The Lord’s Larder, Newent

Safeguarding Policy

1.      Purpose

  • The Lord’s Larder is committed to its responsibilities as set out by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly children, at-risk adults and beneficiaries of assistance, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with The Lord’s Larder.

  • The policy lays out the commitments made by The Lord’s Larder and informs trustees, staff and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.  This policy does not cover safeguarding concerns in the wider community not perpetrated by The Lord’s Larder or associated personnel.  Children under 18 and any school or youth groups visiting the premises of The Lord’s Larder must be at all times accompanied by parents, carers or responsible group leaders.  Any vulnerable adult visiting the premises of The Lord’s Larder must be similarly accompanied by an adult who will remain responsible for such a person at all times.

2.      What is safeguarding?

In the UK, safeguarding means protecting peoples’ health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. Abuse can be physical, financial, verbal or psychological. It can be the result of an act or a failure to act. For the Lord’s Larder, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or programmes.

3.      Scope

Any trustees, Keyholders, volunteers or staff employed or contracted by The Lord’s Larder, any associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to The Lord’s Larder.  All visitors to our premises must be made aware of this policy and its provision. If visitors spot safeguarding concerns during a visit, they should report this to the Keyholder who will follow up such reports in accordance with the provisions of this policy.

4.      Policy Statement

The Lord’s Larder believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, race, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Lord’s Larder will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by trustees, staff, volunteers or associated personnel. This policy will address the following areas of safeguarding: child safeguarding, adult safeguarding, and protection from any exploitation and abuse. The Lord’s Larder commits to addressing safeguarding through its work, through the three pillars of prevention, reporting and response.

5.      Prevention

The Lord’s Larder will:

  • Ensure all staff, volunteers and personnel associated with The Lord’s Larder, have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy. This includes making individuals aware that the policy is important and keeping it up to date.

  • Design and undertake all its programmes and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with The Lord’s Larder. This includes the way in which information about individuals in our programmes is gathered and communicated.

  • Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying trustees, staff, volunteers and associated personnel.

  • Ensure trustees, staff, volunteers and personnel associated with The Lord’s Larder receive information on safeguarding at a level commensurate with their role in the organisation in order to help them identify abuse and the risk of abuse, and deal with it in the ways set out in this policy.

  • Ensure all staff, volunteers and personnel know about, and follow, reporting systems.

  • Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process.

  • Follow a safeguarding reporting line of enquiry if any instances of concern arise. This entails reporting the matter to the Safeguarding Trustee. The Safeguarding Trustee will investigate the matter and report to the Board of Trustees. If required, the incident will be reported to the police or necessary safeguarding body. Full records of all information relating to any safeguarding concern will be retained.

6.      Staff and Associated Personnel responsibilities

  • The Lord’s Larder trustees, staff, volunteers and associated personnel must not:

o   Engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18.

o   Sexually abuse or exploit children.

o   Subject a child to physical, emotional, discriminatory or psychological abuse, or neglect.

o   Engage in any commercially exploitative activities with children including child labour or trafficking.

  • The Lord’s Larder trustees, staff, volunteers and associated personnel must not:

o   Sexually abuse or exploit at-risk adults.

o   Subject an at-risk adult to physical, emotional, discriminatory, financial or psychological abuse, or neglect.

  • The Lord’s Larder trustees, staff and associated personnel must not:

o   Exchange money, employment, goods, or services for sexual activity.

o   This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance.

o   Engage in any sexual relationships with beneficiaries of assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics. Abuse is a misuse of power and control that one person has over another. Where someone is dependent on another, there is the possibility of abuse or neglect unless enough safeguards are put in place.

  • Additionally, The Lord’s Larder trustees, staff, volunteers and associated personnel are obliged to:

o   Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations and promotes the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy.

o   Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations by a The Lord’s Larder staff member or associated personnel to the appropriate staff member. The Lord’s Larder will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to staff and the communities we work with.

7.      Bullying and harassment policy

The Lord’s Larder is committed to creating an environment for volunteers and staff that is free of bullying and harassment. If volunteers or staff think that they are being bullied or harassed, they should refer to the provisions of the Code of Conduct.  All allegations of bullying and harassment will be taken seriously, investigated and, if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken.  The Lord’s Larder will not tolerate victimisation of a person for making allegations of bullying and harassment in good faith or supporting someone to make such a complaint.

8.      Whistleblowing:

At The Lord’s Larder, it is vital that everyone who works with us and for us maintains the highest standards of conduct, integrity and ethics, and complies with local legislation. If a trustee, employee, volunteer, consultant or contractor has any genuine safeguarding concerns, we wish to encourage them to communicate these without fear of reprisals.  If you genuinely believe that the actions of someone who works with or for The Lord’s Larder could lead to or has resulted in a safeguarding concern, please follow the procedure below.

9.      How to report a safeguarding concern:

a.      Trustees, volunteers, staff members and associated personnel who have a complaint or safeguarding concern should report it immediately to the Duty Keyholder in person or by email. 

b.      If the staff member or associated personnel does not feel comfortable reporting to the Duty Keyholder, they may report to the Safeguarding Trustee. 

c.      A written record of the concern must be made recording the details of the concern. 

d.      All safeguarding concerns MUST also be reported to the Safeguarding Trustee. 

e.      The Lord’s Larder will follow up safeguarding reports and concerns seriously and confidentially according to policy and procedure, and legal and statutory obligations.

f.       The Lord’s Larder will support any subsequent investigations.

g.      The Lord’s Larder will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to trustees, staff, volunteers or associated personnel found in breach of this policy.

h.      The Lord’s Larder will offer, where permitted,  support to survivors of harm caused by trustees, staff, volunteers or associated personnel, regardless of whether a formal internal response is carried out (such as an internal investigation).

10. Confidentiality: 

It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need-to-know basis only and should be kept secure at all times. We retain the right to disclose information in accordance with the statutory data protection regime in force in the UK where a legitimate interest is established, we are under a legal obligation to do so or this is necessary to protect the vital interests of a child, an at-risk adult, a beneficiary or any other person. In handling or sharing personal information, we are committed to following the seven data protection principles as set out by the UK GDPR.

11. The Safeguarding Trustee:

The Board of Trustees has appointed the Revd Mark Dunning as the Safeguarding Trustee.  His contact details are as follows: 07867-009396 or mdunning3006@gmail.com  If you have a safeguarding concern about the Safeguarding Trustee then you should contact the Chair of the Trustees (Mr Roger Beard BEM - lordalardernewent@gmail.com)

 

 

Policy Approved by Board of Trustees at its Meeting on Thursday 18th September 2025

 

This policy will be reviewed annually – next review date: SEPTEMBER 2026