Safeguarding at Events
Safeguarding the welfare of children and adults at risk is important to us. This page gives some details of ways we do this at events run by Pardshaw Quaker Centre, and what you might need to know when attending an event.
Booking Restrictions
The following booking restrictions apply to all our events:
● Children under the age of 18 must attend with a responsible adult over the age of 18.
● Children or adults at risk requiring onsite care, support or supervision to attend an event must attend with a carer.
● The event organiser should be informed of any children, or adults in need of carers, who are booking to attend any event overnight (including the ages of any children).
● We reserve the right to cancel and fully refund a person’s booking for any of our events without giving a reason.
Our workcamps only allow those 18+ to attend overnight, due to possible building hazards.
Interactions with the public are possible during off-site event excursions, and members of the public may visit the Pardshaw Quaker Centre graveyard for memorial purposes without having booked the event. The Trustees reserve the right of access to Pardshaw Quaker Centre at any time, including during our events, which may be used in case of emergencies such as responding to a fire alarm. For some events such as our annual Open Day, members of the public can attend the event as day visitors without having booked in advance.
Supervision Requirements
Minimal supervision requirements for children at all our events are:
● Children under 7 must be within eyesight or earshot of a responsible adult from their booking group (or someone that adult nominates to temporarily watch them) at all times.
● Children age 7-10 must regularly check in with a responsible adult from their booking group (or someone that adult nominates to temporarily watch them), for instance when changing location. Rule of thumb: they should always know where you are, and you should always know where they are.
● Children age 11-13 can attend parts of an event taking place within the boundary of Pardshaw Quaker Centre unsupervised, but should be accompanied by a responsible adult from their booking group (or someone that adult nominates to temporarily watch them) on off-site event excursions.
● Children age 14+ can attend any part of the event for longer periods of time as long as their responsible adult permits this, but should still check in as needed.
Carers should think about the individual care, support or supervision requirements of the person they are caring for and ensure that they are met, with appropriate consideration of the above.
For workcamps, more restrictive supervision requirements may be in place depending on the work being undertaken.
Interaction Guidelines
All attendees are asked to be mindful of the following safeguarding good practice guidelines for interactions with children and adults at risk at all our events:
● Unless you are in their booking group, do not spend time alone with a child or adult at risk.
● Unless you are in their booking group, do not touch a child or adult at risk beyond what is a usual part of event activities (e.g. shaking hands at the end of a Meeting for Worship).
● Do not interfere with anyone else’s accessibility aids (e.g. glasses, wheelchair, walking stick), even if they are not currently in use.
● Do not leave hazardous objects (e.g. sharp tools, medication) out unsupervised at events where children or adults at risk are present.
● If you want to engage in conflict with a child (e.g. to tell them off for bad behaviour), get their responsible adult to supervise this.
● Be a good role model for safe and responsible event behaviour at all times, but particularly when around children and adults at risk: people learn by observation and imitation and what is safe for you may not be for them.
● It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that abuse, neglect and harm to children and adults at risk does not occur, and to report any actual or suspected incidents that come to light.
Reporting a Safeguarding Incident
At or before an event if you hear about or witness anything that concerns you about a child or adult at risk, who may be yourself, please speak to the event safeguarding lead in the first instance. Our safeguarding lead for members gatherings and workcamps is Rowan Langley who can be contacted by emailing [email protected] or spoken to at the event. Other events may have their own event safeguarding leads as stated in the event’s safeguarding policy.
Safeguarding incidents occurring at Pardshaw Quaker Centre for any event can be reported to the Pardshaw Quaker Centre safeguarding team by emailing [email protected]. We require any group hiring Pardshaw Quaker Centre for any event involving children or adults at risk to have their own safeguarding policy, which may contain additional places within their organisation that safeguarding incidents should be reported to.
