Holding On Letting Go believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people, through a commitment to practice which protects them.

We recognise that:

• the welfare of the child/young person is paramount

• all children, regardless of age, ability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse

• working in partnership with children, young people, and parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare

All staff, including senior managers and the Board of Trustees, paid staff, volunteers or anyone working on behalf of Holding On Letting Go are required to demonstrate the same commitment to safeguarding in principal and in practice. All are required to operate within (and to) the framework and requirements established in our policy for safeguarding vulnerable children and adults.

We will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

• adopting child protection guidelines through our procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers

• sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers

• sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately

• providing effective management to staff and volunteers through supervision, and training.

We are also committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

A copy of our safeguarding policy is available here.