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Safeguarding Policy

Last reviewed February 2025

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This Policy applies to all staff, including Psychologists, Directors, Associates, Practice Manager/Administration Support, volunteers or anyone working on behalf of The Lotus Psychology Practice. For the rest of this policy, this group will be referred to as ‘staff’.

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The purpose of this policy:

  • This policy sets out The Lotus Psychology Practice’s commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who access our services and the children of adults accessing our services.

  • To provide staff with the over-arching  legal framework and principles that guide our approach to safeguarding and child protection.

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Legislation and statutory guidance:
This policy is based on the law and guidance that seeks to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults, including:

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This policy should be read alongside our other policies and procedures on confidentiality, privacy, and complaints. We follow the same Code of Conduct as the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK (ACP-UK).

 

Definition of Safeguarding:

Safeguarding means protecting a citizen’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. It is an integral part of providing high-quality health care.

 

Definition of Child Protection:

The activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suspected to be suffering, or likely to suffer from significant harm. This includes harm that occurs inside or outside the home, including online.

 

Those most in need of protection include:

  • Children and young people

  • Adults at risk, such as those receiving care in their own home, people with physical, sensory and mental impairments, and those with learning disabilities.

 

Safeguarding children, young people and adults is a collective responsibility. At The Lotus Psychology Practice, we are committed to safeguarding and believe that a child, young person or vulnerable adult should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to protect the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults and to keep them safe. We are committed to practice in a way that protects them.

 

What is abuse and neglect?
Abuse is the violation of an individual’s human rights. It can be a single act or repeated acts. It can be physical, emotional, or sexual and also includes acts of neglect or an failing to act to prevent harm. In all forms of abuse there are elements of emotional abuse. Vulnerable adults may also suffer additional types of abuse such as financial abuse or discrimination. Appendix A explains the different types of abuse.

 

Roles and responsibilities

At The Lotus Psychology Practice, we recognise that:

  • Safeguarding and child protection is everyone’s responsibility.

  • All children and vulnerable adults, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, racial heritage, ethnicity, religious belief, sexuality or identity, have a right to equal protection from all types of harm and abuse.

  • The welfare of the child or vulnerable adult is paramount.

  • Some children and adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs, developmental or learning difficulties or other issues.

  • Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers, vulnerable adults and other agencies is essential in promoting a person’s welfare.

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We seek to keep children and vulnerable adults safe by:

  • Adopting child protection and safe-guarding practices through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers. Where concerns relating to safeguarding or child protection arise, all staff and associates will follow the guidance of governing bodies, such as the BPS and ACP-UK, including involving relevant professionals and agencies.

  • Ensuring a written policy on The Lotus Psychology Practice’s commitment to safeguard children, young people and adults, which is reviewed annually.

  • Following procedures for the recruitment of staff, associates and volunteers carefully, ensuring all necessary checks are made.

  • Recording and storing information professionally and securely (please see privacy policy).

  • Implementing clear procedures for raising awareness of and responding to abuse within the organisation and for reporting concerns to statutory agencies who need to know and involve children, their parents and adults at risk and their carers appropriately.

  • Ensuring staff and volunteers are aware of their professional liability relating to supervision, training and quality assurance measures within the guidelines of their governing body.

  • Sharing information about safeguarding and our policy with children, vulnerable adults, their families, staff and volunteers.

  • Using our safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, vulnerable adults, parents and families and carers appropriately.

  • Promoting full participation of those who access or work within our service and having clear procedures for dealing with concerns and complaints.

  • Ensuring the safe and appropriate use of cameras, mobile phones, technology and online equipment.

  • Ensuring general safety and risk management procedures are adhered to, in line with the law and regulatory guidance.

 

Contact details for Safeguarding Officer:

Dr Morvwen Duncan, Director & Lead Clinical Psychologist.

admin@thelotuspsychologypractice.co.uk

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Policy reviewed by Dr Morvwen Duncan, Director on 10th February 2025.

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ChildLine: 0800 1111  

NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000

If you are in crisis or unsafe visit A&E – call 999 if you need an ambulance.

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Appendix A:

Types of abuse

 

Physical abuse as any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person through bodily contact. It is a deliberate act of force that results in harm, injury, or trauma to the victim’s body. It may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, burning or suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

 

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It involves the regular and deliberate use of a range of words and non-physical actions used with the purpose to manipulate, hurt or scare a person mentally and emotionally. It may include conveying to a child that they are worthless, inadequate, unloved or silencing, ‘making fun of’, bullying or ‘gaslighting’. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.

 

Sexual abuse involves a person being made to take part in sexual activity when they do not, or cannot, give consent. It may not involve physical contact and can also take place online. It can include sexual touching and all penetrative sex, but also things like indecent exposure and sexual harassment.

 

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. This may include failure to provide adequate food, clothing, medical treatment shelter or to failure to protect a child from physical or emotional harm or provide appropriate supervision. This can include self-neglect.

 

Financial abuse includes theft, fraud, internet scamming or coercion in relation to financial affairs.

 

Discriminatory abuse includes forms of harassment due to race, gender, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.

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Domestic violence includes psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional abuse and ‘honour based violence’.

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