Safeguarding & Equality

Safeguarding & Equality at RJ4All


Safeguarding Policy & Declaration

Given the work that we do which by default involves children, young people, and vulnerable adults, we take safeguarding extremely seriously. Therefore, we have introduced a number of measures to ensure that all services are not only compliant but also follow best practices. Safeguarding is overseen by the RJ4All Director, and monitored on a regular basis by the RJ4All Board. It is recorded on our Risk Register and any changes in legislation or the operating environment are immediately included in our mitigation measures.


The Director and senior management is responsible for ensuring that RJ4All Safeguarding Policy is implemented at all times. As per this Policy, reviews must take place every 3 months and appropriate staff training will need to be provided on a regular basis. We also work with external experts to review our practices on a regular basis. For example, we recently hired experts from (a) What Works for Children's Social Care (b) Kings College London to review our existing policies and practices, and create training material that we now use alongside the Safeguarding Policy, which:

 

  • applies to all adults including the Board, volunteers, paid staff, agency staff, and anyone working on behalf of The Institute;
  • recognises that the welfare and interests of children and young people are paramount in all circumstances; and
  • aims to ensure that all children and young people have a positive and enjoyable experience in a safe and child-centred environment and are protected from abuse whilst participating in our activities and otherwise.

 

RJ4All is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practices.  The RJ4All Safeguarding Policy aims to help the organisation identify and respond to concerns regarding the safeguarding and protection of children, young people, with a specific section on the protection of vulnerable adults. The policy, with its associated procedures, represents the RJ4All code of conduct and provides guidance for all staff who may come across concerns of this nature within the context of their work for RJ4All. The policy applies in all circumstances where adults acting on behalf of RJ4All are involved in any activity, which brings them in contact with any young person or vulnerable adult, as well as stating our policies to ensure the suitability of adults across the organisation.


This policy applies to all activities of RJ4All where children and young people under 18 years of age as well as vulnerable individuals are present, and to all working in such activities, whether as an employee, volunteer, management representative, or otherwise. The policy is governed under UK law, and specifically The Children Act 2004 and The Children Act 1989. Furthermore, RJ4All works within the legal framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, The Equality Act 2010 and the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015.


The RJ4All Safeguarding Policy is implemented in conjunction with the RJ4All Safeguarding Declaration and following the RJ4All mandatory training on safeguarding. We also offer to all our staff our CPD Certified ecourse “Safeguarding children advanced Level 2”.


RJ4All has a Designed Safeguarding Officer who has been trained in order to deal with any safeguarding issues that might arise. We follow best practices such as the one provided by the UK Safe Network and the UK government Department of Education.

DBS checks

All of our staff, board members, and volunteers undergo DBS checks as part of our policy.

Behaviour  Policy

RJ4All's Behaviour Policy is designed to foster a healthy, inclusive community environment where individuals and their property are valued and respected. This policy emphasises the importance of treating others courteously, working together to solve differences, and considering the needs of others. Unacceptable behaviors, such as bullying, harassment and violence, are identified and measures are outlined to address them, including moderation, reporting to authorities if necessary, and potential sanctions such as temporary or permanent bans from the center. Restorative Justice practitioners may also be involved in extreme cases to ensure the safety and well-being of the community.

GDPR & Data Protection Policy

We process personal data and sensitive personal data (also known as ‘special categories’ of personal data’) relating to our team members and service users in accordance with the RJ4All Data Protection Policy as well as in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation including the EU GDPR.


With the assistance of data protection experts at Data Protection Officer (DPO), we have conducted a comprehensive audit of our data protection processes to enhance our compliance with GDPR. As a result, we have updated our privacy policies and procedures, strengthened our cybersecurity systems, and developed mandatory GDPR training for all members of staff. Please view our detailed policy here.

Equality at RJ4All

RJ4All was founded upon the restorative justice principles of power sharing, equality, involvement in decision-making, dignity and respect. Everything we do is guided by these principles and all our project ideas are driven and quality controlled by our users.


We take matters of equality and diversity extremely seriously whether these relate to our project and service delivery, recruitment and training. We have an Equality & Diversity Policy, which covers all RJ4ALL’ employees, volunteers, interns, Board members and users irrespective of their status, level or grade.


RJ4ALL is an equal opportunities organisation committed to actively preventing all forms of discrimination and promoting equality, diversity and mutual respect in its policies, practices and procedures and in those areas in which it has a material degree of influence. This applies to RJ4ALL’ relationships with its employees and other workers and in its business dealings with its service users. RJ4ALL aims to create a working environment in which all individuals who work for RJ4ALL are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit.


RJ4ALL aims to treat everyone with the same attention, courtesy and respect and not to discriminate or harass unlawfully because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy, maternity, race, racial group, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, trade union membership or part-time or fixed-term status (“Prohibited Grounds”).


Reasonable adjustments are made where necessary and appropriate in the case of employees who are disabled. 

Services and service users

RJ4ALL is committed to countering disadvantages and treating all users and prospective users equally. Practical measures are taken to enable representatives and members of local organisations to attend RJ4ALL events and participate, if sufficient notice is given and funds are available.  Services will be publicised in a variety of ways and places.  Publicity materials will be, as far as possible, clear, simple and widely accessible.


In addition, where necessary and where it is permitted by the Anti-Discrimination Legislation (for example, provisions relating to positive action or exemptions), RJ4ALL will seek to provide services which meet the specific needs and requests arising from service users’ particular circumstances or characteristics in terms of age, ethnic or cultural background, gender, responsibilities as carers, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or other relevant factors.

 

The Executive Director, under the guidance of the Board, reviews and monitor the overall balance of services, and seek to ensure that these meet the changing needs of, and opportunities available to, the people and organisations RJ4ALL serves.  All employees are responsible for planning and monitoring the services for which they are responsible to ensure that these are responsive to users’ needs and not discriminatory, and must report any areas where action or further funding is required to the Executive Director

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