Safeguarding policy

Who this policy is for

This policy applies to all staff, including senior managers, trustees, paid staff, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, students, and anyone working on behalf of StarterMotor.

The purpose of this policy

• To protect children and young people who receive StarterMotor’s services. This includes the children of adults who use the services
• To provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding and child protection

StarterMotor believes that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of children and young people and keep them safe. We are committed to practising in a way that protects them.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that sets out to protect children, namely:

• Children Act 1989
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1991
• Data Protection Act 1998
• The General Data Protection Regulation 2018
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Sexual Offences Act 2003
• Children Act 2004
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
• Children and Families Act 2014
• Special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice: 0 to 25 years, statutory guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities (HM Government, 2014)
• Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people and carers (HM Government, 2015)
• Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (HM Government, 2015)

Related policies and procedures

This policy should be read alongside our policies and procedures on:

• Recruitment, induction and training
• The role of the designated safeguarding officer
• Dealing with disclosures and concerns about a child or young person
• Managing allegations against staff and volunteers
• Recording and information sharing
• Code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Safer recruitment
• E-safety
• Anti-bullying
• Complaints
• Whistleblowing
• Health and safety
• Training, supervision and support
• Lone working
• Quality assurance

What we recognise

• The welfare of the child is paramount, as enshrined in the Children Act 1989
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have a right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
• Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare

How we keep children and young people safe

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

• Valuing them, listening to them and respecting them
• Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) for children and young people
• Adopting child protection and safeguarding practices through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Developing and implementing an effective e-safety policy and related procedures
• Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures
• Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
• Recording and storing information professionally and securely, and sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children, their families, staff and volunteers via leaflets, posters and one-to-one discussions
• Using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
• Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately
• Creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment, and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
• Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
• Ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance

Safer recruitment procedure

The purpose of this procedure

This procedure outlines the safer recruitment procedures that StarterMotor Ltd has in place to ensure that those working in our team are suitable to do so. It details the responsibilities of the team in ensuring safer recruitment practices are embedded in StarterMotor Ltd.

What is safer recruitment?

Safer recruitment is the term used to describe the processes undertaken by an organisation to prevent those willing to harm or abuse children, young people and adults at risk from working within the team.

This includes several processes, including the need for suitability checks (DBS/PVG) for those in regulated activity. It can also include a formal interview process, or asking an applicant to self-declare any unspent convictions when they apply to volunteer or work within the club environment.

Possible risks for StarterMotor Ltd

Safer recruitment practices are measures designed and implemented to keep everyone in motorsport safe. They are a vital part of our role in safeguarding those within the community, and ensure that StarterMotor Ltd meets its duty of care to prevent unsuitable people from working within motorsport.

StarterMotor has a moral and legal duty to adopt safer recruitment practices. Allowing unsuitable people to work with children, young people and adults at risk can put the most vulnerable members of the club at risk of harm.

StarterMotor’s responsibilities in safer recruitment

• Ensuring that all team staff working in regulated activity have a current suitability check (DBS/PVG) in place
• Reporting anyone who avoids or refuses to complete a suitability check to Motorsport UK
• Preventing anyone on the children’s or adults’ barred list from working within the sport
• Maintaining oversight of the Motorsport UK Suspensions Register and ensuring any conditions are implemented
• Reporting any concerns or reports of harm, abuse or neglect of children, young people or adults at risk to the Motorsport UK Safeguarding Team or statutory agencies, where necessary

Regulated activity

Those working in regulated activity must have a suitability check (DBS/PVG) in place with Motorsport UK, or be part of the DBS Update Service. The following team roles are considered to constitute regulated activity:

• Team manager
• Approved driver coaches
• Mechanics working with under-18s
• Instructors of under-18s

Key considerations

• Safer recruitment applies to both paid and voluntary staff
• Staff and volunteers should all have clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the team
• Safer recruitment allows parents to be reassured that the team is working to protect their child and prevent unsuitable people from working within the club
• Applying safer recruitment processes promotes a positive reputation for the team
• Safer recruitment ensures that the right person, with the right skills and experience, is working in the correct role
• Gaps in employment history, or any concerns from previous employers, should be considered with regard to suitability to work with children, young people and adults at risk

Self-declaration forms

StarterMotor may ask a person to complete a self-declaration form to disclose any information or previous convictions if they do not meet the threshold for a suitability check (DBS/PVG). These forms will be stored securely, and information will be shared only on a need-to-know basis.

Completing a suitability check

If you meet the thresholds for regulated activity within the team, Steve Cootes, StarterMotor’s General Manager, will ask you to complete a suitability check. This will be submitted through the Motorsport UK Safeguarding Team.

If you are a volunteer with the team, this check will be free of charge. If you are a paid employee of the team, you will be invoiced for the check (approximately £60). Checks last for three years from the date of issue. The following information is required by StarterMotor to submit the application for your check:

• Applicant’s full name
• Applicant’s email address
• Motorsport UK licence number, where applicable
• Where the applicant currently lives

Advertising a role

Before hiring a new staff member, StarterMotor has a robust hiring process in place to ensure consistency and suitability for each role. We use this process as an opportunity to outline our values and ethos, and to include our commitment to safeguarding.

If the role falls under regulated activity, the need for a suitability check will be highlighted at the start of the process, to discourage any potential candidates who are unsuitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk.

The hiring process

StarterMotor is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is consistent for all roles. This includes:

• Advertisement of the role, either internally or externally
• A job description, to outline the role and highlight expectations
• A person specification, to outline the skills, values and experience required for the role
• Interviews
• Suitability checks, where applicable
• Induction, training and education: how the team runs, and its ethos and values

Training and education

Safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk is everybody’s responsibility. StarterMotor holds the safety of our children and young people in the utmost importance. We will educate our team staff about our safeguarding policy and the values we hold as a team.

Motorsport UK runs a Driving Safer Cultures training session aimed at teams, and we will ensure that our team staff have attended this training where appropriate.