Safeguarding policy, procedures and codes of conduct

EngineeringUK, programme delivery partners and suppliers safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

Last updated March 2024, reviewed annually

Statement of policy

EngineeringUK is the organisation behind EUK Education and all its programmes. The team who work on EUK Education are all employed by EngineeringUK.

EngineeringUK’s aim is to ensure that outcomes for children and vulnerable adults are improved through exposure to its events and activities delivered both online and face to face. This can only be achieved if children and vulnerable adults are safe from harm. Therefore, safeguarding their welfare is part of our core business.

In order to do this we recognise that:

The welfare of the child or vulnerable adult is paramount.
All children, whatever their age culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that everyone under the age of 18 (the definition of a child), regardless of gender, origin, religion or possible disabilities, needs special care and protection because children are often the most vulnerable.

A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who is in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability or illness and is therefore unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation.

The purpose of this policy is to provide:

Protection for children and vulnerable adults who attend EngineeringUK programmes, events, engagements or workshops both virtually and in person.
EngineeringUK staff and volunteers, our suppliers staff and delivery partners’ staff and volunteers with guidance on the procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or vulnerable adult may be experiencing, or be at risk of, harm.

This policy applies to all staff, including members of the Board of Trustees, volunteers or anyone working with on behalf of EngineeringUK – whether this is through grants, contracts or carrying out pro-bono work.

We will endeavour to safeguard children and vulnerable adults by:

Valuing them, listening to and respecting them.
Adopting these safeguarding procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers.
Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring that all necessary checks are made and providing training where relevant.
Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, involving parents and children appropriately.
Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.

We are committed to reviewing our policy and code of conduct every year.

Safeguarding procedures and Code of conduct

Designated person

The designated person is the member of the EngineeringUK management team who has specific responsibilities for ensuring effective safeguarding and protection procedures. The designated person will have received basic level training in Child Protection. For all EngineeringUK programmes, events, engagements or workshops the Designated Person is Ryan Richardson, Associate Director of Business Services.

The role of the designated person is to:

Receive and record information from staff, volunteers, children or parents/carers who have protection concerns.
Assess the information properly and carefully, clarifying or obtaining more information about the matter as appropriate and consulting with senior colleagues if necessary.
Consult initially with relevant external agencies without delay.

Code of conduct

All EngineeringUK, suppliers and delivery partner staff, working in conjunction with any activity must:

Treat all children and vulnerable adults with respect.
Provide an example of good conduct for others to follow.
Ensure that, whenever possible, when they are with children or vulnerable adults at an Energy Quest workshop or other events, there is always more than one adult present – or that they are within sight or hearing of others.
Remember that someone else might misinterpret their actions, no matter how well intentioned.
Be aware that physical contact with a child may be misinterpreted.
Operate within specific procedures – such as any workshop guidelines.
Challenge unacceptable behaviour and report all allegations/suspicions of abuse.
Wear event passes with their names visible at all times.

Employees should give guidance and support to inexperienced volunteers working at EngineeringUK programmes, events, engagements or workshops.

All EngineeringUK, suppliers and delivery partner staff, working in conjunction with EngineeringUK programmes, events, engagements or workshops must not:

Have inappropriate physical or verbal contact with children or vulnerable adults.
Allow themselves to be drawn into inappropriate attention-seeking behaviour.
Make suggestive or derogatory remarks or gestures in front of children.
Jump to conclusions about others without checking facts.
Either exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues.
Rely on their good name or that of the organisation to protect them.
Take a chance when common sense, policy or practice suggest another, more prudent approach.

Digital (online) safeguarding

With the exception of Youth Insight Sessions (see below), when running online events or sessions, EngineeringUK, suppliers and delivery partner staff must ensure that:

Videos will only be streamed one way (ie will only be visible by children).
Children will not be asked to turn on their videos or share screens unless they are calling into a session as an entire classroom or a mentoring session (see below).
Children will never be left alone on a video call. Any mentoring sessions or competition judging will always include teachers/parents and a DBS checked member of the EngineeringUK staff.
All comments on the chatroom are anonymous (children will not need to give their names to ask a question).
We will ensure that all comments via any chatrooms/chat walls are moderated ‘live’ by a team of DBS-certified moderators before any comments become visible on the chat wall.
We will ensure that all presenters/hosts adhere to our strict online safeguarding and presenter code of conduct.

Youth insight forum

EngineeringUK works with an external agency, Participation People, to facilitate its Youth insight forum with young people. All safeguarding and parental consent is managed by Participation People and checked by EngineeringUK. These Zoom sessions will always have a DBS checked member of EUK staff or Participation People present on each call. Note that in these meetings students may be named, online with a camera on and dialling in unaccompanied from their rooms. The Zoom sessions are recorded by the external agency, they are not shared with EUK unless requested, and the recording will be deleted by the agency as per the agreed contracted timeframe.

Abusive behaviour by students, staff or any other attendee via video streaming or online chatrooms or forums will not be tolerated. EngineeringUK will ensure that all live chatrooms are strictly moderated by DBS certified moderators.

All adults who are presenting or involved in any digital content to be viewed online must:

Be appropriately dressed.
Ensure that all other browser tabs are closed down before sharing a screen.
Not use any abusive, insulting or inappropriate language.
Not share any inappropriate images or have any inappropriate images or objects in view during the session.
Not give out any personal contact information or social media handles/links.
Not make contact with any students outside of the session.
Notify EngineeringUK if any student makes contact with them outside of the event.
Not act in a way that can be perceived as threatening or intrusive.
Not patronise or belittle children.
Not make sarcastic, insensitive, derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or gestures to or in front of children.

All young people who are involved in online meetings are expected to behave appropriately, including:

Follow ground rules/guidance as agreed with EngineeringUK's EDI Team and/or Youth insight provider.
Be appropriately dressed.
Not use any abusive, insulting or inappropriate language.
Not share any inappropriate images or have any inappropriate images or objects in view during the session.
Not give out any personal contact information or social media handles/links.
Not act in a way that can be perceived as threatening or intrusive.
Not patronise or belittle children.
Not make sarcastic, insensitive, derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or gestures to or in front of children.

Photography and video

EngineeringUK may use photos and videos of children in the promotion of its mission and to facilitate judging of competitions.

EngineeringUK, suppliers and delivery partners must ensure they follow any photography and video collection details in contracts and photography sharing agreements. As data processors, they must follow the latest data protection legislation.

EngineeringUK will ensure that any video and photography collected for use in promoting EngineeringUK and its mission (not including The Big Bang Fair) will be covered by a parental and/or children’s consent form. This form will detail how the photography and videos are to be used, stored and shared.

As The Big Bang Fair is a public event it is not possible to control photography and video recording from members of the public in attendance. EngineeringUK will however give parents and teachers the option to allow children to ‘opt out’ of official event photography by requiring children that have opted out to wear a specially patterned lanyard that will allow our Communications Team to identify these children in photo and video editing ensuring that they are not included. EngineeringUK will ensure that any official and exhibitor photographers sign up to The Big Bang Fair photography terms and conditions which encourage photographers not to take photos or videos of children wearing identifiable lanyards.

EngineeringUK staff

DBS checks

DBS checks must be made for all new members of staff. The appointment will only be formally confirmed after a check is received which is clear of any offence which would be a cause of concern in relation to this policy. Freelance staff must supply their own DBS disclosures (if required). These must have been carried out within the previous two years by a recognised umbrella body.

EngineeringUK staff training

EngineeringUK will provide suitable training for all staff and volunteers in the organisation which is relevant to their role. This will include:

Safeguarding training which includes familiarisation with this policy
Particular skills training as appropriate based on their role.

Employing staff members under the age of 18

EngineeringUK will ensure that, when employing any staff under the age of 18, they are allocated a designated mentor to support their early career development and provide advice and support.

Digital support partners

Partners providing digital services to EngineeringUK for the design and support of websites, software and streaming must ensure they adhere to this policy and any specific restrictions around data processing and information security.

Partner onboarding

As part of EngineeringUK’s partner onboarding process, our partners are required to be under contract and evidence their safeguarding, data protection, information security processes and (if relevant) DBS checks. Partners are advised that EngineeringUK may undertake compliance audits without advanced notice to ensure policies and procedures are being followed.

Response procedures

In responding to a child or vulnerable adult disclosing abuse, all EngineeringUK, supplier and delivery partner staff, working in conjunction with EngineeringUK programmes, events, engagements or workshops should:

Stay calm.
Listen carefully to what is said.
Find an early opportunity to explain that it is likely that the information will need to be shared with others. Do not promise to keep secrets.
Allow the child or vulnerable adult to continue at their own pace.
Ask questions for clarification only, and at all times avoid asking questions which suggest a particular answer.
Reassure the child or vulnerable adult that they have done the right thing in telling you.
Tell them what you will do next and with whom the information will be shared.
Record in writing what was said in the child’s or the vulnerable adult’s own words as soon as possible. Note the date, time, any names mentioned, and to whom the information was given. They should then ensure that the record is signed and dated.
If the child has any visible injuries indicate where you’ve seen injuries. When recording injuries you should never photograph the child.
Contact the designated person via the contact details below.

It is important everyone is aware that the person who first encounters a case of alleged or suspected abuse is NOT the one responsible for deciding whether abuse has occurred or not. That is a task for the professional protection agencies following a referral to them of a concern about a child or vulnerable adult.

The designated person at EngineeringUK is Ryan Richardson, Associate Director of Business Services. If you would like to raise a safeguarding concern please email safeguarding@engineeringuk.com or contact:

Associate Director of Business Services
EngineeringUK, 5th Floor
Northern and Shell Building
10 Lower Thames Street
London
EC3R 6EN

Records should be clear and factual as they will be needed by child protection agencies investigating the incident and may, in the future, be used as evidence in court. Keeping such a record may also protect EngineeringUK or a partner organisation.

Data protection

All personal information that is acquired or held in the course of working with children and vulnerable adults should be treated as confidential and stored securely. Particular care should be taken with sensitive information. All personal information should be processed and stored in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK's GDPR, and any other relevant legislation. Personal information should be destroyed when no longer required.

For more information please see our privacy policy.

If you have any questions on how we process your information please email privacy@engineeringuk.com or contact:

Associate Director of Business Services
EngineeringUK, 5th Floor
Northern and Shell Building
10 Lower Thames Street
London
EC3R 6EN

Complaints procedures

EngineeringUK wish to promote a culture in which staff may express any concerns they have about a colleague’s behaviour in relation to safeguarding.

In order to achieve this, people are encouraged to share any such concerns with the designated person without delay. Concerns will be treated seriously and in the strictest confidence. Equally, the organisation recognises that a culture in which people are made to feel anxious and vulnerable is undesirable and it will manage this area sensitively on behalf of all members of staff.

If you have a complaint please email safeguarding@engineeringuk.com or contact:

Associate Director of Business Services
EngineeringUK, 5th Floor
Northern and Shell Building
10 Lower Thames Street
London
EC3R 6EN