Norwich Deaf Youth Club (NDYC) believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people, by a commitment to practice which protects them.

If you have any concerns about the welfare/safety of any of our members, or about our Leader Team, please tell us so we can put it right. Alternatively, if you think it is more appropriate, you can contact NSPCC or ChildLine for help and advice. Their contact details can be found online or in the Yellow Pages.

We recognise that:

• the welfare of the child/young person is paramount
• all children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
• working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

The purpose of the policy is:

•  to provide protection for the children and young people who receive NDYC’s services
•  to provide staff and volunteers with guidance on procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or be at risk of, harm.

This policy applies to all members of the Management Committee, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff or anyone working on behalf of NDYC.

We will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

• valuing them, listening to and respecting them
• adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for members of the Leader Team and any other regular volunteers
• ensuring all necessary checks are made on members of the Leader Team
• sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
• sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
• providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.

We are also committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually at our AGM.

All of our Leader Team agree to and sign a Code of Conduct which outlines what is expected of them. You can view a copy of this in our Downloads Page.