Safeguarding Strategy

 Why is Safeguarding important:

Safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

It is the responsibility of Optima Electrical Training to proactively promote safeguarding understanding for all of our learners, employers and employees.

Objectives of the Safeguarding Strategy

• To ensure that all learners feel safe and also to enable learners to voice any potential safeguarding concerns.
• To support learners to gain the knowledge to take responsibility for their own safeguarding in the future.
• To embed equality and diversity and ensure learners are knowledgeable about subjects beyond their own experience.
• To give them confidence to investigate sensitive issues and support citizenship and inclusion for all, and to recognise when others are at risk.

We are committed to supporting our clients and learners to enable:

• Their best health.
• Complete safety.
• Positive learning experience.
• Well-being and achievement.
• Meeting their needs and interests.

Strategies

We require all our staff to understand and promote the above and to incorporate these principles into their working routines. To best support our staff, we will ensure that all staff have the necessary information, instruction and training available. This policy, and in conjunction with our Health & Safety and Equality & Diversity policies, are developed to prevent abuse of learners through their environment both immediate and the wider environment. We work together to ensure that:

• Any safeguarding concern or instance is investigated appropriately.
• The correct reporting and action is taken in regards to all safeguarding concerns
• To raise awareness of the issues surrounding safeguarding and empower our candidates to identify and act upon both inappropriate behaviours and safeguarding concerns
• Maintain and control all relevant checks including DBS checks

Safeguarding Roles and Responsibilities

Role of the Optima Designated Person (Mr Les Rose)

• To act as a source of support and expertise in regards to all aspects of safeguarding and appropriate use of external signposting
• To investigate and identify appropriate decisions and outcomes for safeguarding activities
• To have an understanding of internal procedures and disseminate these to team members
• To ensure that the safeguarding policy is updated annually, and that all staff have read and understood this policy.
• To embed robust safeguarding and child protection practices across all areas of the provision.
• To develop effective links with relevant statutory agencies. For example, Health, CMHT, Police, GP’s, Local Authority (MASH, LADO)
• To ensure all safeguarding and child protection training is delivered  to other staff
• To maintain secure and detailed records of all safeguarding activity which are used for auditing, trend identification and monitoring

Our Organisational Safeguarding Responsibilities

We will require staff staff to undertake an enhanced and both upon induction and annually, all staff are required to complete online training and learning in the following courses:

  • Safeguarding

  • Equality and Diversity

  • CPD developed through monthly team meeting and as learners on individual TAQA and Management qualifications. To include Data Protection and Health and Safety.

Management staff to complete:

  • Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment Course by NSPCC

  • CPD for Nominees by ProTrainings Europe Limited

Ongoing updates from industry sources and research. Monitoring of www.gov.uk alerts and current priorities.

Employers

All employers are to be informed of the importance and requirement for safeguarding and the themes which will be discussed with their employees. New employers to be informed at initial meetings. Employers will also sign agreement to support safeguarding activities on individual Apprenticeship agreement documentation as new learners join Apprenticeship programmes.

Learners

Induction:
All learners to receive an induction session where a standardised presentation details Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity, Health and Safety, the course requirement and support for all.

Discussion of Safeguarding – meaning and approach throughout the Apprenticeship. Themes to be discussed and the process for raising any issues. Discussion of confidentiality and Data Protection. Where to find resources and signposting to expert agencies if required. Expectations of Learners in respect of safeguarding and learning.

All learners are set a health & Safety exercise as part of their induction.  Prevent safeguarding will also be an addition to our induction topic.

Safeguarding Reporting and Optima Electrical Training Responsibilities

Learners with any concerns in regards to safeguarding issues raised or their own safety at any stage of their apprenticeship have guidance to speak to their Tutor detailed in their handbooks which is reiterated through A&G sessions and monthly discussions. They also have access to the Les Rose, the Optima nominated safeguarding representative which includes email and phone number which is detailed in our induction handout.

All records of safeguarding incidents are held in a secure, central location with access limited to the designated persons.  Tutors should be knowledgeable of general Safeguarding issues and support services available but it is not the responsibility of Tutors to address any specific issues raised by Learners. Tutors should complete a report to be reviewed by a safeguarding nominee immediately upon notification. The records should record precisely what has been alleged using the words of the complainant. If appropriate, factual observations about the observable physical and emotional state of the individual should also be recorded Instruction and timescale will then be relayed to the Tutor.

Only the designated persons (Les Rose) can make a decision in regards to referring a complaint of allegation, having gathered and examined all relevant testimonies and allegations.

Evaluation

All safeguarding records to be reviewed on an ongoing to basis to identify potential themes and areas of concerns which will then be addressed immediately and escalated to the relevant parties as detailed above.

For further information or advise on our safeguarding strategy please email admin@optima-ect.com