SAFEGUARDING IN CHARITIES

Transcription

1 SAFEGUARDING IN CHARITIES CaSE Insurance Seminar on Safeguarding in Charities, in partnership with Bates Wells Braithwaite, CCPAS and The Children s Society

2 CaSE Insurance Charity Seminar July 2016 Blog, Documents and BriefCaSE On 5 th July, CaSE Insurance hosted a seminar for the Charity Sector at the offices of Bates Wells Braithwaite in London. The seminar was for organisations that deal with the young and the vulnerable and who wished to understand the latest thinking in this important area. Presentations were made by: Val Floy COO at The Children s Society David Pearson Founding Director at CCPAS Emma Dowden-Teale Senior Associate at BWB Claire Whittle Associate at BWB Contents: This document contains: The CaSE Insurance blog written about the seminar. The presentation slides from Val s, David s and Claire and Emma s presentations. A BriefCaSE on Abuse: the latest thinking on providing insurance cover for abuse. CaSE Insurance is a trading name of CaSE Insurance Services Limited. Appointed representative of aqmen Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To check these details on the Financial Services Register: Registered in England: Number Registered Address: Manor House, 1 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DY

3 Safeguarding in Charities: CaSE Insurance Seminar On 5 th July CaSE Insurance gathered at the Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB) offices with a number of Charity sector high-fliers for a seminar on Safeguarding. With talks from David Pearson, Founder Director of the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS); Val Floy, COO at The Children s Society; and, Claire Whittle and Emma Dowden-Teale from BWB, this was a superb opportunity to learn from some of the Charity sector s most experienced in Safeguarding and Welfare. Val Floy introduced us to the fantastic work of the Children s Society and provided the first key takeaway of the day, distinguishing between Child Protection and Safeguarding. Val explained that the former involves recognising abuse and neglect and taking action, whereas the latter, Safeguarding, looks at prevention and keeping the vulnerable safe from a wider variety of potential harm. Takeaway 1: Safeguarding is proactive and preventative, as well as reactive. David Pearson joined us and explained the brilliant services that CCPAS provide and their ten standards to assist organisations to operate safely and in a manner that complies with relevant UK law and good practice. David also spoke passionately about safeguarding, charities responsibilities and, interestingly, how the CCPAS themselves approach risk management. He described how the CCPAS Board follow their own advice, take their annual risk assessments seriously and have a Board Committee with professional safeguarding experience who identify and review high risk activities. David continued by quoting the Charity Commission and then reminded us that abuse is not based on intention, but on harm caused and thus a failure in safeguarding a failure to take actions to prevent harm can constitute abuse. Takeaway 2: Failure to take steps to prevent harm constitutes abuse. Val continued to delve into the Working Together to Safeguard Children Guide provided by the Government in March 2015 and revealed some key messages in this document. Firstly, the Charity Commission may view a failure to protect children as misconduct or mismanagement. Val continues to explain the three areas of safeguarding requirements in organisations as leadership and accountability, the organisation and its beneficiaries and people and risk. David and Val both provided fantastic insight into the first of these areas leadership and accountability which has formed the third takeaway from our CaSE Insurance Safeguarding Seminar: Working Together 2015 stipulates that organisations working with children should have a senior, board-level (trustee) lead taking responsibility for safeguarding arrangements. Takeaway 3: Your organisation should have a board/trustee level lead on safeguarding. This is a vital message with serious ramifications for many organisations if they are dealing with safeguarding and are not appropriately structured at a senior level. All organisations working with children, young people under 18 years of age and vulnerable adults should review their board and ensure that they are meeting this key responsibility featured in the Working Together 2015 Guide. The Key Takeaway: CaSE Insurance has produced a brief summary of the current state of affairs when providing insurance cover for abuse. If you attended the CaSE Insurance Safeguarding Seminar and would like to receive your CPD certificate, please elainedenny@caseinsurance.co.uk. Our next seminar for Charities is in November, drop us an if you would like to attend. CaSE Insurance is a trading name of CaSE Insurance Services Limited. Appointed representative of aqmen Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. To check these details on the Financial Services Register: Registered in England: Number Registered Address: Manor House, 1 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DY

4 Safeguarding Val Floy What we do Our vision and mission Safeguarding The Children s Society helps change children s lives, working towards a country where all children are free from disadvantage Val Floy Chief Operating Officer The Children s Society 1 2 Our impact Some key figures for Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children Safeguarding Promoting Welfare Protecting children from maltreatment Preventing the impairment of children s health or development Ensure that children and young people are growing in circumstances consistent with provisions of safe and effective care Undertaking the role to enable children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully 3 4 Child protection is a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare Child protection looks at recognising abuse and neglect and acting on it whereas safeguarding looks at keeping children, young people and adults at risk safe from a much wider range of potential harm, and delivers preventative action, not just reaction All charities should aim to proactively safeguard and promote the welfare of their beneficiaries so that the need for action to protect them from harm is reduced Key Issues and Context Current system based on protecting children within families from abuse Extent of sexual abuse is not known estimates are 1 in 10, year olds. Only 1 in 8 of victims are known Emerging issues Child Sexual Exploitation a national epidemic Issues around complex safeguarding Safeguarding and mental health issues 5 6

5 Safeguarding Val Floy Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Working Together Local Authorities are failing to meet needs Budget cuts, increasing demand, risk averse nature of the system Innovation being encouraged Children s Social Care Trusts Role of devolution? Lead role of Local Authorities in safeguarding children and young people Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as: 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. 7 8 Working Together stipulates that one of the key responsibilities of organisations working with children is A senior board level lead to take leadership responsibility for the organisation s safeguarding arrangements Failure to protect children may be considered by the Charity Commission as misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity Identifies three key strands of safeguarding requirements of organisations: Ø Leadership and accountability The organisation and its beneficiaries Points to ponder How to ensure there is a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, both in individual decisions and the development of services? What evidence do we have that our organisation learns from the feedback it receives from service-users? How to embed multi-agency working and information sharing arrangements Ø The organisation and its beneficiaries Ø People and risk 9 10 Key principles on information sharing Future legislation If we believ e that a c hild c ould be at ris k of abus e, we hav e a duty to s hare that information with a statutory service such as the police or children s social care Where the concern is less urgent, i.e. where a child is not a risk of abuse, there may still be a need to share information with other agencies, but this should be done with the knowledge and consent of the family (and where appropriate, the child) Need to ensure that children and families are prepared at the outset for the possibility that information may need to be shared, and of their rights and choices in the matter together with the boundaries of confidentiality We also need to ensure that we have arrangements which sets out clearly the processes for sharing information with other professionals and with the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) Ø Most inquiries into child abuse tragedies such as the death of Victoria Climbie conclude that the lack of effective communication between and across services and agencies aggravated already difficult situations Children and Social Work Bill Proposes extension of Corporate Parent role to other statutory bodies Exemptions from legal duties, whilst LA s are testing new approaches (Clause 15) Alan Wood Review into Serious Case Reviews New focus on learning from SCR s, rather than trying to blame National independent body to be set up replacing the role of Local Children s Safeguarding Boards 11 12

6 Safeguarding Val Floy Concluding thoughts Letter from a young person we support Changing world Digital environment and safeguarding Hidden and complex issues Increased insight to levels of child (sexual) abuse IICSA and fallout.. Everything that s happened to me has left a scar, it s not visible and it s not irreversible, I just wish so much that I could have seen these people for what they really were and saved myself before it was too late

7 CCPAS Safeguarding and Your Charity David Pearson Churches Child Protection Advisory Service David Pearson Founder Director (trustee) and Company CCPAS is the only independent Christian charity providing advice, support, training and resources, in all areas of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, to places of worship and organisations and to those affected by abuse throughout the UK and beyond. CCPAS Services CCPAS 10 Standards Faith and non-faith groups and individuals Professional advice, support and training Policy and good practice guidance 24 hour help line Specialist Services Publications and Resources Advise government, statutory bodies and others 1. Having a safeguarding policy 2. Developing awareness and training 3. Safer recruitment 4. Management of workers 5. Working safely 6. Communicating effectively 7. Responding to concerns 8. Pastoral care 9. Managing those who pose a risk 10. Working in partnership See booklet and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults Definitions Regulated activity for adults What is meant by vulnerable and safeguarding? children and young people under 18 years of age adults in receipt of a regulated activity (see next slide) Safeguarding is a term which describes the responsibility of charities and other agencies working with children/young people, vulnerable adults and their families. It involves them in taking reasonable measures to minimise the risk of harm and acting appropriately when concerns of possible abuse arise. those which, if any adult requires them, will mean that the adult will be considered vulnerable at that particular time. These activities are: the provision of healthcare, personal care, and/or social work; assistance with general household matters and/or in the conduct of the adult s own affairs; and/or an adult who is conveyed to, from, or between places, where they receive healthcare, relevant personal care or social work because of their age, illness or disability. Please see Department of Health factual note on Regulated activity (adults) available on their website.

8 CCPAS Safeguarding and Your Charity David Pearson The responsibilities of the Board The responsibilities of the Board Trustees of charities which work with vulnerable groups and children have a duty of care to their charity which will include taking the necessary steps to safeguard and take responsibility for those children and vulnerable adults. They must always act in their best interests and ensure they take all reasonable steps to prevent any harm to them. Trustees also have duties to manage risk and to protect the reputation and assets of the charity. Charity Commission Abuse is based not just on whether harm was intended but whether harm was caused. Failure to take reasonable steps to prevent harm constitutes abuse. The Board is required to: assess risks that arise from the charity s activities and put in place appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures undertake on-going monitoring to ensure that these safeguards are being effectively implemented in practice. report to the Charity Commission serious incidents eg not having a safeguarding policy or vetting procedures for appointments and incidents of abuse Failure to do the above could be considered by the Charity Commission as misconduct or mismanagement, or both, in the administration of the charity. The responsibilities of the Board LEGISLATION AND STATUTORY GUIDANCE Statutory guidance is issued by law; you must follow it unless good reason not to. Children Working Together to Safeguard Children: a guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (2015) What to do if you re worried a child is being abused (2015) Adults The Care Act 2014 (from April 2015) defines adult safeguarding as the process of protecting adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect. The responsibilities of the Board Working Together to Safeguard Children Organisations must have: clear lines of accountability for services to children; a senior board (trustee) level lead to take leadership responsibility for the organisation s safeguarding arrangements; developing a culture of listening to children; clear whistleblowing procedures and the reporting of concerns; safer recruitment practices (trustees/workers) clear policies for dealing with allegations against people who work with children. The responsibilities of the Board The policies Safeguarding policies for both children and vulnerable adults need to include the following: how to respond - concerns/suspicions of abuse, including in regard to employees (paid or voluntary); named contacts to co-ordinate concerns/action reporting responsibilities to the statutory agencies, DBS and Charity Commission. safer recruitment procedures - paid and volunteer workers; guidelines for activities children and vulnerable adults; actions and procedures necessary where someone who is a known risk is involved with a group. The responsibilities of the Board We expect trustees to act responsibly in responding to allegations of abuse and to take steps to ensure they and the people working in the charity know how to deal with incidents of abuse if they arise. This includes making sure that charities have adequate systems in place to handle allegations and deal with them responsibly and, where appropriate, report incidents to the police, social services and other agencies, including the Commission. We also expect trustees to manage and minimise the risk of further incidents happening as far as this is reasonably possible, by making any necessary changes to policies, procedures and work practices. Charity Commission - Strategy for dealing with safeguarding vulnerable groups including children issues in charities.

9 CCPAS Safeguarding and Your Charity David Pearson The CCPAS response Our role involves providing services to organisations working with vulnerable people, so the risks we need to consider as an organisation are different but nonetheless significant. CCPAS Board approach to risk management: We follow the policies we advise, in so far as we are able We take our annual assessment of risks seriously and review ways in which we can mitigate against those risks We have a Board Committee - Performance, Risk, Audit and Review (PRAR) - 4 members with professional safeguarding experience who with senior staff seek to identify and review high risk activities.

10 Safeguarding: The Changing Landscape Emma Dowden-Teale and Claire Whittle Safeguarding: the changing landscape 5 July 2016 Safeguarding: the changing landscape Safe Outcomes -focussed Childcentred Emma Dowden-Teale, Senior Associate Claire Whittle, Associate Preventative Aspirational Children s Homes Regulations 2015 Children s Homes Regulations: key principles Regulations now encompass Quality Standards loved, happy, healthy, safe from harm able to develop, thrive and fulfil their potential value and nurture each child as an individual Apply to: children s homes; children s homes that provide short break care; secure children s homes; and residential special schools or boarding schools who accommodate children for more than 295 days per year. Explained and supplemented by DfE s Statutory Guidance: Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations including the quality standards (April 2015) foster positive relationships shared daily life ambitious in learning and for their future working with others attentive to children s emotional, mental and physical health needs safe and stimulating environment with spaces that support nurture and allow privacy as well as spaces to be active encouraging strong bonds established boundaries of acceptable behaviour repairing earlier damage Children and Social Work Bill 2016 The Corporate Parent - principles for promotion and defence of the interests of all looked-after children and care leavers Enabling local authorities to develop and trial more effective ways of delivering children s social care New central panel to review child safeguarding cases which raise issues that may lead to learning of national importance The Goddard Inquiry Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Enables creation of a new regulator for the quality of social work

11 Safeguarding: The Changing Landscape Emma Dowden-Teale and Claire Whittle Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Terms of Reference purpose [The Inquiry] encompasses every institution public and private and not simply those with direct responsibility for child protection. It has no timeframe built into it so it may be necessary in some cases to go back even decades to uncover past abuses of children. It also encompasses the present and ongoing failures that might be occurring. It wants to be forward looking and importantly, it must make recommendations to protect children in the future. Hon. Dame Lowell Goddard DNZM introduces the Inquiry To consider the extent to which State and non-state institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation; To consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed; To identify further action needed to address any failings identified; To consider the steps which it is necessary for State and non-state institutions to take in order to protect children from such abuse in future; and To publish a report with recommendations. Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Terms of Reference scope and principles The Inquiry s work State and non-state institutions includes schools, specialist education (such as music tuition), churches and other religious denominations and organisations; The Inquiry will cover England and Wales; The Inquiry will have full access to all the material it seeks; Any allegation of child abuse received by the Inquiry will be referred to the Police. Three core projects: the Research Project, the Truth Project and the Public Hearings Project Five workstreams based on the institutional sectors under investigation: Allegations of abuse by people or prominence in public life Education and religion Criminal justice and law enforcement Local authorities and voluntary organisations National and private service organisations 13 investigations Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Steps to take or consider: Insurance inform insurer if any allegations are made Review current safeguarding policies Preserve relevant documents and consider retention policy How will your organisation respond to approaches from survivors? How will you investigate historic allegations? Review files For charities, consider whether a Serious Incident Report to the Charity Commission is required Consider whether to self-refer to the Inquiry Consider how you will deal with potential conflicts of interest More information available on the Inquiry s website and at bwbllp.com Sign up to receive our updates on the Inquiry

12 Safeguarding: The Changing Landscape Emma Dowden-Teale and Claire Whittle Contacts Claire Whittle Claire is leading BWB s work in relation to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (with Melanie Carter, Partner and Head of the Public & Regulatory Department). Claire has experience in a wide range of public and regulatory work, including in relation to judicial review, public inquiries and inquests (including Charity Commission inquiries), health and social care, audit, procurement and professional discipline. Claire has knowledge of data protection and freedom of information law. Claire is a qualified Solicitor Advocate and appears in the First Tier Tribunal regularly. Emma Dowden-Teale e.dowden-teale@bwbllp.com Emma advises on all aspects of regulatory and public law including in respect of fulfilment of statutory functions and connected exercise of statutory discretion; appropriate administrative decision-taking; advice on adjudication functions in regulated sectors; statutory appeals; conduct of judicial review challenges; and advice in respect of equality and human rights as well as aspects of governance. Within her broader practice, Emma has focussed on the regulation of education and health and social care and has previously been seconded to the in-house legal teams of various regulators in that connection. Emma leads on public law and regulatory aspects of education and health and social care at BWB generally (with Melanie Carter, Partner and Head of the Public & Regulatory Department).

13 Abuse Cover What s the best way to insure against abuse claims? Historically, abuse has been dealt with as a Public Liability issue. Most policies are silent ; that is they do not mention abuse and although it may not be specifically excluded, the trigger for cover remains accidental bodily injury which leaves cover dependent on how insurers interpret intent. This isn t the same as saying it is definitely included. Some Public Liability Insurers provide cover on an occurrence basis which means the relevant insurance policy is the one in place when the abuse that triggers a claim first took place. So a claim made 30 years later means the charity would have to find the insurance policy from 30 years ago - and if the charity frequently changes insurer, as many do, this increases the challenge. Then they have to hope the insurer is still in business and hope too that the limit of cover remains appropriate despite the effects of inflation and an increase in awards. Overcome all these obstacles and then you just have to deal with the silent issue; does the insurer accept the claim? A new approach Some more recent, specialist charity policies are not silent. Instead they provide explicitly stated abuse cover. Some also offer cover on a claims made basis. If a charity switches from an occurrence to a claims made policy, then nothing changes in terms of historical cover. A claim for abuse that took place in the pre claims made period still means finding the original policy document. Claims Made Cover Abuse cover under a claims made policy is provided by the current provider of Public Liability insurance. So a charity will always know who is insuring them, the policy will always be up to date and the amount of cover will reflect current needs (because you regularly review the policy and sums insured every year). Please note however that it is vital that the charity continues to renew its claims made policy every year. If you re in doubt about what cover is most appropriate, you re not alone; this is a widely misunderstood area of insurance. Even insurance brokers will argue as to which provides the best cover. But at least knowing that the argument exists means you can raise the subject with your insurer or broker at each renewal. Available resources You can find a general introduction to insuring charities and voluntary organisations on our website in the Risk Management section. The charity commission website has a selection of useful documents; y-commission/about/publication-scheme Or call us on Or us at enquiries@caseinsurance.co.uk Our website is here; But going forward, things do change /01 BriefCaSE - Abuse Page 1/1 CaSE Insurance 2016