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Safeguarding Policy

Effective from June 2024

1. INTRODUCTION

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  • Safeguarding is a consideration for all who benefit from and work with Neurodiversity in Law (the Charity). The purpose of this Safeguarding Policy is to document the Charity’s approach to safeguarding. It provides a consistent and overarching structure to support the Charity’s approach to safeguarding. 

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  • This Safeguarding Policy, alongside the Charity’s associated procedures and guidance, sets out the responsibilities of the Charity’s Trustees and Volunteers, sets out relevant processes of the Charity, and outlines the Charity’s practical approach to safeguarding.

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  • This Safeguarding Policy is designed in line with the Charity’s aims.

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  • The Trustees recognise that they are ultimately responsible for ensuring that those benefiting from, or working with, the Charity, including its Members, are not harmed through contact with it and are treated in a safe, respectful and appropriate manner. This responsibility relates in particular to young people (i.e. those under 18 years of age) and Vulnerable Persons including the elderly and Adults at Risk. Neurodiversity in Law recognises that neurodivergent individuals may be uniquely vulnerable to harm.

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2. POLICY STATEMENT

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  • The practices and procedures within this Safeguarding Policy are based on legislation and statutory guidance. The Charity has consideration of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the  Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and the Care Act 2014, and its duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of Children (those under 18 years of age) and Adults at Risk (any person aged 18 years and older at risk of abuse or neglect because of their needs for care and or support) whilst they involved in the Charity’s activities. This includes compliance with relevant statutory guidance, including the Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education, if working with young people, to ensure best practice.

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  • The Safeguarding Policy also includes consideration of the requirements under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Act 2012, the Equality Act 2010, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Acts.

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  • The Charity is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for those who attend our events and activities, or who work with or on behalf of the Charity. All members of the Charity community are entitled to participate in our activities and events in a safe environment, without risk of harm. Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility.

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  • All Trustees and Volunteers must understand their responsibilities and know how to report concerns, as set out in this Policy. To that end, the Charity sets out clear and practical guidance below about how to report concerns and how to seek support or advice, as required.

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  • The Charity will encourage and support all Volunteers, Partners and Champions to adopt and demonstrate their commitment to the principles and practices of safeguarding as set out in this Safeguarding Policy when engaging in activities and / or events on behalf of Neurodiversity in Law.​

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3. SCOPE

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  • The Safeguarding Policy applies to anyone engaging in the Charity’s activities. That means it is includes all interactions with members, Volunteers,  Children and Adults at Risk, who may be attend or access our events or activities.

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  • The Charity believes that all persons, without exception, have the right to protection from bullying, harassment (including sexual harassment), physical or emotional abuse and exploitation and takes a zero-tolerance approach to these behaviours. Discrimination, prejudice or oppressive behaviour or language in relation to any of the following are not acceptable: race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, or social origin, property, disability, neurodivergence, birth or other status.

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  • The Charity acknowledges that safeguarding does not encompass only the prevention of physical abuse but also the protection of people from harm generally, including neglect, emotional abuse, exploitation, and the consequences of the misuse of personal data.

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  • All those who are in a more formal relationship with the Charity, including contractual relationships, and our Members, Volunteers, Partners and Champions, are expected to comply with the Safeguarding Policy.

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4. POLICY DETAIL

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  • The Charity implements its approach to safeguarding by:

    • Providing a safe and supportive environment in the course of Charity-led activities and events.

    • Setting an organisational culture that prioritises safeguarding, so that it is safe for those affected to come forward and report incidents and concerns with the assurance they will be handled sensitively and properly.

    • Ensuring that any Trustees or Volunteers who work specifically with Children and Adults at Risk are aware of relevant legislative requirements, including the requirement for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks if and when ‘Regulated Activity’ is undertaken. At present Neurodiversity in Law is not undertaking any Regulated Activity and will review this Policy as required if this changes.

    • Ensuring that Trustees and Volunteers are supported with clear roles, responsibilities and reporting processes, to safeguard and protect Children and Vulnerable Persons.

    • Signposting to resources for Members to develop knowledge and awareness of safeguarding neurodivergent people, pursuant to the Charity’s stated goals.

    • Ensuring that there is a clear reporting and escalation route should anyone become aware of a safeguarding concern.

    • Providing clarity as to how incidents and allegations will be handled should they arise, including reporting to the relevant authorities, such as the Charity Commission.

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  • Part of the Charity’s safeguarding obligations also include the Charity’s recognition of the risks of extremism and radicalisation, which can be considered significant safeguarding concerns. Concerns in this area, including online forms of radicalisation, can be managed in line with this Safeguarding Policy and with reference to the Prevent duty guidance: England and Wales.

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  • DBS checks will be carried out for anyone involved, on behalf of the Charity, in activity that involves direct and unsupervised contact with Children or Adults at Risk (known as Regulated Activity). This activity requires a DBS check and cannot be undertaken by a person on the DBS’s Barred List. The DBS check will be carried out prior to Regulated Activity commencing, and where Regulated Activity continues, DBS checks will be repeated every three years. The Charity is not currently carrying out Regulated Activity and will review this as required.​​

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5. RESPONDING TO AND MANAGING ALLEGATIONS

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  • Disclosures, concerns, or allegations about safeguarding can be raised or made at any time and can be made by anyone in the Neurodiversity in Law community. 

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  • Everyone should be aware that abuse, neglect, and safeguarding issues are rarely standalone events and cannot be covered by one definition or one label alone. In most cases, multiple issues will overlap with one another. Types of harm, abuse and neglect include but are not limited to: self-neglect or self-harm, domestic abuse, discrimination, physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial or material abuse, disability-related abuse, neglect, emotional or psychological abuse, bullying, cyber-bullying, modern slavery, female-genital mutilation, radicalisation and exploitation.

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  • Safeguarding allegations may therefore include that someone has:

    • Behaved in a way that has harmed or may have harmed or is at risk of harming an individual in the Neurodiversity in Law community;

    • Has behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates that they may have harmed themselves or be at risk of harming themselves.

    • Has possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a Child.

    • Has behaved towards a Child or Children in a way that indicates that he or she may pose a risk of harm to Children.

    • Has behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with Children.

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  • Common signs and indicators of harm, abuse and neglect could include:

    • Unexplained bruising or injuries, or a lack of medical attention when an injury is present.

    • A person withdrawing, or no longer attending or enjoying their work, course, or social activities.

    • A person going missing or running away.

    • Unexplained changes in appearance or weight.

    • Unexplained changes in personality, confidence, temperament, or behaviours.

    • Self-harming.

    • Demonstrating fear or anxiety about individuals, groups, or places.

    • Belongings or money going missing.

    • A disclosure of harm, abuse, or neglect.

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  • You may become aware of harm taking place or having taken place, suspect harm to be taking place or having taken place or be told about harm taking place or having taken place. You must report this to the Charity’s Principal Safeguarding Officer (“PSO”), whose details are set out at the end of this Policy under Contacts. If the issue implicates the PSO, then you must directly contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer (“DSO”).

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  • If you are concerned that someone is in immediate danger, you must contact emergency services straight away.

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  • If a disclosure is made to you, and you are not a DSO, make a note of what is said in the person making the disclosure’s own words as soon as practicable. Submit an email to alice@neurodiversity.co.uk with the header “Incident Form” and submit this to the PSO via the Contact information below.

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  • As long as doing so does not in itself increase the risk of harm to the individual, then you should explain to the individual making the disclosure or raising the concern that you are taking this step. If a disclosure has been made only to the PSO or DSO, the PSO or DSO must check if there is an existing Incident Form, matching the disclosure or allegation raised. If there is not, the PSO or DSO must generate an Incident Form email themselves (and cross-reference to other Incident Form emails, or correspondence that could be relevant, as appropriate).

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  • Advice should be sought from the Principal Safeguarding Officer when it comes to confidentiality, anonymity, and information-sharing, or if there are any questions about the Incident Form. Be mindful of the general need to keep information secure and confidential, and that information is to be shared with the PSO, and others, on a need-to-know basis only. This means only involving those who need to be involved, such as the PSO, local authority adult or Children’s social care and/or a Child’s parents.

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  • Charity staff should never promise a Child that they will not tell anyone about a report of any form of abuse, as this may ultimately not be in the best interests of the Child. It is also likely that it will be in the best interests of the victim of whatever age to seek advice and guidance from others in order to provide support and engage appropriate agencies.

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  • Parents or carers of Children who have been harmed or who are at risk of harm should normally be informed (unless this would put the victim at greater risk).

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  • Written records must be kept confidential, held securely, and comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). All concerns, discussions, decisions, meetings, and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic). Please note the Charity’s Data Protection Policy.

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  • It is important that the person making the disclosure knows what the next steps will be and who the Incident Report will be passed to. It is also important that if you have been disclosed to you know that it is possible the person making the disclosure has placed you in a position of trust, and you should be supportive and respectful to them. The initial disclosure may be the first time that person has ever reported, and all details may not be easily recalled or easy to share.

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  • Bear in mind additional barriers to disclosure that may be due to a person’s vulnerability, age, sex, ethnicity, disability, neurodivergence, sexual orientation, religion, and other factors. Use open (what, when, where) rather than leading questions, and take breaks as required. Make reasonable adjustments to take into account a person’s disability, if required. Seek guidance if unsure.

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  • Those who are the subject of disclosures (i.e. the victim) should be given as much control as is reasonably possible over decisions regarding how any investigation will be progressed, what referrals may need to be made, and any support that they will be offered. This will however need to be balanced with the Charity’s duty and responsibilities to protect others and to act in line with its policies and cooperate with statutory authorities, if engaged.

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  • Immediate consideration should be given as to how best to support and protect the victim and the alleged perpetrator(s) including by signposting to the Charity’s pastoral and wellbeing resources available online. This includes LawCare, the Bar Wellbeing Online Hub, Samaritans and Mind.

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  • If necessary, a Safeguarding Case Management Meeting will be held with Trustees to discuss the management of concerns. This is particularly likely to happen if there is multi-agency, i.e. Police or Local Authority, involvement.

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  • If necessary, the Charity’s additional policies may be invoked.

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6. SERIOUS INCIDENT REPORTING​

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  • The Charity will respond to all suspicions, allegations and safeguarding incidents swiftly and appropriately and take professional advice where appropriate. This may include reporting to the appropriate entities, including police forces, any relevant national authorities and the Charity Commission.

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  • The Trustees acknowledge the Charity Commission’s guidance on how to report a serious incident and in the safeguarding context, their duty to make a serious incident report to the Charity Commission in the event:

    • of an incident where someone has been, or has alleged to have been, abused or mistreated and this is connected with the Charity’s activities;

    • a beneficiary(ies) has been, or is alleged to have been, abused or mistreated while under the Charity’s care, or by someone connected with the Charity, for example, a Trustee; and/ or

    • the Charity’s procedures or policies relating to safeguarding matters have been breached and this has placed beneficiaries at risk.

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7. KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

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  • In terms of Safeguarding, the Charity has:

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    • A Designated Safeguarding Officer who is:

      • Trained to receive and respond to reported concerns and/or allegations of abuse or neglect and make external referrals if required.​

    • ​A Principal Designated Safeguarding Officer who will:​

      • Have oversight of and coordination of the Charity’s Safeguarding arrangements.

      • Ensure appropriate training is available for key personnel within the Charity and that they have access to resources to support others, and be themselves so trained.

      • Ensure appropriate records of reported concerns and allegations are maintained which are reviewed to check for patterns, trends and potential connections.

      • Maintaining and updating this Policy and any relevant procedures where appropriate.

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    • A Pastoral Support Lead who knows:

      • Procedures for signposting to additional pastoral support. Neurodiversity in Law is not able or qualified to provide direct pastoral support or any medical advice and will need to signpost to appropriate professionals as required.​​

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8.  IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY

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  • This Policy will be provided to all existing Trustees and Volunteers, and to all new Trustees and Volunteers as part of their induction, and training will be provided on this Policy if required.  This Policy will also be provided to all existing Partners and Champions, and to all new Partners and Champions as part of their induction.

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  • Failure to comply with this Policy will be considered as misconduct and potentially grounds for further action to be taken.

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9. DEFINITIONS​​​

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Abuse

a violation of an individual’s human and/or civil rights by another person or persons. For further definitions and types of abuse and neglect, see the Care Act 2014.

 

Adult(s) at Risk

A person aged 18 or over who is in need of care and support regardless of whether they are receiving them, and because of those needs are unable to protect themselves against abuse or neglect. In recent years there has been a move away from using the term “vulnerable” to describe adults potentially at risk from harm or abuse.

 

Child/ Children 

A person under the age of 18.

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Child safeguarding

As defined by the Department for Education, child safeguarding means: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

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Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The LADO is an employee of the local authority who is responsible for managing allegations against adults who work with children. This involves working with police, children's social care, employers and other involved professionals.

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Member

A member of Neurodiversity in Law is someone who has registered for membership through our website.

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Partner/Champion

A supporter of Neurodiversity in Law. They will be signatories of the Babington Charter and they help further our cause of supporting, promoting and destigmatising neurodiversity in the legal professions.

 

Regulated Activity 

The full legal definition of regulated activity is set out in Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. HM Government has produced a ‘Factual note on regulated activity in relation to children’ here.

 

Volunteer    

A person who provides occasional or temporary services (not teaching, training or supervision of children) to Neurodiversity in Law.

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10. POLICY ENFORCEMENT​​

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  • The Trustees will administer this Safeguarding Policy and manage suspected breaches.  Those who fail to comply with this Safeguarding Policy will be subject to the Charity’s disciplinary procedures if required.

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  • The Charity reserves the right to immediately suspend or cancel any events or activities involving Children that have not met the criteria set forth in this Safeguarding Policy. 

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  • This Policy will be reviewed at least annually or more frequently should circumstances dictate or when relevant legislation changes.

 

11. CONTACTS

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Last Reviewed by the Trustee Board:  June 2024

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