Safeguarding and Protecting People Policy

Dar Ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai)

February 2022

Contents

1. Background
2. Aims
3. Scope and application
4. Regulatory framework
5. Publication and availability
6. Accountability and responsibility
7. Safeguarding measures
8. Procedure for raising safeguarding concerns
9. Procedure for the management of safeguarding concerns
10. Record keeping

Key contacts

1. Background
   1. This is the safeguarding policy Dar Ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai)  (Charity).  It should read in conjunction with the Charity’s separate policy on Child Protection.
   2. The charity was established to promote the faith of Ahle Sunnah Wa Jama’ah, commonly known as Sunni Islam, following the Sunni Hanafi school of Jurisprudence, in particular the teachings of Ala-Hazrat Ahmed Raza Khan (rahmatullah alaih), which is more commonly known as the ‘Bralawai’ movement.
   3. In particular the charity was established under the guidance and support of Ala Hazrat Khawaja Qibla Syed Zinda Peer Saab (rahmatullah alaih) of Darbar e Aaliya Ghamkol Sharif. The charity continues to have strong working relationships with and many of its beneficiaries follow the spiritual order of Ghamkol Sharif.
   4. To achieve this core purpose the charity offers services that cover a range of religious requirements such as education, advice, guidance, marriages, prayer facilities, functions, lectures amongst other religious needs for the community.
   5. In addition to this core service the charity also offers a variety of community, social and economic services from time to time, either directly or in partnership with other agencies.  
   6. Dar Ul Uloom Islamia, offers a broad range of services either directly managed or in partnership with other agencies. 
   7. From time to time the Charity may offer services directly to children and/or vulnerable adults.  When appropriate  the Charity contracts with third parties to do so;
   8. The Charity does employ staff and has regular volunteers;
   9. The Charity owns premises and does make them available for third party use;
2. Aims
   1. The aims of this policy are:
      1. to safeguard and promote the welfare of the Charity’s beneficiaries, staff (as defined below), and others who come into contact with the Charity and to protect them from harm;
      2. to raise the awareness of everyone associated with the Charity of their safeguarding responsibilities and how to report safeguarding concerns and how to make a referral if necessary;
      3. to help to achieve consistently good safeguarding practice throughout the Charity.
3. Scope and application
   1. This policy applies to the whole Charity, at all Charity-run events and whenever staff are representing the Charity, whether on or away from the Charity’s premises.
   2. Everyone associated with the Charity including staff and beneficiaries are expected to:
      1. contribute to an environment which promotes a culture of safety, equality and protection;
      2. act in accordance with the Charity’s code of conduct; and
      3. follow this policy, including reporting any safeguarding concerns and / or making referrals in accordance with sections 8 and 9 below.
   3. Reference to staff in this policy includes reference to all those who work for or on behalf of  the Charity, regardless of their employment status, including all employees, contractors, volunteers and Trustees unless otherwise indicated.
   4. Reference to safeguarding means promoting the welfare of beneficiaries and taking reasonable steps to protect people who come into contact with the Charity from harm.
   5. Harm can be physical, sexual, psychological, reputational or financial and can be caused by a wide range of factors including, but not limited to:
      1. sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation;
      2. criminal exploitation;
      3. cyber abuse;
      4. modern day slavery;
      5. negligent treatment;
      6. self-neglect;
      7. physical or emotional abuse;
      8. bullying or harassment;
      9. health and safety;
      10. commercial exploitation;
      11. extremism and radicalisation;
      12. forced marriage;
      13. human trafficking;
      14. female genital mutilation;
      15. discrimination on any of the grounds in the Equality Act 2010;
      16. people targeting charities;
      17. a charity’s culture allowing poor behaviour and / or poor accountability;
      18. people may abuse a position of trust they hold within a charity;
      19. data breaches, including those under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
   6. The Charity acknowledges that it also has a particular role to play in the safeguarding of children and adults at risk, namely:
      1. in respect of children to:
         1. protect children from abuse and maltreatment;
         2. prevent harm to children’s health or development;
         3. ensure children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care;
         4. take action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.
      2. in respect of adults at risk:
         1. protecting their right to live in safety and free from abuse and neglect, where as a result of their care and support needs they are unable to do so themselves.
4. Regulatory framework
   1. This policy has regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance and advice on safeguarding and serious incident reporting.
   2. This policy should be read alongside the Charity’s Child Protection Policy.
   3. This policy is also supplemental to any additional guidance and / or separate policies and procedures which may apply specifically to specified categories of staff.
5. Publication and availability
   1. This policy is published on the Charity’s website and available in hard copy, large print or other accessible format on request. 
   2. This policy and all policies referred to in it are also available to staff.
6. Accountability and responsibility
   1. The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for safeguarding.  It will:
      1. set an organisational culture which prioritises safeguarding;
      2. ensure there are clear lines of responsibility and accountability for safeguarding;
      3. identify and manage possible risks and review the Charity’s risk register regularly;
      4. provide effective oversight and challenge of the Charity’s policies, procedures and practice, including the operational management of serious safeguarding issues or near misses, and record its involvement;
      5. consult with and / or report matters to external agencies as required;
      6. undertake a thorough review of the efficacy of the Charity’s safeguarding governance and management arrangements and performance at least annually
      7. ensure the Board receives sufficient training in safeguarding to perform their role;
      8. ensure that sufficient resources are allocated for safeguarding and protecting people.
   2. The Board of Trustees has nominated one trustee to take leadership responsibility for the Charity’s safeguarding arrangements, referred to as the Nominated Safeguarding Trustee. 
   3. The Board of Trustees has appointed a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).  The DSL has the necessary status and authority to take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) within the Charity.
7. Safeguarding measures
   1. The Charity will:
      1. arrange appropriate induction and refresher training on safeguarding for all staff at a level commensurate with their role;
      2. consult with staff about safeguarding issues and encourage a culture which promotes positive behaviour and the reporting of any safeguarding concerns.
      3. have appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures, which are:
         1. fit for purpose;
         2. responsive to change;
         3. reviewed on the issue of new law or guidance, after a significant event or change and in any event at least annually;
         4. published on the Charity’s website.
      4. check staff are suitable to act in their roles by:
         1. sharing this policy and the Charity’s code of conduct with applicants at the recruitment stage;
         2. undertaking appropriate checks on all staff (including people from or working overseas) to ensure an individual’s suitability for their role. In particular, consideration will be given to eligibility for the following checks and if so at what level and frequency checks should be undertaken for the role:
            1. CVs; 
            2. references;
            3. employment history (and exploring any gaps in their employment history);
            4. whether it is appropriate to ask a potential member of staff whether they have any unspent criminal convictions or to themselves obtain a basic DBS check;
            5. where a role includes carrying work which would be deemed “regulated activity”  if done more regularly, the Charity will consider whether or not it is appropriate to require a standard or enhanced disclosure from the DBS  or an International Child Protection certificate before they are permitted to work on an unsupervised basis;
            6. where a role includes carrying out “regulated activity”, the Charity will require enhanced disclosure from the DBS and, if applicable to any particular role, confirmation that the applicant is not named on the Children’s and / or Adults’ Barred List;
            7. vetting Trustees prior to appointment in accordance with Charity Commission guidance  and carrying out automatic disqualification checks on all trustees and senior managers before appointment;
            8. confirmation that the person can work in the UK; and
            9. health checks where appropriate.
         3. ensuring that the Charity undertakes a standard, enhanced or enhanced with barred list check where a role is eligible for one  and that all DBS checks are carried out in accordance with relevant legislation and any relevant guidance  published from time to time; 
      5. undertake appropriate due diligence checks of third parties (whether those who provide services to the Charity or directly to its beneficiaries) and enter into appropriate agreements with them covering the relationship, their respective roles and monitoring and reporting requirements.
      6. review its premises, security arrangements and arrangements for third party use  to minimise safeguarding risks;
      7. be mindful of the different risks for staff, volunteers and beneficiaries who are overseas and have suitable reporting and monitoring processes in place for any work overseas;
      8. actively promote and encourage the reporting of safeguarding concerns, train staff to identify them and to refer or report them (and have a clear system for doing so);
      9. be quick to respond to concerns and carry out appropriate investigations;
      10. manage conflicts of interest and / or loyalty;
      11. encourage effective working relationships with third party agencies which manage safeguarding concerns. This includes being aware of, and complying with, the published arrangements set out by the local safeguarding partners;
      12. prevent abuse for extremist purposes;
      13. set out risks and how it will manage them in a risk register;
      14. allocate sufficient funds for the effective management of safeguarding;
      15. arrange appropriate insurance cover for staff and volunteers and the activities involved.
8. Procedure for raising safeguarding concerns
   1. All staff should report any safeguarding concern they may have about anyone associated with the Charity promptly and in a secure and responsible way.
   2. If an individual is in immediate danger, the person identifying the concern should report it to the emergency services immediately.  Anybody can make a report or referral in these circumstances.  If a report or referral is made in these circumstances, the DSL or security staff should then be informed as soon as possible.
   3. Otherwise, anyone with a concern about the welfare of a beneficiary, a member of staff, or any other person affected by the Charity, should contact:
      1. NST (or if the NST is not available the DSL) if it relates to concerns about the behaviour or conduct of a member of staff[;][, following the Charity’s grievance or whistleblowing procedures;]
      2. NST (or if the NST is not available the DSL) if it relates to concern about the Charity’s operation, in accordance with the complaints procedure (including a concern about safeguarding practice at the Charity, or potential failures by the Charity to properly fulfil its safeguarding responsibilities); or
      3. NST (or if the NST is not available the DSL) in any other circumstance, such as where you have a concern about the welfare of someone connected to the Charity, including children or adults at risk.
   4. If the concern relates to any of the persons named in 8.2 or 8.3, then it should be raised with Chairperson instead. 
   5. Should anyone who has a safeguarding concern feel they are unable to report the concern to the Charity for any reason, they should report the matter directly to the statutory authorities or regulators, such as the Charity Commission. 
   6. The person who receives the concern must make an appropriate record of the issue and consider what action should then be taken.  The action to be taken is likely to vary according to the circumstances.
9. Procedure for the management of safeguarding concerns
   1. If an individual reports a safeguarding concern, the Charity will:
      1. handle and record it in a secure and responsible way;
      2. follow its safeguarding and protecting people policies and procedures;
      3. act quickly, minimising any further harm or damage;
      4. report or refer safeguarding concerns to external agencies and regulators, as appropriate, will share information as appropriate to protect the welfare of those involved and will keep future reporting obligations under review.  This may include the following:
         1. the police / Interpol if the safeguarding concern involves actual or alleged criminal activity; 
         2. the police and / or the relevant local safeguarding partners and / or the relevant local authority’s social services department if the safeguarding concern relates to allegations or incidents of abuse or mistreatment of children or adults at risk
         3. family members and / or the next of kin of any individual concerned, generally subject to appropriate consent having been given; 
         4. the Charity Commission in accordance with the requirement to report serious incidents;
         5. insurance providers;
         6. the disclosure and barring service;

and / or

1. any other relevant regulator or authority.
2. Where appropriate, the Charity will seek and follow the guidance or advice of any external agency to whom a report is made. 
3. Plan what to say to those involved with the Charity and the media, if appropriate and where possible be open and transparent to build a reputation for acting with integrity.
4. The Charity will conduct its own investigation of safeguarding issues, including incidents, allegations, safeguarding risks and procedural failings, when appropriate, ensuring that:
   1. appropriate action is taken in a timely way;
   2. it does not prejudice any separate legal or regulatory investigation when doing so;
   3. any investigations are conducted fairly and sensitively by persons who are suitably trained and experienced to do so;
   4. materials related to the investigation of safeguarding concerns are kept securely;
   5. details are only shared as appropriate: as part of an investigation it is likely to be necessary to explain the concern to those involved and to those to whom the concern relates;  the outcome will be shared with relevant parties as appropriate. and disclosure may also be made if required by regulators, under legal authority or court order;
   6. when disclosing information in accordance with 9.4.5 the Charity will consider the principles of fairness, transparency and lawfulness, as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018, and will have regard to guidance produced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO);
   7. appropriate reviews of the management of safeguarding concerns are undertaken to foster a culture of continual improvement and to ensure that lessons are learned where required.
5. Record keeping
   1. Records created in accordance with this policy will only be kept for as long as is necessary and will be kept securely.
   2. Concerns, discussions and decisions made in accordance with this policy, and the reasons for those decisions, should be recorded.
   3. The records created in accordance with this policy may contain personal data.  The Charity has a privacy notice which explains how it will use personal data which is published on the Charity’s website.