Safeguarding adults and children at risk of harm

The protection of adults and children at risk of harm is a priority to the Association. We are not a statutory organisation – other agencies are responsible for the investigation and coordination of all incidents of suspected abuse or harm – the Police, Adult and Children’s Social Care and the NSPCC (for children) are the only agencies with statutory powers in England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland the statutory agencies are the Health & Social Care Trust and/or the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Both our staff and volunteers have an obligation and responsibility to protect, safeguard and promote the welfare of the adults and children/young people at risk of harm we work with.

By having strong safeguarding procedures and practice, we provide a safe place for adults and children/young people who engage with us and the services we provide. The Association recognises differences in legislation for adults and children at risk across England, Wales and Northern Ireland but adopt the equal principle that all individuals at risk should be protected from harm.

We want the public to have confidence in our work.  Ensuring safeguarding runs as a golden thread through all we do is part of building that confidence with the public, our members and our supporters.

At all times staff and volunteers must abide by the following:

• Place the safety and welfare of everyone associated with the MND Association as the highest priority
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect in line with our values
• Report any incidents or concerns that make you believe a child, young person or adult at risk is, or is likely to be, at risk of harm
• Report any incidents or concerns that make you believe that you as a staff member or volunteer is at risk
• Maintain the confidentiality of any information obtained (information may be shared on a 'need to know' basis within the Association to ensure appropriate support, or externally if there is a significant safeguarding concern).

The MND Association is committed to supporting any individual that raises a legitimate concern about the conduct of others.

Staff and volunteers must not at any time:

• Use your position to intimidate, threaten or coerce children and young people, adults at risk, volunteers or staff
• Behave or communicate with children, young people or adults at risk in ways which may be perceived to build inappropriate relationships in order to abuse or put them at risk
• Be under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal substances whilst active within an Association environment or acting in any capacity for the Association
• Engage in any physical contact that may be perceived as inappropriate. Remember that the impact of physical contact may differ from the intent
• Allow inappropriate language or behaviour to go unchallenged
• Engage in, or attempt to engage in sexual or inappropriate relationships with children, young people or adults at risk for whatever reason, including the use of suggestive conversations, comments, texting or emails
• Act in a way that promotes favouritism of an individual
• Undertake activities that are outside of the boundaries of your role as explained through the induction process and through opportunities of training and reflection
• Act in any way that may bring the Association into disrepute.

Always inform your line manager immediately if:

• You become aware of an allegation, or an allegation is raised with you. It is unacceptable to not act upon a genuine concern. This includes allegations involving you directly
• You feel someone else has misinterpreted what you have said or done
• You have had to engage in physical contact with someone
• You think you may have breached the Code of Conduct.

When we recruit staff and volunteers, we follow Safer Recruitment tools and processes – this helps us to make sure that our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with adults and children who may be at risk of harm.

We have designed our recruitment processes to deter unsuitable applicants from applying for roles with vulnerable groups.

All our staff and volunteers complete mandatory safeguarding induction training, delivered at different levels dependent on their level of responsibility and their likely direct or indirect contact with adults and/or children at risk.

Staff and volunteers also have access to appropriate guidance and support as appropriate.

We have a suite of safeguarding procedures, policies and guidance for all of our managers, staff and volunteers that ensures all concerns of abuse or neglect are dealt with appropriately and that clear, robust action is taken promptly.

This includes acknowledging that everyone who comes into contact with families affected by MND, directly or indirectly, have a role to play and as such, we are often in a unique position to be able to identify families who would benefit from an Early Help Assessment and the provision of effective Early Support services. We believe that it is better to help children in particular, as early as possible, before issues escalate and become more serious. By sharing information early on, when we spot signs of emerging problems, we can help put support in place at the time it's most likely to help.