Centre Policies
We take safeguarding the young people and health & saftey within the centre very serious. We want everyone who uses the centre to know they are doing so in a safe and secure environment.
Equality and Diversity Policy
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POLICY STATEMENT
The management committee of Hazlemere Youth Centre is committed to equality and diversity. The club is open to all regardless of age, colour, disability, ethnic origin, sex, gender reassignment, HIV status, marriage and civil partnership, nationality or national origins, race, religion or beliefs, responsible for dependents, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity. The Management Committee will not tolerate attitudes and behaviour that amount to discrimination on the above grounds.
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Equality and diversity is about accepting peoples differences and creating an environment in which all can thrive and contribute. Hazlemere Youth Centre is committed to ensuring that all feel valued, that the skills and talents of individuals are recognised and fully utilised and that the environment in the club is productive and rewarding. The club is a place where there is respect for difference in culture and experience.
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All leaders will be made aware of the contents of this policy as part of the induction process. The Management Committee will be active in making sure all its policies and procedures are fair and no member is disadvantaged when participating in the club activities it provides.
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Hazlemere Youth Centre is also aware of how people can be subject to harassment on a wide variety of grounds and take many forms. Harassment is a physical, verbal or non-verbal action which is unwelcome, unwanted and offensive to the recipient and has the effect of violating their dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive atmosphere for that person. This can include embarrassing or offensive jokes, unwelcome physical contact or sexual advances, the expression of racist, homophobic views, lewd comments and innuendo and sending offensive text messages.
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The Management Committee is responsible for implementing this policy and upholding it's principles in everything it does.
PROCEDURES
We (The Management Committee) will ensure that:
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respect for other people is promoted and everyone is treated fairly
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Young people and adults are able to meet together in a positive and accepting environment where they are safe from harm, abuse, harassment and intimidation
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Young people and adults recognise and challenge prejudice and discrimination
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All leaders will have equal access to training opportunities
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All young people will have equal access to club activities and training opportunities
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This policy is applied when recruiting volunteers
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This policy is monitored to ensure that all legal requirements are met and that this policy is implemented properly and understood by all
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We take incidents, including those of harassment and bullying seriously
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Any issues of inequality, harassment or discrimination should be reported to the Club Leader and Chair of the Management Committee, who will enable the parties involved to give their version of events before considering further action
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The Club Leader will respond quickly and impartially to such issues after consulting with the Chair of the Management Committee and/or the County Association, if necessary
Quality Assurance Policy
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The Management Committee, staff and volunteers of Hazlemere Youth Centre are fully behind an extremely high standard of delivery within the work that they produce. The Management Committee are keen to endorse a high level of Quality Assurance and will work tirelessly to achieve this.
We will work alongside Buckinghamshire County Council and Action4Youth to input our data into Youth Base so that we can monitor our progress. After each session, our youth worker will hold review meetings so that we can monitor problems or things we have to change as well as look at our successes.
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Regular consultation with our membership will show us what is going well with the youth group and what is needing to be changed. We will work closely with Action4Youth and training officer to ensure that our staff and volunteers are updated and have a high understanding of Safeguarding and common practices.
Open Door Policy
This statement relates to Whistle Blowing and must be made known to all who work for or with Hazlemere Youth Centre.
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Our open door policy encourages and enables anyone employed by or volunteering with Hazlemere Youth Centre to raise serious concerns within the club rather than overlooking a problem without concern of retaliation. Employees/volunteers are often the first to realise that there is something seriously wrong and the Management Committee will treat any concerns raised confidentially and support the person raising them.
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The reporting process will be the same as for complaints and safeguarding with feedback being offered until a satisfactory conclusion is reached.
The Management Committee operates under a policy of confidentially, however, under no circumstances can any individual working with the youth club keep confidential any information that raises concerns about the safety and welfare of a young person or anyone volunteering within the youth club.
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All leaders and helpers must be aware that they have a responsibility to share information with other agencies ie Action4Youth, Buckinghamshire County Council Safeguarding Board, in order to safeguard young people in accordance with the Information Sharing Policy of the Children's Trust.
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All leaders and helpers must be aware that they cannot promise a child that they will keep secrets.