1.1 Introduction
Safeguarding is of paramount importance to Toybox. Therefore, this is a key Board level policy that needs to be adhered to at all times.
The Toybox Safeguarding approach is focused on ensuring we are doing all we can to prevent harm or maltreatment to children and young people as a result of our operations. Harm may involve Injury, pain, suffering, or trauma of a physical or emotional nature and may be intentional or unintentional. Maltreatment involves all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power (BOND 2020 Guidance)
Safeguarding is of paramount importance to Toybox and the organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, ignoring, covering up or mishandling cases.
Sexual Abuse and Exploitation constitutes gross acts of misconduct; therefore, this is a key Toybox policy which needs to be adhered to at all times.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and International Programmes Director (IPD) will review the policy every three years; if there is a significant incident, change in operating context, best practice or legislation then a review of the policy will happen within one month of any such incidents or changes. This policy, and the accompanying procedures, applies to consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers and adherence to it is mandatory. Toybox partner organisations are also informed of and sign this Safeguarding Policy and accompanying procedures. The Toybox Partnership Approach ensures that there is alignment between the Toybox Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and those of our partner organisations. Toybox staff will ensure that when undertaking direct work with children and youth, this Safeguarding Policy and Procedures are applied.
1.2 Purpose of the policy
The Toybox Safeguarding Policy highlights the welfare of all children and young people is paramount and that no child or young person (or groups of these) must be treated any less favourably than others in being able to access services which meet their particular needs. Toybox policy is that all children and youth, without exception, have the right to protection from abuse and neglect regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs. Street-connected children are especially vulnerable to potential abuse, exploitation, and ill-treatment at the hands of carers, project workers, and those with access to their personal information.
The purpose of the Toybox Child and Young People Safeguarding Policy is to highlight the responsibilities of the organisation to keep all programme participants safe from all forms of harm, abuse and exploitation resulting from their engagement with us. This responsibility is a recognition of: - our role in contributing towards a just and fair world; - the commitment in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure we do no harm to any child or young person irrespective of their association with us; - Our recognition that as well-educated individuals working for an international NGO in the Global North there is a power imbalance between ourselves, our partners and the children, young people and communities our work seeks to benefit. This power imbalance is even greater in the case of women and girls, children and young people with disabilities and those from ethnic and religious minorities. We recognise that the greater the power imbalance, the greater the risk of harm and abuse; and - the need for programme participants and communities to participate in realising their own protection rights through giving their own suggestions on how to report and keep themselves safe
Many have already experienced ruptured relationships of trust or abuse of an adult-child relationship in the form of physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect[1]. The protection of children and youth is the responsibility of all those employed by Toybox and as a result the organisation is committed to ensuring that the recruitment process of all consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers clearly states that everyone has responsibility to adhere to the Toybox Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.
Toybox will seek to safeguard children and young people by ensuring that all concerns and allegations of abuse are taken seriously by trustees and employees and responded to appropriately. It is not Toybox’s role to determine whether a child has been abused but rather to refer concerns of abuse to the correct authorities.
1.3 Scope and Application of the Policy
Adherence to this policy, and the accompanying procedures is mandatory. This policy applies to actions and/or behaviours by: - Toybox staff, consultants, and/or service providers - Toybox partner organisations - Toybox volunteers, Board Trustees and other visitors to Toybox supported projects
Towards: - Children under 18 years of age (of any gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability or socio-economic background). For the purpose of this policy, a child is any person up to the age of 18, irrespective of local definitioons - Young people, Toybox applies the UN's definition of youth [2] as up to 24 years. - Adult family and community members connected to Toybox supported projects of any age.
This policy applies to any actions or behaviours of a person conducting activities on behalf of Toybox which involve (but are not limited to) the following: - Direct project activities with programme participants and/or their family members. - Information sharing sessions. - Monitoring and evaluation activities. - Engagement with project participants through online platforms (including Teams, WhatsApp, Zoom). - The gathering and sharing of communications materials for Marketing and Fundraising purposes including images, videos and stories. - Sharing of information about a child or young person connected with a Toybox supported project or programme. - Transportation of project participants
However, the Toybox Code of Conduct (listed in Annex 1) clearly states that inappropriate behaviour of Toybox staff, volunteers, partners and other associates towards children and young people is unacceptable at any time and not only during Toybox related activities.
As a revision to the previous version of this policy, Sexual harassment is also included in the scope of Safeguarding- including sexual harassment towards partner staff and volunteers. Safeguarding of children’s information including personal data, images and key information is also included, ensuring alignment with Toybox Communications processes (How we Tell Children’s Stories).
1.4 Principles
This policy is based on the following principles:[3]
- Indisputable Rights: All children under 18 have equal rights to protection from harm (including exploitation and abuse) regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, beliefs or other characteristics. Children in street situations are especially vulnerable to potential abuse, exploitation, and ill-treatment at the hands of carers, project workers, and those with access to their personal information.
- The welfare of the child or youth should be safeguarded and promoted;
- Working in partnership with other agencies in the protection of children and youth is important;
- Toybox and partner staff and associates have the right to training and guidance to enable the proper implementation of this policy to keep children and young people safe;
- Children and youth are individuals with their own needs, wishes and feelings and have a right to participate in their own protection and that of their communities.
- Support to victims affected by the actions of Toybox or partner organisations is critical and must be planned and budgeted for.
1.5 Legal Framework
This policy refers to safeguarding of children and youth and has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect children and youth, namely:
The upholding of the rights of the child to protection from harm, abuse and exploitation as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC);
The Common Approach to Protection from Sexual Abuse and Harassment (CAPSEAH) (released as draft for consultation November 2023 and funded by the UK Govt) brings together for the first-time actions from existing PSEAH (Protection from SEAH) practice, policies and standards into a guide that everyone working in Humanitarian Development and Peacekeeping settings can endorse and use to align their work on PSEAH. CAPSEAH recognises that Humanitarian, Development and Peacekeeping (HDP) work is being undermined by sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) committed by people working in, or with, HDP organisations or settings;
That Voluntary organisations have the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government 2013);
The essential inclusions for a child protection policy detailed in Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy Paper (The Charity Commission 2014).
Latest BOND Safeguarding Guidance;
International Child Safeguarding Standards (Keeping Children Safe 2022)
1.6 Management Structure
The CEO and Director of Impact and Programmes are the designated persons within Toybox who are responsible for the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy.
All staff are aware they can talk to these members of staff about safeguarding issues.
All individuals working directly with children or youth or with direct access to information on children and youth will be given ongoing line management support and guidance and access to training.
The disclosure of personal information about children and youth, including legal cases, is limited to those consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers who need to know.
The Toybox Board of Trustees have the responsibility to assure themselves that Toybox’s Safeguarding Policy is being implemented. The inclusion of safeguarding in the organisational KPIs and risk register supports the regular review of safeguarding at Board level. Toybox has a designated person on the Board with oversight on Safeguarding. This is currently the Board Chair, David Westwood.
1.7 Review of Safeguarding Policy and Linkages to other Toybox Policies
- The CEO and Director of Impact and Programmes will review the policy every three years; if there is a significant incident, change in the operating context, best practice or legislation then a review of the policy will happen within one month of any such incidents or changes
- Related Toybox policies and approaches include:
- How We Tell Children's Stories Policy
- Equity and Diversity Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Staff Recruitment Policy
- International Travel Policy
- Travel for Supporters Policy
- Volunteer Policy
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Approach
- Power, Privilege and Bias Approach
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Toybox Partnership Approach
- Bullying and Harassment (Included within Employee Handbook)
- Declaration on Photography
Safeguarding is an integral part of the Toybox Partner Assessment and Capacity Development Process. Toybox partner organisations must read and sign this Safeguarding Policy and accompanying procedures and the Director of Impact and Programmes ensures that there is alignment between the Toybox Safeguarding Policy and those of our partner organisations.
2. What is Child or Youth Abuse and Neglect?
2.1 Child Abuse
Child or youth abuse is any action by another person – adult or child – which causes significant harm to a child or young person. We know that neglect, whatever form it takes, can be just as damaging to a child as physical abuse. An abused child will often experience more than one type of abuse, as well as other difficulties in their lives. It often happens over a period of time, rather than being a one-off event. Child abuse is increasingly happening online. The types of abuse are:
Sexual abuse
Physical abuse
Emotional abuse
Neglect
Digital abuse and sharing of abusive images of children/young people
Abuse linked to belief i.e. ‘witchcraft’
Spiritual abuse
Abuse of trust
2.2 Child Exploitation
Child exploitation is a subset of abuse and refers to the use of a child (or young person) for someone else’s advantage, gratification or profit often resulting in unjust cruel and harmful treatment of the child to the detriment of the child’s physical or mental health, and/or socio-emotional development. This may include situations of manipulation (eg child labour or trafficking), misuse, oppression or ill-treatment.
2.3 Sexual Harassment
Harassment is now included in the organisational Safeguarding approach and this applies to adults as well as children. Sexual harassment is defined as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. It can happen to any gender, and can be physical (e.g touching), verbal (e.g offensive comments or phone calls), or non-verbal (e.g display of offensive materials)." Inter-agency UK Disasters Emergency Committee
2.4 Distinguishing Safeguarding from Child Protection and broader misconduct
Child protection can be defined as "the work undertaken to strengthen laws, policies and systems, designed to protect children in a given country in his or her own family and community" whereas safeguarding is "the responsibility that organisations have to make sure their staff, operations, and programmes, do no harm to children, young people and vulnerable adults"
A key focus of Toybox and partner organisations' programmatic work is focused on the protection of children in street situations. However, this is outside the scope of the safeguarding policy and procedures.
Safeguarding also excludes other forms of misconduct including those that are not of a physical, emotional or sexual nature – such as fraud, corruption, or abuse of alcohol and drugs during working hours. These are not classed as Safeguarding as they do not involve or directly target either staff members or members of the community- even though they may occur in conjunction with emotional, physical and/or sexual harm. These incidents must be addressed through other channels but are not “safeguarding” incidents. (BOND 2020 Guidance)
Toybox has made the following Safeguaridng Commitments: - To create and maintain a safe environment for children, young people and adults where potential risks are identified, monitored, and mitigated effectively. - To foster a culture within Toybox and our partner organisations in which Safeguarding is prioritised and openly discussed. - To support staff and partner capacity building in Safeguarding. - To encourage reporting of incidents without penalties. - To act on all Safeguarding concerns/allegations and ensure victim support
3 Toybox Safeguarding Procedures
3.1 Identifying and Mitigating Safeguarding Risks
At the centre of the cycle is a recognition of the importance of constantly and consistently identifying and mitigating safeguarding risks from the organisation which may cause harm to children and young people. These risks may fall in the following categories: Context; HR; Programmes; IT Communications and information management; Leadership, Governance and Culture; Safety and Security. Toybox recognises that risks are greater for individuals where there is a more unequal power imbalance- particularly children with disabilities who may be even less able to protect themselves and/or report abuses and so additional mitigation strategies may be required.
3.2 Prevention – Creating a safe organisation
Proactive safeguarding includes the policies, procedures and systems which Toybox puts in place to prevent safeguarding incidents and to ensure a positive culture within the organisation with respect to safeguarding. This has the following components:
3.2.1 Code of Conduct for Working with Children and Youth
Toybox has developed a Code of Conduct to give guidance on expected behaviour of adults towards children, young people and other adults. Toybox has a zero tolerance of exploitation and abuse in any form. This includes harmful behaviour towards children by any trustee, staff member, volunteer or external consultant in any context - both during and outside of working hours and/or Toybox related business. The Code of Conduct is required reading for all staff, partners, volunteers and Trustees. The Code of Conduct should be interpreted in a spirit of transparency and common sense, with the best interests of the child or young people as the primary consideration. Toybox partners are expected to develop their own Code of Conduct (in local language) which is understood, signed and adhered to by partner staff.
If you would like more specific information about the Code of Conduct please get in touch [email protected]
3.2.2 Safe Personnel Recruitment
When recruiting consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers, whether paid or unpaid, full time or part time, temporary or long-term, having direct or indirect contact with children or youth, Toybox will adhere to a thorough and standardised procedure which will include: - A basic, standard or enhanced disclosure (depending on level of contact with children or youth) through the Disclosure and Barring Service.
A requirement for the potential employee, consultants, trustees and volunteers to read, understand and accept compliance with Toybox’s Safeguarding Policy and Procedures as part of the terms and conditions of engagement and to sign a statement of commitment in accordance to their job descriptions
All potential employees, consultants, trustees and volunteers shall be requested to disclose any relevant criminal convictions, including those considered ‘spent’.
The requirement of two character references (excluding family members and those who have known the applicant personally for less than two years) one of which should be the previous employer.
Job adverts will contain wording regarding the importance of Safeguarding to Toybox and that Toybox is part of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme which facilitates the sharing of misconduct data between employers.
During the interview process, where appropriate, applicants will be asked about previous work with children and young people and will be given a case scenario about how to manage a child or youth abuse concern.
3.2.3 Education and Training
A requirement for all consultants, employees, trustees to read, understand and accept compliance with Toybox's Children and Young People's Safeguarding Policy and Procedures (including the Code of Conduct) as part of the Terms and Conditions of Employment and to sign a statement of commitment;
The Toybox induction process requires the participation in a Safeguarding induction and safeguarding training will be provided as soon as possible (at least within three months and before any international travel). Refresher training is given for all staff at least every two years and a log kept of staff and partner safeguarding training;
The need for ongoing skills development in the area of safeguarding for staff will be identified in 1:1s and appraisals. Those travelling regularly are expected to undertake additional Safeguarding training to the standard Toybox training, especially members of the International Programmes Team who support partners improve their own Safeguarding policies and processes;
Consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers, where appropriate, who have access to information about children or youth such as personal contact information or any other details of a child’s or youth’s personal life will be trained to fully understand what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable sharing of information regarding children and how and where such information should be stored.
3.2.4 Embedding Safeguarding policies, procedures into organisational culture, leadership oversight and governance
Toybox seeks to prevent safeguarding issues arising by integration into all aspects of culture and processes. Safeguarding is built into the Leadership team and Board KPIs and processes to ensure Safeguarding is taken seriously and reviewed regularly. The Safeguarding policy is reviewed every three years and a log is kept of all staff, Trustees and volunteers of when they have been trained and signed the policy. Toybox policies are reviewed and updated in line with National Guidance (including BOND, UK Charity Commission and FCDO). Partners are expected to ensure that their own politics also align with national laws, regulatory bodies and best practice.
3.2.5 Partner policies, procedures and risk assessment
Partner Safeguarding policies and procedures are reviewed as part of the initial and full partner assessment processes and during visits. Where there are gaps or weaknesses, these are included in capacity building plans and budgets and partners may sign up to the Toybox Safeguarding Policy while developing their own as stipulated in MOUs. Safeguarding RAG ratings are established through a 20-point monitoring checklist which is reviewed at least annually. Toybox encourages partners to identify, monitor and mitigate risks, including Safeguarding risks and will support capacity to do so. If there are significant gaps or weaknesses not addressed and which may result in harm to children or young people, Toybox may choose not to partner with a particular organisation or terminate a partnership.
3.3 Keeping Children Safe Online
3.3.1 Sharing and Storage of Child Information (including images, stories and personal data)
Information, images and videos of children are shared with Toybox for Marketing, Fundraising and reporting purposes. Toybox policies outline that information and images should be in line with the following criteria:
Only shared externally with the consent of the child and their parent/legal guardian. Consent should be given in writing (via form), thumbprint or recorded orally (e.g. voice note, video) following clear communication regarding the purpose of taking the information/image, their right to say no and that this will not affect their participation in the project.
Images should only show children who are fully clothed and respect their dignity (e.g avoiding dirty faces, sexually suggestive poses or making them look more vulnerable or powerless than they are).
Any identifying features such as use of full names, school, name of village or address should be avoided at all costs and blurring or distortion used where necessary to protect identity and/or location of the child.
Images may be used which do not show a child’s full face in view or are taken from behind- particularly if they have escaped dangerous situations and for their safety do not want to be located or identified.
Care must be taken to ensure that there are no features in the background which could potentially change the meaning of a picture e.g. being taken outside a sex shop or brothel.
Images should have GPS location tags turned off.
Images of children should be kept on the Toybox server and not on any personal devices or an individual’s C Drive.
Images and videos provided by partners must be cross checked against this criterion before being shared externally and those which don’t meet the criteria should be deleted
3.3.2 Child Participation in online activities and communication (including WhatsApp, zoom etc)
Children and young people in Toybox supported programmes are spending more time online including the use of social media platforms and smart phones, both in their personal lives and in connecting with partner staff. This was particularly the case during the Covid 19 pandemic. Preventive action is required to ensure that:
they are not able to contact or be contacted directly by Toybox staff, supporters or others connected to the organisation;
their location, phone number or social media details cannot be identified through Toybox actions;
every precaution is made to prevent them being put at risk of grooming, cyber bullying, sexual exploitation, harassment, accessing pornography or other forms of abuse related to their engagement with Toybox and partners.
Toybox staff, volunteers, Trustees, and consultants should not connect with beneficiaries on social media, even if a request comes from them.
Messages, information and advice on navigating the digital world should be delivered to children in a manner (and via channels) that most resonate with them. Children and caregivers should also be informed about how to seek out help and support if they access material or asked to do anything which makes them uncomfortable.
3.4 Reporting Concerns and Near Misses
All Toybox consultants, employees, trustees and volunteers must act immediately and report suspicions, however uncertain, to either the CEO or Director of Impact and Programmes using Safeguarding reporting templates. It is not for the reporter to ascertain whether or not there is any truth in the allegations but to report facts or suspicions to be investigated by appropriate specially trained personnel or authorities. The email address - [email protected] will track Safeguarding reports.
Toybox will use the reporting flowchart as given by Keeping Children Safe. All partners will be required to develop their own reporting process as well as a reporting flowchart based on the context and the designated person identified.
If the concern involves both the CEO and the Director of Impact and Programmes, then the reporting of these concerns should be to the Chair of Trustees, whose contact details are [email protected].
The CEO, Director of Impact and Programmes or Chair of Trustees may then seek guidance on further action from local social services and the police. If concerns are highlighted about the Chair of the Board please approach the CEO.
For people in the project communities that want to raise an incident, contact information will be made available as to how a concern can be raised. This will include two contacts in the partner as well as the Toybox Safeguarding e-mail address for Toybox supported projects. The partner will decide the best way for the contact details to be made available to the community. This could be done via a user-friendly methods i.e. a clear and engaging poster or leaflet.
3.4.1 Toybox Reporting Principles
Toybox will receive and manage safeguarding reports according to the following principles (BOND 2020)
- Victim/Survivor Centred: The wellbeing and wishes of victims and survivors will be put at the centre of all actions taken
- Accessible: Toybox recognises power differentials influences reporting (including gender/age/ethnicity/disability/literacy) and that reporting systems should be developed in consultation with communities to include multiple, user friendly reporting methods (such as face to face, anonymous / designated telephone number/hotline, through peer or community leaders etc). Communication should be done regularly on rights related to safeguarding and how to report incidents.
- Do No Harm: Reporting safeguarding incidents should not result in any additional harm to victims, witnesses or those making the report
- Flexible: Reporting systems and processes should be adjusted over time based on learning and for continuous improvement
Impartial and Just: Actions must be carried out in ways that are objective, do not reinforce prejudice and all parties are treated with dignity
All incidents and concerns must be reported using the Toybox Critical Incident Report Form, saving these in a protected electronic folder and in a locked filing cabinet for hard copies. The CEO has the responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of all records.
3.4.2 Making a Report
All incidents and concerns must be reported using the Toybox Critical Incident Report Form (See Annex 3) as soon as possible while fresh in the reportee’s mind, including the date and time of the conversation and any incident disclosed. These should be saved in a protected electronic folder and in a locked filing cabinet for hard copies.
If a child is reporting a case, Toybox and its partner will ensure that the child has an adult they trust with them when giving information about the incident. Adults do not legally require this but Toybox encourages that this approach is also applied to adults, especially to young people.
Any person sharing information in confidence should be told that it may need to be shared with relevant people and agencies and that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed (see below on responding to concerns).
Partners should report safeguarding incidents or near misses every quarter to Toybox as part of their regular reporting
Toybox and its partners will be sensitive when receiving reports from children and young people and will strive not to re-traumatise them in the handling of the complaint.
The Toybox Director of Impact and Programmes or the CEO will ensure reporting of incidents to the Charities Commission within the designated time frame.
The CEO has the responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of all records.
3.4.3 Near Misses
Even if the Code of Conduct is followed, situations can arise that are beyond the individual’s control, (for example a staff member suddenly finding that they are alone with a child unintentionally) and they are in breach of the Code of Conduct. In this case, they should try to change or remove themselves from the situation. These incidents are counted as ‘near misses’ and should be reported as such. Near misses could also be characterised by a child’s picture, location or contact details being shared accidently but being deleted before they were viewed by anyone else- or a child attempting to kiss a staff member. The reporting is not to penalise the individual but to protect them by showing that they were aware and took action. It also allows Toybox to have a record of the event if later a complaint is made by a child or young people, and to understand any gaps or weaknesses which enabled the near miss to occur which could potentially be prevented in future.
3.5 Investigation
Whereas it is the responsibility of every staff member, trustee, volunteer to help prevent Safeguarding incidents and to report them, investigations of Safeguarding allegations is a very delicate matter and should only be undertaken by those trained and designated to do so. In the UK, particularly for significant incidents, referral will be undertaken to the relevant agencies and/or authorities where independence is required to support decision making. The Toybox staff member for investigations is the Director of Impact and Programmes. At country level, the designated Safeguarding lead will be responsible for investigations although rather than undertaking them directly, this may be done in conjunction with expert organisations in the country and/or local authorities if they do not have the required training and expertise. The Director of Impact and Programmes will support investigations overseas as required.
While investigations are taking place to complete the gathering of facts related to an allegation, it may be necessary to temporarily suspend the accused if they are a trustee, volunteer or member of staff. Suspension does not mean that the allegations are true or perceived to be true, but the action is to prevent possible interference with the investigation or influence over the accuser. NB Investigations are not required for near misses.
Toybox will follow steps in investigations based on the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) Investigations Manual 2022 and ensure budget is kept adise in order to commission an investigation if required.
3.6 Responding to Reported Concerns
Toybox acknowledges the guiding principle that the best interest of the child, young person (or vulnerable adult) should always govern decisions regarding what action should be taken in response to concerns.
If an allegation of abuse is made from a verifiable source, concerning a named member of staff, trustee, volunteer or consultant, they may be suspended from all activity/association with Toybox pending the outcome of an independent investigation.
Depending on the outcome of this independent investigation, Toybox will take any further action which may be required. This may include further safeguarding capacity building, disciplinary action, dismissal and/or the ending of a partner relationship with Toybox.
The decision of a case will be communicated to the person whom the allegation concerns and then to the person who reported the matter.
Toybox will provide supervision and support to contractors, employees, trustees, and/or volunteers during and following an incident or allegation and ensure budget is available for victim support. Partners will be encouraged to do the same.
Contact details for child protection services, local social services department, police, emergency medical help and helplines (e.g. NSPCC) in the UK are readily available and easily accessible to organisation representatives. Partners are expected to have conducted mapping of relevant referral services in advance so that individuals can get necessary, timely support when needed.
3.7 Learning
Learning is an integral part of the Safeguarding cycle. Toybox will continually monitor and learn from Safeguarding incidents arising and our responses to them through mechanisms such as 1:1s, Staff Quarterly Reviews meetings, partnership reviews and Leadership Team meetings.
Changes to Safeguarding and related policies and processes (such as recruitment and travel) will be made as required based on learning from Safeguarding incidents, near misses and new evidence in the sector, in conjunction with the Leadership and Board of Trustees.
Implementation of the policy by Toybox and partners will be regularly monitored in order to make improvements as required. Toybox ensures Safeguarding is a standing order at regular Leadership Team meetings and is included in the Organisational KPIs (reviewed quarterly in Board meetings). A monitoring plan will be developed for both Toybox and its partners and these two plans will be regularly updated. Any gaps seen in the monitoring plan from partners will be used to develop actions in the capacity building plans with each partner
For significant incidents, Toybox will bring in an external person (i.e. representative from the local council) to the investigation and decision-making on the case, so ensuring objectivity.
Toybox will continually monitor and learn from our responses to and reporting of safeguarding concerns through mechanisms such as 1:1s, quarterly reviews, partnership reviews and case study reports.
[1] Text taken from The Consortium for Street Children, Child Protection Policy (2010).
[2] http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/youth/youth-definition/
[3] As set out in Keeping Children Safe Tool 2 (2006).