Safeguarding policy

How we keep young people safe, and what we do if we are worried about someone.

Our promise: every young person who comes to our sessions has the right to be safe, to be listened to and to be treated with respect. Keeping them safe comes before everything else we do.

1. Who this policy is for

This policy covers everyone who works with Brightline Youth Support (BYS). That means Stanley and Rosemary, the founders, and anyone who helps us, paid or unpaid.

It protects the young people on our Life Skills Programme. They are care leavers aged 16 to 25. Some are children in law (under 18). Some are adults (18 and over) who may need extra care and support. We follow the right rules for each.

2. What safeguarding means

Safeguarding means protecting people from harm, abuse and neglect, and acting quickly when we are worried. Young people who have been in care can face more risks than others, so we stay alert.

Harm can take many forms. These include:

  • Physical abuse: hurting someone’s body.
  • Emotional abuse: bullying, threats, putting someone down or controlling them.
  • Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.
  • Neglect: not getting the care, food, home or help someone needs. This includes self-neglect.
  • Financial abuse: someone taking or controlling a young person’s money or benefits.
  • Criminal exploitation: being pushed into crime, such as carrying drugs (“county lines”).
  • Domestic abuse, including from a partner.
  • Modern slavery and trafficking.
  • Radicalisation: being drawn into extreme views that support violence.
  • Online abuse, such as grooming, sharing images or being blackmailed.
  • Self-harm or thoughts of suicide.

3. Our safeguarding leads

Our Safeguarding Lead is responsible for this policy and for acting on every concern.

  • Safeguarding Lead: Stanley Ebhodaghe, 079645083483 / info@brightlineyouthsupport.co.uk
  • Deputy Safeguarding Lead: Adesewa Folayan, 079600574830/ info@brightlineyouthsupport.co.uk

If one lead is not available, or the worry is about them, contact the other.

4. How we keep young people safe

  • Everyone who delivers sessions has an enhanced DBS check, with a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists. (A DBS check is a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.) We renew checks every three years.
  • Everyone who delivers sessions completes safeguarding training before they start, and a refresher every year.
  • There are always two adults at a session. We avoid being alone with a young person in a closed room. If a young person needs a quiet word, we stay in sight of others.
  • We use safe venues. We check fire exits, first aid and access before the first session.
  • We keep a register of who attends, and we have the contact details of each young person’s personal adviser, social worker or key worker.
  • We only contact young people through BYS work phones and email, or through their worker. We do not use personal phones or personal social media to contact young people.
  • We never take or share photos of young people without their written permission. See our Photos and Stories Policy.
  • We agree group rules with young people in the first session, so everyone knows how we treat each other.

5. If a young person tells you something worrying

A young person may tell you they are being harmed, or that someone else is. This is called a disclosure. Follow these steps.

  1. Stay calm and listen. Let them talk in their own words. Don’t look shocked.
  2. Reassure them. Tell them they were right to tell you, and that it is not their fault.
  3. Don’t promise to keep it secret. Explain kindly that you may need to tell someone who can help keep them safe.
  4. Don’t ask leading questions or push for details. Only ask open questions, like “Can you tell me more?”. Don’t investigate yourself.
  5. Tell them what happens next. Say who you will tell and when.
  6. Write it down as soon as you can, the same day. Use their exact words. Record the date, time, who was there, and what you saw or heard. Sign it. Stick to facts, not opinions.
  7. Tell the Safeguarding Lead the same day.

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999 straight away. Then tell the Safeguarding Lead.

6. What the Safeguarding Lead does next

  • Decides what action is needed, on the same day.
  • Tells the young person’s personal adviser, social worker or the organisation that booked the programme, in line with that organisation’s own safeguarding rules.
  • If the young person is under 18, contacts the local council’s children’s services if a child may be at risk of harm.
  • If the young person is 18 or over and may have care and support needs, contacts the local council’s adult social care team.
  • Contacts the police (101, or 999 in an emergency) if a crime may have happened.
  • Keeps a clear, private record of every concern, every decision and the reason for it.

Where possible, we tell the young person before we share their information, and we ask for their views. But we will share information without their agreement if we need to, to protect them or someone else from serious harm. UK data protection law allows this.

7. If the worry is about someone who works with us

If you are worried about how Rose, Stanley or anyone working with BYS behaves around young people, tell the other Safeguarding Lead straight away. If it involves a young person under 18, we will report it to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within one working day. The LADO is the council officer who deals with concerns about adults who work with children. We will also tell the organisation that booked the programme.

If someone is removed from working with young people because they caused harm or might cause harm, we will refer them to the Disclosure and Barring Service, as the law requires.

You can also raise a concern outside BYS, for example with the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line on 0800 028 0285. We will never treat anyone badly for raising a concern in good faith.

8. Records and privacy

We keep safeguarding records private and secure. Only the people who need to know will see them. See our Privacy Policy for how long we keep records.

9. Laws and guidance we follow

  • Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004
  • Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government, 2023)
  • Care Act 2014 (adults with care and support needs)
  • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (DBS checks and barring)
  • Children and Social Work Act 2017 (support for care leavers)
  • Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR
  • Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners (HM Government)
  • Prevent guidance (Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015)

10. Useful numbers for young people

  • Emergency services (anyone in immediate danger): 999
  • Police (non-emergency) (reporting a crime that isn’t an emergency): 101
  • NHS 111 (urgent health advice, including mental health): 111
  • Samaritans (anyone who needs to talk, day or night): 116 123
  • Shout (text support, 24 hours): Text SHOUT to 85258
  • Childline (young people under 19): 0800 1111
  • NSPCC Helpline (adults worried about a child): 0808 800 5000

11. Reviewing this policy

We review this policy every year, and straight away after any serious concern or change in the law.

Approved by: Stanley Ebhodaghe Safeguarding Lead. Last updated: 23.10.26 Next review: October 2027.