Our commitment and scope

London Adventure Club puts children’s welfare first in holiday sessions, after-school care, handovers, outings and online contact connected with the club. This policy applies to directors, employees, volunteers, placements, contractors and visiting providers. We listen to children and take concerns seriously, including concerns about someone senior in the organisation.

The club will not open a session without a named safeguarding lead or trained deputy available, a clearly identified person in charge, suitable staffing and functioning referral arrangements. The lead ensures staff understand this policy, receive appropriate training and know how to act when the lead is absent.

Recognising and responding to concerns

Staff must act on concerns about physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, grooming, child-on-child abuse, discriminatory harm, domestic abuse affecting children, online harm or radicalisation. A disclosure is not required before action can be taken. Changes in behaviour or attendance must be considered in context, without assumptions based on identity or family circumstances.

If a child tells us something worrying, we listen calmly, avoid leading questions and explain that we may need to tell someone who can help. We do not promise secrecy, confront a suspected perpetrator or investigate the allegation ourselves. Staff record the child’s words, relevant observations, date, time and action taken, distinguishing fact from opinion. The record goes securely to the safeguarding lead without delay.

The lead assesses the concern promptly, seeks advice or makes a referral to children’s social care and contacts police where appropriate. Immediate danger or urgent medical need: call 999 first. Staff may refer directly if the lead is unavailable, implicated, or has not acted appropriately. Management approval is never a condition of making an urgent referral.

We usually involve parents, but will seek safeguarding advice before informing them where doing so may increase danger, prejudice an investigation or cause harmful delay. Necessary safeguarding information may be shared without consent where a lawful basis permits it. Decisions and reasons are recorded. We follow up referrals, record agency responses and escalate unresolved safety concerns.

Concerns about adults

Report adult conduct concerns to the lead immediately. If the concern involves the lead or director, use [INDEPENDENT_CONTACT] or contact the relevant local authority designated officer directly. Concerns meeting the allegation threshold are referred promptly to the LADO, normally within one working day, and immediately where urgent; police and social care referrals must not wait. Follow agency advice before interviewing people or starting an internal investigation. Record lower-level conduct concerns too and review patterns. See policy 18.

Protecting children during activities

We plan supervision around the children, venue, journey and activity. Children can decline an activity and speak privately, within safe and observable arrangements, to a trusted adult. No child is punished for raising a concern. Toileting, personal care and disability support are agreed sensitively, maintaining dignity and appropriate boundaries. Children are not left alone with unchecked visitors or contractors.

Reporting contacts

Club safeguarding lead: [DSL NAME, TELEPHONE AND EMAIL]. Deputy: [DEPUTY DETAILS].

Immediate danger: 999. A safeguarding email inbox is not an emergency service.

Westminster Access to Children’s Services: 020 7641 4000, weekdays 9am to 5pm; Emergency Duty Team: 020 7641 2388 outside those hours. Referral information: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/children-and-families/childrens-social-care

Westminster LADO: 020 7361 2120; LADO@westminster.gov.uk. Use for allegations about adults working with children; it does not replace an emergency referral.

Ealing Children’s Integrated Response Service: 020 8825 8000, with emergency calls covered 24 hours; ECIRS@ealing.gov.uk. Ask for the appropriate LADO referral route for adult allegations and record the current direct contact in the staff contact sheet before opening.

For a child living elsewhere, contact the appropriate children’s social care service. An emergency must not be delayed by uncertainty about borough boundaries.

The lead checks these public contacts before opening and at each review. Staff have an offline contact sheet on outings. Safeguarding records are restricted, stored separately from routine booking records and retained under policy 20. The lead reviews incidents and training needs without revealing children’s identities unnecessarily.