Uplifting Lives Services Ltd (ULS) must safeguard the wellbeing, dignity and rights of the people we care for, and protect them from harm, abuse and neglect. To ensure that people with different needs and vulnerabilities are fully supported and safeguarded, our organisation follows guidance and legislation such as the Care Act 2014, Multi-Agency policies and procedures, the Safeguarding Adults Framework, and the Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework. These policies, procedures and frameworks outline the principles, roles and responsibilities in safeguarding people and provide good practice examples and resources. Below are details of the provision of safeguarding to people with different needs and challenges.

·        Our robust safeguarding policy is aligned with the Multi-Agency Policies and Procedures, the Safeguarding Adults Framework, and the Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework resources that provide guidance and standards for safeguarding adults and children at risk of abuse or neglect. As such, our policy provides clear guidance on identifying and reporting concerns, responding to allegations, and supporting victims in line with legislative requirements and best practices. It is based on the following principles:

·        The safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children is everyone's responsibility.

·        All our staff must be aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect.

·        All our staff must know how to report any concerns they have.

·        Our organisation has clear procedures in place for investigating and managing safeguarding incidents.

·        ULS has a strong management structure and responsibilities to promote safeguarding.

·        Our organisation collates, analyses, and learns from safeguarding incidents to improve our practice.

·        ULS has a clear and consistent response to any potential safeguarding incident. If a member of our staff has a concern about the safety of a vulnerable adult or child, they report it to our line manager immediately. Our line manager will then assess the risk and take appropriate action, which may include:

·        Talking to the person who is at risk.

·        Taking immediate action to ensure the safety and well-being of the person at risk and others who may be affected.

·        Talking to the person who is alleged to have abused or neglected the person at risk.

·        Identifying and reporting the concern or incident to the relevant authority, such as the council, the police,  the Safeguarding Adult Board (SAB) or the Safeguarding Children Partnership Executive Board (SCP).

·        Working in partnership with other agencies to carry out a safeguarding enquiry or investigation.

·        Arranging a multi-agency meeting to agree on an action plan and review the outcomes.

·        Providing support and feedback to the person at risk, their family, and their advocates.

·        Conducting a risk assessment and developing a protection plan.

·        Recording and sharing information appropriately and securely.

·        Our response process for safeguarding incidents is based on the following principles:

·        All safeguarding incidents should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.

·        The person who is at risk must be kept safe and informed throughout the investigation.

·        The person who is alleged to have abused or neglected the person at risk must be treated fairly and allowed to respond to the allegations.

·        Our organisation must work with other agencies, such as the Council's safeguarding team, to ensure that the person at risk is protected and that appropriate action is taken.

·        We ensure all our staff involved in the direct delivery of services must understand and recognise issues relating to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children in line with legislative and best practice requirements. This is achieved through mandatory safeguarding training that covers topics such as awareness, prevention, reporting, intervention, partnership working, and learning from experience. We also encourage our staff to access additional training opportunities that are relevant to their role and service area, such as domestic abuse, mental health, learning disabilities, substance misuse, etc.

·        ULS embed safeguarding with all our staff through regular supervision, appraisal, feedback, and reflection. We support our staff to develop knowledge, skills, and confidence in safeguarding practice. We also expect our staff to adhere to our code of conduct, values, and standards of behaviour.  This means that all our staff must be aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and should be able to recognise and report signs of abuse and neglect. We also encourage our staff to raise any concerns or issues they may have about safeguarding with our line manager or the designated safeguarding manager for our service. Evidence of training is demonstrated through attendance records, certificates, and feedback from training evaluations.

·        We ensure all our staff must be aware of the relevant legislation for both adults and children through their appraisal training, supervision, and access to information resources. This includes the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007), the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equity Act 2010, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Domestic Act 2021, and the Children Act 1989.

·        ULS has effective reporting procedures for safeguarding that ensure that all concerns or incidents are recorded, reported, and shared appropriately and securely. We a standard form to record safeguarding concerns or incidents, which includes information such as the details of the person at risk, the nature and source of the concern, the actions taken, the outcomes achieved, and the lessons learned. Additionally, we use a secure online system to report safeguarding concerns or incidents to the relevant SAB or SCP, who monitor and analyse the data and provide feedback and recommendations.

·        ULS's approach to safeguarding incorporates a strong management structure and responsibilities to promote safeguarding. This means that there are clear lines of accountability and that all our staff know who to report safeguarding concerns to. The following are examples of how our organisation promotes a strong management structure and responsibilities to promote safeguarding:

·        We have a designated safeguarding manager. This person is responsible for the overall coordination and oversight of safeguarding within our organisation.

·        We have a safeguarding policy and procedures in place aligned with relevant safeguarding agencies.

·        We provide all our staff with safeguarding training. 

·        We have a clear process for investigating and managing safeguarding incidents. 

·        We established a safeguarding culture within our organisation. 

·        Our organisation collates, analyses, and learns from safeguarding incidents to improve our practice. This means that our organisation tracks all safeguarding incidents, identifies any trends or patterns, and uses this information to improve our safeguarding procedures and training. The following are examples of how our organisation collates, analyses, and learns from safeguarding incidents:

·        We keep a record of all safeguarding incidents. 

·        We analyse safeguarding incident data to identify trends and patterns. 

·        We share safeguarding incident data with our staff. 

·        We use safeguarding incident data to develop and update safeguarding training. 

·        When a safeguarding incident occurs, it is important for our organisation to learn from it and take steps to mitigate the risk of such incidents occurring in the future. This involves reviewing and updating our organisation's safeguarding policies and procedures, providing additional training to our staff, or making changes to the way that our organisation delivers services. The following are examples of steps that our organisation takes to mitigate the risk of safeguarding incidents occurring in the future:

·        We review and update safeguarding policies and procedures considering any lessons learnt from safeguarding incidents.

·        We provide additional training to our staff on safeguarding, focusing on any areas where our organisation has identified weaknesses.

·        We make changes to the way that our organisation delivers services to reduce the risk of safeguarding incidents occurring.

·      Safeguarding is embedded in our staff recruitment by following safer recruitment practices, such as:

·        Having a clear and consistent recruitment policy and procedure.

·        Ensuring that all our staff and volunteers have a role description and a person specification.

·        Advertising the role widely and transparently.

·        Conducting thorough checks on applicants’ identity, qualifications, references and criminal records.

·        Interviewing candidates using competency-based questions and scenarios.

·        Providing induction, training and supervision for our new staff and volunteers.

·        Having a code of conduct and a whistleblowing policy.

         ·        Dealing with allegations and concerns promptly and effectively.

·        Uplifting Lives Services Ltd operates by Statutory Safeguarding Guidance and the National and company policies & procedures at all times. Our company Safeguarding Manager is Ngamanya Nnorom. She can be contacted at nnnorom@upliftinglivesservices.co.uk or 07444 402474, or the Company Safeguarding team can be contacted at 01905 954424/07506 215707 or admin@upliftinglivesservices.co.uk if you have any concerns.