Online Safety Agreement – COVID-19

The Zone, St Andrews Road, Huddersfield, HD1 6PT

Tel: 01484 442235

www.hgct.co.uk

Charity Number: 1117768

Introduction

Huddersfield Giants Community Trust places the safety and wellbeing of young people and staff at the forefront of all its operations and acknowledges the range of activities that contribute to creating and maintaining an environment, that promotes effective safeguarding practice.

The Safeguarding for All Policy provides for a coherent framework of practice to be in place and for all policies relating to this framework to address this priority. This Policy is in extension to The Safeguarding for All Policy, and both are reviewed each year and when changes in law, policy, guidance or best practice occur in order to ensure that it remains a key driver in the development of strategy on safeguarding.

Policy Statement

Huddersfield Giants Community Trust works with children and families as part of its activities. These include:

Play Zone and preschool activity, Post 16 Education, sports coaching, and the National Citizen’s Service.

The purpose of this policy statement is to:

• Ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is paramount when adults, young people or children are using the internet, social media or mobile devices
• Provide staff and volunteers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to online safety
• Ensure that, as an organisation, we operate in line with our values and within the law in terms of how we use online devices. The policy statement applies to all staff, volunteers, children and young people and anyone involved in HGCT’s activities.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. Summaries of the key legislation and guidance are available on:

• Online abuse learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-abuse-and-neglect/online-abuse
• Bullying learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-abuse-and-neglect/bullying
• Child protection learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system

We believe that:

• Children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
• Children should be able to use the internet for education and personal development, but safeguarding needs to be in place to ensure they are kept safe at all times.

We recognise that:

• The online world provides everyone with many opportunities; however, it can also present risks and challenges
• We have a duty to ensure that all children, young people and adults involved in our organisation are protected from potential harm online
• We have a responsibility to help keep children and young people safe online, whether or not they are using HGCT’s network and devices.
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare and in helping young people to be responsible in their approach to online safety.

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

• Appointing an online safety coordinator Katy Stockdale Senior Safeguarding Lead.
• Providing clear and specific directions to staff and volunteers on how to professionally practice online through our behavior code for adults.
• Supporting and encouraging young people using our service to use the internet, social media and mobile phones in a way that keeps them safe and shows respect for others.
• Supporting and encouraging parents and carers to do what they can to keep their children safe online
•  Developing an online safety agreement to use with young people and their parents/guardians.
• Developing clear and robust procedures to enable us to respond appropriately to any incidents of inappropriate online behavior, whether by an adult or a child/young person.
• Reviewing and updating the security of our information systems regularly.
• Ensuring that user names, logins, email accounts and passwords are used effectively.
• Ensuring personal information about the adults and children who are involved in our organisation is held securely and shared only as appropriate.
• Ensuring that images of children, young people and families are used only after their written permission has been obtained, and only for the purpose for which consent has been given.
• Providing supervision, support and training for staff and volunteers about online safety.
• Examining and risk assessing any social media platforms and new technologies before they are used within the organisation.

If online abuse occurs, we will respond to it by:

• Having clear and robust safeguarding procedures in place for responding to abuse (including online abuse)
• Providing support and training for all staff and volunteers on dealing with all forms of abuse, including bullying/cyberbullying, emotional abuse, sexting, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
• Making sure our response takes the needs of the person experiencing abuse, any bystanders and our organisation as a whole into account.
• Reviewing the plan developed to address online abuse at regular intervals, in order to ensure that any problems have been resolved in the long term. This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies and procedures, including:
  • Safeguarding for All Policy
  • Procedures for responding to concerns about a child or young person’s wellbeing
  • Dealing with allegations of abuse made against a child or young person
  • Managing allegations against staff and volunteers
  • Code of conduct for staff and volunteers
  • Anti-bullying policy and procedures
  • Photography and image sharing guidance

Types of online Practice

HGCT are encouraged to carry out social media engagement and connect with customers via mobiles phones and WhatsApp. We operate on a variety of platforms throughout our organisation targeted to each individual department and specific audiences.

• Facebook pages
• Twitter
• Instagram
• TIKTOK
• WhatsApp
• Snapchat
• LinkedIn

Procedures to safely carry out activities online

• Each representative from the organisation who deems the right to control a social media platform, will automatically create their own working profile, with limited content, professional imagery and privacy settings altered to represent a professional working account.
• All staff must ensure they are carrying out all work-related activity from there issued organisation device, and should not use personal IT equipment, in any circumstances.
• All professional, working accounts must be set up via a work email and not a personal email account.
• If staff are expected to set up their own work friendly accounts, then they must ensure personal accounts are private and names and photos are firstly appropriate and altered in reference to identity.
• Any groups created with members under the age of 18, have at least two members of staff as admin, and have access to the group at any given time.
• Any follow requests or page requests, are functioned for admins only to confirm this request before content is shared.
• As best practice when setting up closed groups or open pages on Facebook the administrator should consider keeping the privacy of other accounts secure, and also minimising the opportunity for other members to post, and make comments of negativity to reduce any form of bullying/trolling.
• At all times a member of staff should be available, to delete any content deemed inappropriate with immediate effect, and report this to Senior Safeguarding Lead Katy Stockdale.
• When carrying out own videos, or posting live footage, staff should ensure that all content is appropriate, that they are dressed suitable for a work environment and that the choice of language is appropriate for the audience.
• We do not in any circumstances follow back a customer under the age of 18, on any accounts work related such as Instagram, to avoid staff viewing inappropriate personal content.
• WhatsApp groups are operated through a work handset, 2 members of staff must be present in the group, with one being a senior representative of HGCT.
• Any individual under the age of 18, who needs to be added into any groups the company must seek the consent from a parent/guardian prior to being added.
• Any photo or GDPR related information shared on any platform, the company must have gained parental or individual consent prior to being shared.
• As best practice when operating a social media handle with followers under 18, it is advised to carry out an online safety code of conduct, and that this is shared with parents/guardians accordingly.
• And where possible, make the most of the description information to signpost all users to your code of conduct, and online safety policy.
• Please ensure before tagging any user that you have stated in your bio’s that this may be the case, and given all followers the opportunity to opt out.

In some circumstances the company may ask staff to carry out worked related activity online through the use of webinars, video calls and other virtual forms of communication.

Accessible platforms;

• My Team
• Skype
• Zoom
• Google Hangout
• Loughborough College forums and resource platforms.

HGCT will ensure;

• When working on any digital platform via video, where possible more than one member of staff is present for the call if any member is under the age of 18.
• In circumstances where this is not possible, such as dance and cheer lessons, consent must be obtained by a parent/guardian for there child to be part of the call. Within your communication, advise parents to chaperone their child/children whilst activity is taking place, and ensure parent/guardian has received enough comms from HGCT prior to activity taking place online.
• If staff are carrying out video calls online individually, then they are advised to record all sessions.
• Staff should avoid sending video links and or other content directly to a young person’s email address, where possible this needs to be sent to the parent/guardian, and if not, they have copied another member of staff in.
• Staff should ensure when sending out any virtual links for communication, they are using work emails and not personal.
• As part of customer communication to deliver virtual learning, it is advised parents and young people have received a code of conduct on safe practice online.
• All Staff, volunteers and participants must be dressed appropriately.
• Staff / volunteers engaging in sessions should do so in appropriate and professional areas i.e. not in bedrooms. Staff are advised to make use of the customised HGCT background display, to reduce personal living space’s to be viewed by participants.
• If the need of service is to use external providers, to carry out workshop activity then all session’ s will need a member of staff from HGCT (with safeguarding training) to be present, at all times.
• Any staff used to work online as part of HGCT, will have enrolled into the company following our safer recruitment strategy, and in line with employment law and safe to work practice.
• DH have a responsibility to organise one to one, regular meetings with all staff who are carrying out duties online, to ensure they are working safely and reporting of any safeguarding concerns, must be on the agenda.
• If staff are expected to work with participants under the age of 18, then HGCT will ensure the correct training requirements have been completed in reference to specific safeguarding training for online safety.
• If any member of staff, is concerned about a participant’s behaviour during activity online, they should report this directly to Katy Stockdale Senior Safeguarding Lead.
• Participants with additional needs, including learning needs, medical conditions and physical or sensory impairments may require support to fully engage in activities. HGCT will:
• Work with participants, parent/guardians and other key workers to fully establish any support needs and how sessions can be tailored to allow for full participation
• Make any reasonable adjustments to session delivery to allow for full participation.

Signposting to Support Services

Staff / volunteers engaging directly with participants must be prepared to fulfil their safeguarding duties, while acknowledging their own professional boundaries and limitations. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and when working online with individuals in crisis, staff / volunteers will need to be prepared to manage sensitive situations and provide support in a timely manner as they may not engage with that participant again for a prolonged period of time.

Where a minor concern is raised as the participant is not at risk of danger, signposting them to specialist support services may the most appropriate course of actions. Although this will still need to be reported to the DSO and a record made, staff / volunteers should feel confident to signpost when the need arises.

Some useful support services can be found below:

HGCT Senior Safeguarding Lead

Katy Stockdale

07736451533

Written by: Katy Stockdale

Date: 03/03/2020

Approved date: 03/03/2020  Review date:

CEO – Lisa Darwin