General principles
At Wildwoods we will adopt the following general principles in order to keep children safe and adults safe from accusations:
Physical boundaries will be explained to children at the beginning of a session and games and activities will be used to help them develop their understanding of the boundary area. Boundaries will be clearly marked and children will be told that they should not leave the area unless an adult has given them permission.
Children will be advised of what to do in the event that a stranger enters the woods to ensure that that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children.
Supporting adults should always work in a minimum of two; there will never be sole working with a single child.
Supporting adults should always stay within sight of other adults (see also ‘Toilet Procedure’ below).
Supporting adults should never be left alone with the group. The Forest School leader should always be present.
All supporting adults should receive a safeguarding induction (this is the responsibility of Wildwoods for any adults who work/ volunteer for this organisation)
Children should be supervised at all times: ‘supervision’ means that at least one responsible adult can see or hear a child.
DBS
All Wildwoods staff will be DBS checked. Volunteers may assist for up to 3 sessions without a check but always working under direct supervision of a member of staff.
Disclosures
These general guidelines should be followed in the event of a child making a disclosure.
Listen, do not interrupt, give them time and don’t ask any leading questions.
Respect a young person’s confidentially but don’t promise to keep the information a secret.
Make a written record of what the young person has said on a child protection form (Appendix 3). This should be exactly as the young person has said in their language. Do not put your interpretation on it.
Toilet Procedures
Wildwoods has a camping toilet that can be used during sessions. The leader will ensure all children know where the toilet is and how it works. All children will inform a member of staff or volunteer if they need to use the toilet facilities and this person will monitor their safe use. If an adult accompanies a child to the toilet, they must not enter the toilet with the child and must remain within sight of other staff at all times.