Policies

Service users can expect the same high quality service from Next Chapter regardless of the service they access or the length of time for which they access the service.

Next Chapter is committed to delivering a service to victims of domestic abuse, which is needs-led and builds upon the individual strengths of the service users and promotes their independence.

Next Chapter welcomes all feedback about our services, it helps us to change and improve on what we do.

We welcome feedback from women and children who use our services and from other organisations with whom we work.

Compliments are a way of telling us that people like what we do, they help to motivate our staff and tell us that what we are doing is helpful.

Comments are useful in giving us feedback about things that we should continue doing, stop doing or change. We welcome constructive suggestions.

Complaints tell us if people are not happy with a service or the way we are doing things. Complaints are equally important to us, we need to know when people are unhappy with our service and we will try to put things right if they go wrong.

We will not treat anybody less favourably for making a complaint.

We will make it easy for people to make their views known to us and respond to them in a timely way.

Compliments are a way of telling us that people like what we do, they help to motivate our staff and tell us that what we are doing is helpful.

Comments are useful in giving us feedback about things that we should continue doing, stop doing or change. We welcome constructive suggestions.

Complaints tell us if people are not happy with a service or the way we are doing things. Complaints are equally important to us, we need to know when people are unhappy with our service and we will try to put things right if they go wrong.

Principles

We adhere to the following principles:

• Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility: for services to be effective each individual and organisation should play their full part.
• The welfare of the child is paramount.
• A child centred approach: for services to be effective they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of children.

 Aims of the policy & procedure

• To Safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• To enable staff and volunteers to have a clear understanding of what to do if they have concerns about a child or young person
• To explain how allegations against staff and volunteers will be dealt with

We recognise that children and their families come from a wide range of backgrounds with individual needs, beliefs and values.  They may grow up in family structures that include one or two parents of the same or different sex.  Children may have close links or live with extended families of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins; while other children may be more removed from close kin, or may live with other relatives or foster carers.

Some children come from families who experience social exclusion, severe hardship; discrimination and prejudice because of their ethnicity, disability and/or ability, the languages they speak, their religious or personal beliefs, their sexual orientation and marital status. Some individuals face discrimination linked to their gender and some women are discriminated against because of their pregnancy and maternity status.

We understand that all these factors can affect the well-being of children within these families and may adversely impact on children’s learning, attainment and life outcomes.

We are committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families using our setting.

Aims

• We have regard for the DfES Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2014).
• We ensure that our provision is inclusive to all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• We support and involve parents (and where appropriate children), actively listening to, and acting on their wishes and concerns.
• We have a clear approach to identifying, responding to and meeting the needs of children with SEND.
• We work in partnership with the local authority and other external agencies to ensure the best outcomes for children with SEND and their families.
• We monitor and review our practice and provision and, if necessary, make adjustments.

We collect personal data about you and your child to provide care and learning that is tailored to meet your child’s individual needs. We also collect information in order to verify your eligibility for free childcare as applicable.

We believe that children flourish best when their personal, social and emotional needs are met and where there are clear and developmentally appropriate expectations for their behaviour.

As children develop, they learn about boundaries, the difference between right and wrong, and to consider the views and feelings, and needs and rights, of others and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects.

The development of these skills requires adult guidance to help encourage and model appropriate behaviours and to offer intervention and support when children struggle with conflict and emotional situations. In these types of situations key staff can help identify and address triggers for the behaviour and help children reflect, regulate and manage their actions.

We aim to ensure access through open, fair and clearly communicated procedures and information and operate our admissions policy to ensure that the Children's Room is accessible to children and families from all sections of the Refuge community.

This policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of Next Chapter in working together with other professionals and agencies in promoting adults welfare and safeguarding them from abuse and neglect.

This policy is intended to support staff working within Next Chapter.  It does not replace, but is supplementary to the Southend, Essex, Thurrock (SET) Safeguarding Adults Guidelines (2015) available at www.essexsab.org.

Policies linked with this will include: whistle blowing, complaints, information sharing, safeguarding children, disciplinary and equality and diversity.

‍