Isle of Man Photography Club
Isle of Man Photographic Society
Safeguarding Policy for Children and Adults at risk
1.0 Aims
1.1 The IOM Photography Club recognises that in its activities it has a responsibility towards others, especially any minor or adults at risk, to prevent any form of abuse. The aim of the Policy is:
1.2 To assist members by setting out their responsibilities to safeguard minors and adults at risk.
1.3 To provide guidance to members on adopting behaviours to protect minors, adults at risk and themselves under different circumstances that might arise in the Club.
1.4 To have a process in place for reporting allegations or suspicions of abuse
2.0 The Club
2.1 The IOM Photography Club exists to encourage members to practice, discuss, and enjoy their photography, and to improve their skills. The Club aims to be as inclusive as possible to all members of the community, including members who are under the age of 18 or who are adults at risk.
2.2 The IOM Photography Club values all members, but recognises its particular responsibility to individual members who are minors or adults at risk. All members, especially minors and adults at risk, must be treated with respect and dignity, recognising any unique personal needs.
2.3 For the purposes of this Protection Policy, the term minor is used to mean any Club member or visitor under the age of 18.
2.4 Adherence to the Policy is a condition of all grades of membership of the Club – A member’s attention is drawn to the Policy on the joining form, along with other Club policies and rules. In the case of minors, their parent or guardian must countersign the form as acceptance of the Policy. The Policy is available to consult on the Club website and all new members are given a copy in their welcome pack.
2.5 This Policy will be reviewed once a year by the Club committee and will be made available to members at the AGM and on the Club website.
3.0 Club Activities with Safeguarding Guidelines for each:-
3.1 Presentations, competitions and social evenings open to all members held in a large meeting room. These meetings are the main Club activities.
3.2 Meetings are low risk environments for minors or adults at risk. Members take responsibility for welcoming members and taking account of any special personal needs of members - for example, the siting of wheelchairs.
3.3 Occasional outings for which members arrange their own transport. These involve small numbers meeting, usually in public places.
3.4 Occasional workshops, sometimes at other Clubs, in which members work in small group. Members are advised not to offer lifts to minors unless accompanied or authorised by a parent or guardian. Members should not work on their own with a minor or adults at risk. They should make sure they can be observed by others, and preferably that the parent, guardian or carer is present.
3.5 Photography of community events such as drama productions, races etc. Members of the Club are sometimes invited by organisers of such events to take photographs. The Club encourages individual members to respond to such invitations as it supports the community and gives members wider photographic experiences. Community events may include ones in which minors or adults at risk are taking part.
3.6 If members are photographing these events by invitation then it is the responsibility of the inviting organisation to get permission for the photography from parents, guardians or carers if required. Asking permission from all parents, guardians or carers may not be possible and it is sufficient to have notices at the event that photography has been arranged. These could give a contact point for people who do not want photographs taken at the event. The member dealing with the initial request should ask the organisers to ensure that such arrangements are in place. This should be done such that the request and reply are on record, for example by e-mail.
3.7 Mentoring requested by members who need help with aspects of their photography. Responding to this might involve visits to private homes. Informal mentoring is important to the Club so that more experienced members can pass on expertise to others if requested.
3.8 Mentoring of minors or adults at risk is only allowed with the explicit agreement of their parent, guardian or carer, and should take place only if another adult, preferably the parent, guardian or carer, is present.
3.9 Internet discussion groups and photo-sharing. The Club has an Instagram site and a Facebook page, both of which members can elect to join. On both of these sites site members can post their pictures and also make comments or discuss with others. Both of these forums have only one manager who control access and can remove material, should anything that was unacceptable be posted. Members are required to treat others with respect and politeness in their comments, even if their opinions differ.
4.0 Disclosure
4.1 If a minor or adults at risk were to disclose abuse to a Club member in the course of Club events or activities, then the Club member should take such a disclosure seriously.
4.2 A form for recording their actions is provided as further guidance attached to this policy.
4.3 If a member has any safeguarding concerns then they should contact the designated Safeguarding Officer, who is the Secretary of the Club. If the Secretary is not available then the President or Vice- President should be contacted.
5.0 Photography and Media Protection Policy:
5.1 The business of the Club is to encourage photography and to help its members improve their skills. However, issues can arise from the photography of minors or adults at risk.
5.2 No photographs may be taken of minors or adults at risk who are undressed or inappropriately clothed for the activity-taking place.
5.3 If a minor or adults at risk is a member of IOM Photography Club, then written permission must be gained from their parent/guardian or carer if photographs of them as the subject or model are to be taken.
5.4 Separate written permission has to be sought if such photographs of a minor or adults at risk as the subject are to be published in any form, for example on the website, on social media, e-mailed to others, or used in competition.
5.5 However, if a minor or adults at risk were to appear peripherally in photographs taken as part of a Club activity then permission would be held to have been given when the parent, guardian or carer countersigns the form on joining the Club.
5.6 No personal details of a member of the Club such as their address or telephone number, must be revealed without permission. In the case of a minor or adults at risk, this permission should be given by the parent, guardian or carer. Committee members need details such as the Club membership list, and permission for these to be shared as necessary with any member of the committee is held to have been given when signing the admission form.
5.7 When taking photographs or video recordings at an event that involves minors or adults at risk, it is good practice to ask the permission of the organisers or persons in charge and for the photographer be able to identify themselves if requested during the course of the event.
5.8 It is noted that there are no legal restrictions on photographing people in public places, and it often may not be practicable to ask permission.
5.9 If Club members have been invited to photograph an event, Club policy is set out in Section 3.6.
5.10 Mobile and on-line communication - There are many ways for people to communicate.
It is recommended that Club members should not communicate with a minor or adults at risk by text or on-line, unless in a general communication to all members, or to avoid immediate risk to the minor or adults at risk. When using phone or e-mail they should communicate with the Parent, Guardian or carer, rather than having direct contact with the minor or adults at risk.
Additional Information & Guidance
Definition of “Adults at Risk”
Adults at risk is a person aged 18 or over who “is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation”.
Some people are always vulnerable, such as those mentioned above who are in need of community care services, but any person may be vulnerable at times. This Policy could therefore be relevant to the treatment of any Club member.
Child abuse and the appropriate response to disclosure of abuse by a minor to a member of the Club in the context of Club activities:
Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018).
The Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 guidance published by the Government defines four categories of abuse as follows.
Physical Abuse
This may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child.
Emotional Abuse
This is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless, unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill- treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, causing children to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
Sexual Abuse
This type of abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.
Examples of physical contact include penetrative acts (rape, buggery or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts kissing, fondling, masturbation. It may include non-contact activities involving children in looking at or be involved in sexual online images and or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
Neglect
This is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment to the child’s health and development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or care failing to:
Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers)
Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
Procedure in the event of a Disclosure
It is important that children are protected from abuse. All complaints, allegations or suspicions must be taken seriously.
This procedure must be followed whenever an allegation is made that a child has been abused or when there is a suspicion that a child has been abused.
Promises of confidentiality must not be given as this may conflict with the need to ensure the safety and welfare of the child.
If the complainant is the child, questions must be kept to the minimum necessary to understand what is being alleged and leading questions must be avoided. The use of leading questions can cause problems for the subsequent investigation and any court proceedings.
A full record shall be made as soon as possible of the nature of the allegation and any other relevant information.
This must include information in relation to the date, the time, the place where the alleged abuse happened, your name and the names of others present. The name of the complainant and, where different, the name of the child who has allegedly been abused, the nature of the alleged abuse, a description of any injuries observed, the account which has been given of the allegation.
Responding to an Allegation
Any suspicion, allegation or incident of abuse must be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer: if you suspect the child to be at imminent risk of harm, the police should be contacted.
Sue Blythe – secretaryiomps@gmail.com
Alternatively, if they are unavailable to the President or Vice-President.
Responding Appropriately to a Child Making an Allegation of Abuse
- Listen to the child.
- Stay calm.
- Responsibility for making enquiries and investigating allegations rests with children’s social services along with other relevant agencies.
- Listen carefully to what is said.
- Find an appropriate early opportunity to explain that it is likely that the information will need to be shared with others – do not promise to keep secrets.
- Tell the child that the matter will only be disclosed to those who need to know about it.
- If the child can understand the significance and consequences of making a referral to social services, she/he must be asked his or her view.
- Regardless of the child’s view, it remains the responsibility of the member to take whatever action is required to ensure the safety of that child.
- Allow the child to continue at her/his own pace.
- Ask questions for clarification only, and at all times avoid asking questions that suggest a particular answer.
- Reassure the child that they have done the right thing in telling you.
- Tell them what you will do next, and with whom the information will be shared.
- Record in writing what was said, using the child’s own words as soon as possible – note the date, time, any names mentioned, to whom the information was given and ensure that the record is signed and dated. Also, record what the member said.
- There is a form that can be used to record any allegation provided in this document.
It is important to remember that the person who first encounters a case of alleged abuse is not responsible for deciding whether abuse has occurred. That is a task for the professional child protection agencies, following a referral from the designated child protection officer.
Abuse of a child may be suspected by a member of the Club in the context of contact through the Club, without disclosure from the child. If this were to occur then such suspicions and the evidence for these should be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer. The Designated Officer should then refer this to Manx Care – Social Care 686179.
The Role of Key Individual Agencies
Manx Care - Social Care Services
The Children and Young Persons Act 2001 gives Local Authority Social Services the primary responsibility for the care and protection of abused children and children at risk of abuse. It is their statutory duty to ensure that there is an investigation in cases of suspected abuse or significant harm, to take action to protect the child and to promote the welfare of the child.
Social Care Services also convene Child Protection conferences and manage the children who are subject to a child protection plan.
Contact details for concerns about an adult are as follows:
(01624) 685969 during office hours.
(01624) 650000 (Nobles Switchboard) out of office hours and ask to speak to the on-call social worker
Alternatively, you can email to ASTeam@gov.im This email address is monitored by the Adult Safeguarding Team in Manx Care during office hours.
Contact details for concerns about children are as follows:
(01624) 686179 (Initial Response Team, Manx Care) during office hours
(01624) 631212 (Isle of Man Police Headquarters) out of office hours and ask to speak to the on-call social worker.
In an emergency always, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, you can email: dutyinitialresponseteam.dhsc@gov.im This email address is monitored by Children and Families Division
(Social Care) during office hours only.
Further information is available by following the links below.
https://www.gov.im/categories/caring-and-support/safeguarding/
https://www.safeguardingboard.im/
REFERENCES, INTERNET LINKS AND FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Isle of Man Safeguarding Board
https://www.safeguardingboard.im/
Contacts
Isle of Man Initial Response Team 01624 686179
Child Line 0800 1111
NSPCC 0808 800 5000
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy Form
Initial cause for concern form, which must be taken to the Club Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible, preferably within 24 – 48 hrs. The Safeguarding Officer must then pass on any serious cause for concern to Manx Care, Social Services within the same time scale.
Date Time
Name of individual cause for concern is about ………………… Age (if known)
Address (if known)
Describe your concern and action taken.
Observations to support cause for concern.
Description and location of any visible marks, bruising etc.
Name of alleged abuser, relationship with child (if known).
Name of person completing form: Signature: Date:
Name of Club Safeguarding Officer Signature: Date:
Name of Social Services Officer Signature: Date: