SENSE AND CONNECT SAFEGUARDING POLICY - Children, young people and adults at risk
Policy owner and DSL: Alice Hoyle, proprietor of Sense and Connect (Contact)
Effective from: August 2026
Review: At least annually, and sooner after relevant guidance, legislative or practice changes
1. Purpose and scope
Sense and Connect is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. Their welfare is paramount. Everyone has the right to participate in education, consultation and creative activity free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination and avoidable harm.
This policy applies to Alice Hoyle and to any associate, freelancer, volunteer or subcontractor engaged by Sense and Connect. It covers face-to-face and online work, including professional training, consultancy, RSE and wellbeing education, youth consultation, co-production, research and resource development.
When work takes place within a host organisation, its safeguarding and child-protection policy, Designated Safeguarding Lead and reporting procedures will be followed alongside this policy. Any project-specific safeguarding plan will identify the relevant local authority referral routes before delivery begins.
2. Understanding abuse
Abuse is a form of maltreatment in which someone harms a child or young person, or fails to act to prevent harm. It may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect and may occur in person or online. Abuse can be carried out by adults or by other children and young people.
3. Principles
4. Roles and accountability
Alice Hoyle is the proprietor and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Sense and Connect. She is responsible for maintaining this policy, assessing safeguarding risks, responding to concerns, liaising with host DSLs and statutory services, maintaining appropriate records, and checking associates' suitability before they begin work.
Because Sense and Connect is a sole-trader consultancy, an allegation or concern about Alice will not be managed by Alice herself. It must be reported directly to the host organisation's DSL or senior leader and, where relevant, the local authority designated officer (LADO), children's or adults' social care, or the police.
Associates and subcontractors must read this policy, understand project-specific arrangements, report concerns without delay, maintain professional boundaries and provide evidence of the DBS clearance and safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
5. Safer working and suitability
6. Planning safe participation
Before work involving children, young people or adults at risk, Sense and Connect will agree roles and escalation routes with the commissioner or host. Proportionate planning will cover:
7. Safe facilitation of RSE and sensitive topics
8. Responding to a concern or disclosure
If someone shares a concern, or signs of abuse, neglect, exploitation or risk are observed, the practitioner will:
Listen
9. Information sharing and records
Safeguarding information will be handled in accordance with applicable data-protection law and current government information-sharing guidance. Consent is not required to share information where doing so is necessary to protect a child or adult at risk. Only relevant information will be shared with people who need it for safeguarding purposes, and the decision and rationale will be recorded.
Safeguarding records will be access-controlled, retained only as long as required by law, contractual requirements and the purpose for which they were created, and transferred securely to the appropriate organisation or authority. Safeguarding material will not be used in publications, case studies or evaluation reports unless it has been safely anonymised and its use is lawful and ethical.
10. Online delivery and digital participation
Online sessions involving children or young people will only take place through a commissioner or host-approved platform, with an appropriate member of host staff present throughout and responsible for responding to any welfare or safeguarding concerns.
Sense and Connect will not conduct unsupervised one-to-one online sessions, use private direct messaging with young people or place a young person alone in a breakout room. Sessions will not be recorded, and identifiable screenshots will not be taken, without explicit informed permission. Young people will be told how any digital contributions will be used, and unnecessary personal identifiers will be removed from consultation data.
11. Allegations, low-level concerns and complaints
Any allegation that a practitioner or volunteer has harmed, may have harmed, or may pose a risk of harm to a child must be reported immediately through the host organisation's procedure or directly to the relevant LADO or police. Concerns about behaviour that may fall below the harm threshold will still be recorded and shared with the appropriate host senior leader or safeguarding contact. Sense and Connect will cooperate fully with any statutory, commissioner or host-setting process and will not conduct a parallel investigation that could compromise it.
Safeguarding concerns are distinct from service complaints. Complaints about delivery may be sent to Alice Hoyle, but a complaint containing a safeguarding concern will be handled under this policy and referred as necessary.
12. Adults at risk
Where work involves an adult who has care and support needs and may be unable to protect themselves from abuse or neglect because of those needs, the same principles of listening, prompt action, proportionate information sharing and secure recording apply. Immediate danger must be reported to emergency services. Other concerns will be referred through the host organisation or the relevant local authority adult safeguarding route, taking account of the adult's wishes and capacity while prioritising protection from serious harm.
13. Review and supporting guidance
This policy will be reviewed at least annually and after a safeguarding incident, significant concern, change in the work undertaken, or relevant change in legislation or statutory guidance. Project-specific procedures and local contact details will be checked at mobilisation rather than embedded permanently in this generic policy.
Practice is informed by:
Useful national reporting route: https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse
Effective from: August 2026
Review: At least annually, and sooner after relevant guidance, legislative or practice changes
1. Purpose and scope
Sense and Connect is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. Their welfare is paramount. Everyone has the right to participate in education, consultation and creative activity free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination and avoidable harm.
This policy applies to Alice Hoyle and to any associate, freelancer, volunteer or subcontractor engaged by Sense and Connect. It covers face-to-face and online work, including professional training, consultancy, RSE and wellbeing education, youth consultation, co-production, research and resource development.
When work takes place within a host organisation, its safeguarding and child-protection policy, Designated Safeguarding Lead and reporting procedures will be followed alongside this policy. Any project-specific safeguarding plan will identify the relevant local authority referral routes before delivery begins.
2. Understanding abuse
Abuse is a form of maltreatment in which someone harms a child or young person, or fails to act to prevent harm. It may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect and may occur in person or online. Abuse can be carried out by adults or by other children and young people.
3. Principles
- The welfare and safety of the child, young person or adult at risk come first.
- Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns will be acted on promptly.
- Participants will be treated with dignity, listened to and offered accessible ways to contribute.
- No participant will be required or encouraged to disclose personal experiences in order to take part.
- Information will be shared only when necessary, proportionate and lawful. Confidentiality will never be promised where someone may be at risk.
- Practice will be inclusive, trauma-aware, anti-discriminatory and alert to barriers faced by disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ and marginalised participants.
4. Roles and accountability
Alice Hoyle is the proprietor and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Sense and Connect. She is responsible for maintaining this policy, assessing safeguarding risks, responding to concerns, liaising with host DSLs and statutory services, maintaining appropriate records, and checking associates' suitability before they begin work.
Because Sense and Connect is a sole-trader consultancy, an allegation or concern about Alice will not be managed by Alice herself. It must be reported directly to the host organisation's DSL or senior leader and, where relevant, the local authority designated officer (LADO), children's or adults' social care, or the police.
Associates and subcontractors must read this policy, understand project-specific arrangements, report concerns without delay, maintain professional boundaries and provide evidence of the DBS clearance and safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
5. Safer working and suitability
- Alice holds an Enhanced DBS certificate dated 3 February 2024 and is registered with the DBS Update Service. Evidence may be provided to commissioners or host settings where legally appropriate.
- Alice holds a Certificate in Safeguarding for Staff for Independent Schools 2024-25 completed on 7 September 2024. Safeguarding knowledge will be updated in September 2026 and before undertaking work where a commissioner requires a newer cycle of training.
- Associates undertaking regulated activity must have the appropriate Enhanced DBS and barred-list check where legally required, plus current safeguarding training, before delivery.
- DBS status checks will only be undertaken with the person's consent, where Sense and Connect or the commissioning organisation is legally entitled to request the relevant check, and for the same workforce and level of check.
- A host-setting employee will normally be present during group work with children or young people. Unplanned one-to-one situations will be avoided.
- Professional communication with participants will use agreed organisational channels. Personal social-media contact, private messaging and exchange of personal contact details are not permitted.
6. Planning safe participation
Before work involving children, young people or adults at risk, Sense and Connect will agree roles and escalation routes with the commissioner or host. Proportionate planning will cover:
- the named host DSL or safeguarding contact and how to reach them during delivery;
- consent, assent, accessibility, voluntary participation and the right to pause or withdraw;
- staff presence, room layout, online access and supervision;
- how anonymous contributions, evaluation data and demographic information will be collected and stored;
- how photographs, audio, video, quotations or creative outputs may be used, with separate informed permission where needed;
- content warnings, opt-out routes and support for sensitive RSE or wellbeing themes;
- the current local safeguarding partnership and statutory referral routes.
7. Safe facilitation of RSE and sensitive topics
- Establish a clear group agreement, including respect, privacy, the right to pass and boundaries around personal disclosure.
- Use distancing techniques throughout, framing questions through fictional scenarios, case studies, anonymous examples and third-person discussion so that participants are never asked or expected to disclose personal sexual, relationship, family or traumatic experiences.
- Offer anonymous and non-verbal ways to contribute, while explaining that anonymous information cannot always be followed up individually.
- Use age-appropriate, evidence-informed and inclusive language, and challenge prejudicial or harmful comments without shaming participants.
- Signpost safe adults, host-setting support and relevant services.
- Pause or adapt an activity where distress, unsafe dynamics or disclosure risk emerges.
- Where work involves developing young people as peer champions, it will be made clear that they are not expected to manage disclosures, provide counselling or take sole responsibility for delivering sensitive content. Their role, boundaries and routes for seeking adult support will be clearly established from the outset.
8. Responding to a concern or disclosure
If someone shares a concern, or signs of abuse, neglect, exploitation or risk are observed, the practitioner will:
Listen
- Stay calm, listen carefully and take the concern seriously.
- Do not investigate, interrogate, ask leading questions or confront an alleged person causing harm.
- Reassure the person that they have done the right thing by speaking, but do not promise secrecy.
- Explain, in accessible language, what will happen next and who needs to be told.
- If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. For a non-emergency crime, contact the police on 101 where appropriate.
- In a school, college or other host setting, report immediately to its DSL or deputy using its procedure.
- Outside a host procedure, contact the relevant local authority children's social care or adult safeguarding service. Seek safeguarding advice where the threshold is unclear, but do not allow consultation to cause unsafe delay.
- If the concern relates to a professional working with children, follow the host procedure and contact the relevant LADO where appropriate.
- Escalate or refer directly if a concern is not being acted on and a child, young person or adult remains at risk.
- Make a clear factual record as soon as possible, including date, time, context, the person's own words where possible, observations, actions and people informed.
- Distinguish fact from professional judgement. Do not make audio recordings or ask the person to write an account unless directed by the safeguarding lead or statutory service.
- Store the record securely and separately from ordinary project or evaluation data.
9. Information sharing and records
Safeguarding information will be handled in accordance with applicable data-protection law and current government information-sharing guidance. Consent is not required to share information where doing so is necessary to protect a child or adult at risk. Only relevant information will be shared with people who need it for safeguarding purposes, and the decision and rationale will be recorded.
Safeguarding records will be access-controlled, retained only as long as required by law, contractual requirements and the purpose for which they were created, and transferred securely to the appropriate organisation or authority. Safeguarding material will not be used in publications, case studies or evaluation reports unless it has been safely anonymised and its use is lawful and ethical.
10. Online delivery and digital participation
Online sessions involving children or young people will only take place through a commissioner or host-approved platform, with an appropriate member of host staff present throughout and responsible for responding to any welfare or safeguarding concerns.
Sense and Connect will not conduct unsupervised one-to-one online sessions, use private direct messaging with young people or place a young person alone in a breakout room. Sessions will not be recorded, and identifiable screenshots will not be taken, without explicit informed permission. Young people will be told how any digital contributions will be used, and unnecessary personal identifiers will be removed from consultation data.
11. Allegations, low-level concerns and complaints
Any allegation that a practitioner or volunteer has harmed, may have harmed, or may pose a risk of harm to a child must be reported immediately through the host organisation's procedure or directly to the relevant LADO or police. Concerns about behaviour that may fall below the harm threshold will still be recorded and shared with the appropriate host senior leader or safeguarding contact. Sense and Connect will cooperate fully with any statutory, commissioner or host-setting process and will not conduct a parallel investigation that could compromise it.
Safeguarding concerns are distinct from service complaints. Complaints about delivery may be sent to Alice Hoyle, but a complaint containing a safeguarding concern will be handled under this policy and referred as necessary.
12. Adults at risk
Where work involves an adult who has care and support needs and may be unable to protect themselves from abuse or neglect because of those needs, the same principles of listening, prompt action, proportionate information sharing and secure recording apply. Immediate danger must be reported to emergency services. Other concerns will be referred through the host organisation or the relevant local authority adult safeguarding route, taking account of the adult's wishes and capacity while prioritising protection from serious harm.
13. Review and supporting guidance
This policy will be reviewed at least annually and after a safeguarding incident, significant concern, change in the work undertaken, or relevant change in legislation or statutory guidance. Project-specific procedures and local contact details will be checked at mobilisation rather than embedded permanently in this generic policy.
Practice is informed by:
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026;
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, effective from 1 September 2026, and the version in force at the time of delivery;
- What to do if you're worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners;
- the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, the Care Act 2014 and applicable data-protection legislation;
- current local safeguarding partnership procedures and commissioner or host-setting policies.
Useful national reporting route: https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse