Mahabba Network Policy Statement on Safeguarding

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS POLICY STATEMENT

The following statement was agreed by the leadership on:

December 6th 2023

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The Mahabba Network is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults with care and support needs and ensuring their well-being. We recognise that we all have a responsibility to help prevent harm or Abuse to children and adults with care and support needs in all their recognised forms.

We recognise the personal dignity and rights of adults and children and will ensure all our policies and procedures will reflect this.

We believe all people should enjoy and have access to every aspect of the life of the place of worship/organisation.

We undertake to exercise proper care in the appointment and selection of those who will work with children and adults with care and support needs.

We believe every child and adult should be valued, safe and happy. We want to make sure that all those we have contact with know this and are empowered to tell us if they are experiencing significant harm.

We are committed to:

• Following statutory denominational and specialist guidelines in relation to safeguarding children and adults and will ensure that as The Mahabba Network, all workers will work within the agreed procedure of our safeguarding policy

• Implementing the requirements of all relevant legislation including, but not limited to; Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018, the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, Equality Act 2010 and referring concerns about adults with care and support needs to the local authority under the Care Act 2014

• Supporting, resourcing and training those who undertake this work

• Ensuring that we are keeping up to date with national and local developments relating to safeguarding

• Ensuring that everyone agrees to abide by these recommendations and the guidelines established by the Mahabba Network

• Supporting all in the Mahabba Network affected by abuse

We recognise:

• Children’s Social Services has the responsibility for investigating all allegations or suspicions of abuse where there are concerns about a child. Adult Social Care has the responsibility for investigating all allegations or suspicions of abuse where there are concerns about an adult with care and support needs

• Where an allegation suggests that a criminal offence may have been committed then the police should be contacted as a matter of urgency

• Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility

We will review this statement and our policy annually.

If you have any concerns for a child or adult, then contact one of the following who have been approved as safeguarding coordinators for the Mahabba Network.

Katy Knight, Safeguarding Coordinator
DSL@mahabbanetwork.com

Philip Simpson, Deputy Safeguarding Coordinator
DepDSL@mahabbanetwork.com

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A copy of the Mahabba Network policy is available on request from hello@mahabbanetwork.com

The Mahabba Network values all those who are a part of it whether or not they hold a named role.

However, for the reasons explained here, a Partnership Agreement is needed to ensure clarity regarding the Safeguarding responsibilities of Members and Partners.

• Due to the nature of the Mahabba Network, Team personnel, local Mahabba groups and individual participants are Partners of the Mahabba Network.

• This Partnership Agreement applies to all Partners.

• All Partners have responsibility to comply with their local safeguarding policies, for example, the local church or charity. These must meet the same standards of safeguarding as the Mahabba Network’s Safeguarding Policy. This includes reporting incidents, training and monitoring.

• It is also our expectation that any group or organisation using the Mahabba Network name will have their own Safeguarding policy that meets Thirtyone:eight’s safeguarding standards.

• We believe good communication is essential in promoting safeguarding both to those we wish to protect, to everyone involved in working with children and adults, and to all those with whom we work in partnership.

This Partnership Agreement is available on the web-site and circulated via email and WhatsApp groups.

Reviewed September 2025

Please use the following form:

https://tally.so/r/mOXYLp

If you want to submit a physical form, please see the link above for instructions.