psychological abuse

• recruitment to radical extremist organisations

• enticement into illegal activities

• domestic violence

• neglect

• cyber abuse

• modern day slavery

• bullying or harassment

• forced marriage

• female genital mutilation

• discrimination

• data breaches

Identifying abuse or exploitation can be difficult, but there are a number of ways in which this might become apparent:

• disclosure of the abuse – self disclosure or disclosure by a third party. This might be full disclosure or that which raises suspicions of abuse

• signs of abuse, including physical injury for which there appears to be no satisfactory explanation

• particular behaviour that leads to a suspicion that someone is being or has been abused or exploited

It is not a staff member’s responsibility to decide whether a child, young person or adult at risk has been abused or harmed or subjected to abuse or harm, only to raise concerns that they may have.