Sam Sykes Ltd recognises that it has a duty of care towards course participants and its staff. We have a common sense approach to safeguarding. This includes their welfare and to do all that is reasonable to protect them from neglect or physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It recognises the particular responsibilities it has towards children in its care. All staff will respond in a supportive and understanding manner to any participant or staff member involved in any incident or allegation.

Safeguarding is to promote good practice;

• Providing children, young people and vulnerable adults with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of Sam Sykes Ltd;

• Allowing all staff to make informed decisions and give confident responses to specific child protection issues.

Sam Sykes Ltd uses a combination of written policies and sound working practices to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect the legal and moral rights of participants, staff and visiting staff.  

There is a clearly established and documented procedure for the handling of child protection matters. Whilst recognising the need for confidentiality, senior staff are informed as soon as possible and then take responsibility for subsequent actions, thereby ensuring that the highest possible level of experience can be applied to any safeguarding issue.

For clarity Sam Sykes Ltd uses a safeguarding reporting flow chart (shown below) as the guidance to our procedure. All Sam Sykes Ltd staff are familiar with this document, and it should be referred to in all safeguarding matters.

Ensure that you refer to the Sam Sykes LTD safeguarding reporting flow chart further down on this page.

DO -

React calmly so as not to frighten the young person.

Take what the person says seriously, recognising the difficulties inherent in interpreting what is being said by a person who has for example a speech impairment and/or differences in language.

Avoid asking leading or direct questions other than those seeking to clarify your understanding of what the person has said. They may be subsequently formally interviewed by the Police and/or Social Care Services and they should not have to repeat their account on several occasions. The first person told may become at witness at court if they have asked/gained direct relevant information.

Try to reduce any questions you may choose to ask to an absolute minimum and concentrate on listening to the person. Questions should never be leading and should only consist of Who ..? Where ..? When ..? What ..?

Reassure the young person that they are right to tell and are not to blame.

Explain to them that concerns will have to be shared with someone who is in a position to act. Do not make promises of confidentiality.

Make a written record of what has been disclosed at the earliest opportunity.

Make a full written record of what has been said, heard and/or seen as soon as possible (preferably on the day that the concern/disclosure was first identified/made).

Discuss the incident report with your line manager or if not available or appropriate, one of the Sam Sykes LTD senior management team. (CEO, Staffing Manager, Operations Manager).

DO NOT -

Dismiss the concern.

Panic or try to resolve the issue yourself.

Allow your shock or distaste to show.

Probe for more information than is freely offered to open questions.

Speculate or make assumptions about what may have happened.

Make any comments about the alleged abuser.

Make promises or agree to keep secrets.

Ask the young person or any witnesses to sign your written information as this may be significantly detrimental to any subsequent police investigation.

Take photographs of any alleged injuries. Any such recording must only be done by an approved medical or other practitioner, following referral.

Discuss the issue with anyone other than your line manager (if appropriate) or the Sam Sykes Ltd senior management team. (CEO, Staffing Manager, Operations Manager).

NSPCC - Child protection in sport and physical activity training - As experts on safeguarding, the NSPCC’s introductory Child protection in sport and physical activity elearning course (previously known as Child protection in sport training) will help you to gain an understanding of your role in protecting children from abuse or harm and what to do when concerns arise.

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/training/child-protection-safeguarding-sport

Virtual College - Understanding Young Minds - This "Talking to your Children about Emotional Resilience and Self-Harm" course handles the subject of teenage self-harm and parental ways to support your children, in a sensitive and informational way.

https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/courses/safeguarding/understanding-young-minds

All staff will be subject to a recruitment process involving satisfactory DBS/PVG checks and references. All staff are encouraged to sign up for the online update scheme for DBS/PVG. 

Anyone who was not worked for Sam Sykes Ltd in the 2 years prior to a booking may be asked to renew their application.

All our staff are required to provide 2 forms of proof of identity on application.

All our staff are required to provide two written references as part of the application process.

All our staff are required to submit evidence of their NGB’s and other qualifications on application and as these are renewed. We check that all staff have the required qualification and experience for the role performed. All staff are required to hold a minimum of 16 hour first aid certificate, which is required to validate most NGB’s.

All staff received regular appraisals, and we identify and select staff for roles based on their areas of expertise. We identify areas for professional development and provide support with this.

The Operations Manager for Sam Sykes Ltd is our nominated Safeguarding officer. If they are not available, or it is not appropriate to discuss a safeguarding matter with them then the CEO is the designated person.

All our procedures are subject to regular review, and are inspected on an annual basis by the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority.

If you require more information about our Safeguarding measures please contact the office.

All staff should be vigilant to ensure that outdoor activity events are not used as an opportunity to take inappropriate photographs or film footage of young people in vulnerable positions, and any concerns should be reported to the Expedition Manager and the Operations Manager.

Any images of children used for promotional purposes must have the written permission of a parent/guardian. Consent is obtained on the consent form.

All activities undertaken by Sam Sykes Ltd carry an accepted inherent risk with a danger of personal injury or death. However Sam Sykes Ltd is committed to the safe delivery of any and all activities supported by constant feedback and review in conjunction with supervisory and NGB authorities.

We require that all staff comply with our SOPS/Risk Assessments and participants comply with safety guidance given by instructors.

Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

Sam Sykes Ltd will react to any legitimate concerns raised and carry out investigation if appropriate. SOPS / Risk Assessments will be reviewed and updated regularly or after an incident.

All equipment will be subjected to regular safety checks which will be recorded with a record kept noting degree of use and any pertinent information particularly falls, abrasion, chips, cracks and wear. Staff signing equipment out for use are responsible for ensuring its suitability for the intended purpose, any damage noted during or after use should be noted and if critical the item should be removed from service immediately.

Should Sam Sykes Ltd be using a commercial venue such as, but not restricted to, a climbing wall or via ferrata site we will comply with the risk assessment of that site. Additional risk assessments will be added as required.

Sam Sykes Ltd hold the welfare and wellbeing of all staff, participants and visiting staff to be of great importance and value. Should concern be raised about the physical or emotional welfare of anyone on a Sam Sykes Ltd activity this will be treated seriously with compassion and discretion, we will do our utmost to provide appropriate support and assist those involved in the most expedient way possible.  

We recognise that the activities we provide might in a very few cases provide a trigger or catalyst for suppressed emotions or experiences and will encourage and support our staff in reacting positively to any incident where this is a factor.

Throughout an activity and whilst on expedition there are occasions where different types of supervision will be necessary.

Staff and other leaders/ instructors should be aware of the two main supervision types (direct and remote) and where applicable; implement the appropriate levels. As a minimum, remote supervision should be in place at all times unless otherwise stated within the Risk Assessments or deemed necessary by the leadership team that direct supervision is required.

It can become a subjective matter and needs to be defined and regulated as a risk vs benefit matter when completing a risk analysis.

Sam Sykes Ltd recognise that modern slavery can exist in many forms affecting staff, participants and the staff at venues we use.

Should anyone on an activity organised or supported by Sam Sykes Ltd become aware of or be notified of anyone being constrained by the effects of modern slavery they will at the first opportunity notify the senior management of Sam Sykes Ltd who will make contact with the relevant authorities.

Should the concerns be regarding the company they should immediately contact the CEO, or one of the senior management. Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.

Through our recruitment process and right to work checks we will try to ensure that none of our staff are subject to modern slavery, should this be suspected we will contact the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.

Sam Sykes Ltd recognise and support the value to physical and mental wellbeing of outdoor education and the challenges it presents and one of our core goals is enabling access to the outdoors and particularly the DofE scheme for as wide a range of persons as possible in a safe and inclusive environment.

Where staff and participants have known pre-existing mental health conditions it is important that these are disclosed to us in order that we can put appropriate support measures in place.

If a participant has a management plan in place at school this needs to be shared with us so that we can follow the guidance in this. The mental wellbeing of all staff and participants is of prime importance to Sam Sykes Ltd and we recognise that the factors affecting this may be external or due to stresses experienced on activity.

All staff will be vigilant to this and if concerns are raised or observed will act with consideration and sensitivity. Sam Sykes Ltd retains the right to require the repatriation of participants or staff when it is considered that remaining on activity poses an unreasonable risk to the welfare of the individual or other persons.

This will be done through a process of consultation but the ultimate responsibility for welfare lies with the Sam Sykes Ltd. Sam Sykes Ltd will have final say in such matters.

Sam Sykes Ltd recognises that gender identity can change and is no longer defined by traditional binary values.

We will work with participants and schools to ensure that issues around gender identity and sexuality are managed with consideration and sensitivity.

We will support the policies of the school or client organisation where required and when requested we shall if at all possible provide separate accommodation and make such adaptations.  

Where participants have a name or pronoun that they prefer to use rather than their legal given name or pronoun that matches their birth gender we will endeavour to use this when informed.

Sam Sykes Ltd is not a specialist provider of activities for people with severe disabilities or complex needs. However we will strive to provide an inclusive environment for participants for all levels of ability.

Any issues affecting the physical or mental health of a participant should be highlighted on the Medical and Consent form prior to the activity so that appropriate support and any alteration to plans can be put in place.

We recognise that there may be participants with more complex needs who may be better served by other organisations and providers, we shall support this participants in locating those services but reserve the right to decline the participation of individuals where we consider their needs beyond our ability to safely or reasonably deliver.

Where participants have a care plan in place at school we need to be made aware of this in order to provide appropriate support to the participant.

“Harassment” consists of any unwanted conduct that violates an individual’s dignity or constitutes victimisation, or which creates an intimidating, bullying, abusive, hostile, degrading, humiliating, offensive or otherwise uncomfortable environment.

This includes harassment related to the protected characteristics of sex, race, national origin, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief.

It can involve a single incident or may be persistent and may be directed towards one or more individuals. Sam Sykes Ltd does not tolerate acts of harassment committed by employees, or by third parties including service users, students and school staff against its employees.

Sam Sykes Ltd does not tolerate acts of harassment committed by employees, or by third parties against its service users, students and school staff on expeditions or activities with Sam Sykes Ltd.

This policy applies equally to full time and part time employees on a substantive or fixed-term contract, and to associated persons who work for Sam Sykes Ltd such as freelance instructors, or third party instructors supporting a particular activity for Sam Sykes Ltd.

Please note that harassment can be a criminal offence, punishable by fines and even imprisonment.

Harassment is unacceptable both in the work place and in any work-related setting outside of the work place such as business trips or business-related social events.

Harassment, bullying and/or victimisation may constitute gross misconduct. The Disciplinary Procedures, whether formal or informal, may be invoked where there is evidence of misconduct and/or gross misconduct. Sanctions may include summary dismissal. Please note that victimisation of or retaliation upon anyone who makes a complaint in good faith or assists in the investigation of alleged harassment is in itself a disciplinary offence and may lead to summary dismissal.

Single or continual acts may constitute harassment. In general, conduct becomes harassment if it persists once it has become clear that the recipient regards it as offensive.

Participants on a Sam Sykes Ltd course may not feel confident or safe enough to make any allegation of harassment clear.

It is the responsibility of the instructor and wider staff team to ensure that their actions and words cannot be considered harassment.

All complaints will be dealt with confidentially and promptly and you may seek support or advice from a senior staff member at any stage.  

Sam Sykes Ltd encourages prompt reporting of complaints or concerns regarding harassment because prompt reporting and intervention has proved to be the most effective method of resolving actual or perceived incidents of harassment.

Under normal circumstances, a complaint must be made as soon as possible and, in any event, within two weeks of the alleged incident (or the last of such alleged incidents) taking place.

All individuals involved in any harassment complaint will be asked to maintain the confidentiality of the discussions which are held.

Sam Sykes Ltd will treat all complaints of harassment seriously, however if it is established during any investigation that you have made a capricious, false or malicious accusation or your complaint is without foundation, then you yourself may be subject to disciplinary action.

In the event of a false allegation being made about a staff member that proves to be capricious, false or malicious by a service user, participant or supporting school staff member the investigation result will be reported to the relevant bodies.

Sam Sykes Ltd believes that the professional relationship of trust and confidence that exits between students and employees is a central and essential part of a student’s educational development and pastoral care.

Those who work for, or represent, Sam Sykes Ltd must not abuse their position in any way. The following list is not exhaustive but is intended to provide a number of examples of unacceptable behaviour:

• unwanted physical contact such as unnecessary touching or brushing against another employee’s body, patting, pinching, insulting or abusive behaviour or gestures, physical threats, assault, coerced sexual intercourse or rape;

• unwanted verbal conduct such as unwelcome advances, patronising nicknames, propositions or remarks, innuendo, lewd comments, jokes, banter or abusive language, which refer to an individual or a group’s race, nationality, ethnic origin, age, language, religion or similar belief, political or other opinion, affiliation, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital status or civil partnership, connections with a national minority, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, family connections, or disability, etc.

• repeated suggestions for unwanted social activities;

• unwanted non-verbal conduct referring to an individual’s characteristics or private life, abusive or offensive gestures, leering, whistling, display of pornographic or sexually suggestive literature, pictures, films, objects, or inappropriate use of network systems for this purpose;

• bullying, including persistent inappropriate criticism and personal abuse and/or ridicule, either in public or private and online or via social media or other means, which humiliates or demeans those involved;

• unlawful victimisation such as treating an individual less favourably than others are, or would be treated in the same or similar circumstances, because they have made a complaint or allegation of discrimination or have acted as a witness in connection with proceedings under any anti-discrimination legislation

• any other conduct that denigrates an individual or group.

If you are the subject of harassment you may deal with the matter informally and/or formally. If you have been subject to, or have witnessed, harassment, victimisation or bullying and if you feel able you should tell the person(s) responsible for the behaviour in question that it is offensive and that it must stop. You must explain what behaviour you find unacceptable, unwelcome or embarrassing. Alternatively, you may prefer to put your complaint in writing to the person(s) responsible for the behaviour in question; or, to ask a colleague or senior staff member to speak to the person(s) on your behalf.

You must keep a note of all relevant details. This approach may be sufficient to correct a situation where those involved were unaware of causing offence. However, if an informal approach is unsuccessful or you continue to be subjected to the behaviour, you may prefer to raise the matter formally.

All participants need to be aware that if they have any cause for concern that they can raise this via their allocated instructor, expedition manager or via the pastoral school staff supporting the expedition. Their concerns will be listened to and we will endeavour to come to a swift resolution.  

Whether or not informal action has been taken, if you have been subject to, or have witnessed, harassment you can raise the matter directly with the senior staff team in writing or verbally.

You must provide as much detail as possible of the alleged harassment. If required, you will be invited to discuss the matter in more detail prior to any investigation taking place. Your complaint will be treated sensitively, seriously and confidentially.