Safeguarding Policy

1. Background and Scope

The Ancient Society of College Youths organises ringing and social events for members and non-members. The society's focus is not on training new ringers but on promoting excellence amongst those who have already attained a considerable level of skill. Consequently the majority of our activities involve twelve or more people.

The activities of The Ancient Society of College Youths are defined as those organised by the officers in the name of the society such as the weekly practices, the country meeting and the dinners. Peals organised by members and attributed to the society are not covered by this policy.

2. Safeguarding

Safeguarding relates to the protection of the health, well-being and human rights of individuals, to allow people, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults, to live free from abuse, harm and neglect.

All members should have safeguarding in mind and treat others with respect. Of particular relevance to the society is that safeguarding relates to vulnerable adults as well as children.

For society events one of the ringing officers or the Secretary will be present and responsible for safeguarding. If not, the Master will appoint someone suitable to fulfil this role.

Any children attending our events must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Any individual attending an event who is subject to restrictions should provide details to the Secretary, who will liaise with the Diocese of London's safeguarding team.

3. Training

The Secretary and the ringing officers (Master, Senior Steward, Junior Steward) will receive suitable training on safeguarding matters; this will be refreshed as appropriate. The Secretary will retain evidence of this training. The current level of training regarded as suitable is C0 & C1.

Suitable training can be obtained from St Paul's Cathedral by contacting the Training and Development Officer (contact details below). Alternatively there are on-line courses available such as that accessible through The Church of England's National Safeguarding Training Portal.

4. Raising Concerns

The Secretary is the society's safeguarding officer and any concerns should be raised with him. In his absence, or if the concerns relate to the Secretary, the matter should be raised with any of the ringing officers.

If the young or vulnerable person is still in danger then the police should be notified immediately by dialling 999.

This policy complements those of dioceses and individual parishes, in particular the policy for the Diocese of London which can be viewed here.

Their procedures for raising concerns are also available to anyone attending a society event.

5. Handling Allegations or Incidents

In the event of an allegation or incident, the Secretary or other responsible officer will refer the matter as soon as possible to the Diocese of London's safeguarding team who will provide guidance and help.

In the handling of safeguarding issues, those involved must ensure any information is kept confidential in line with the handling of sensitive data under data protection legislation.

6. Contacts

7. Approval

This policy was agreed by the society at a business meeting held on 14th January 2020. Any amendments to this policy require the approval of a business meeting. The policy will be kept under continuous review to ensure its relevance and compliance with the law.