Facing the World believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people, by a commitment to practice which protects them.

We recognise that:

• • the welfare of the child/young person is paramount
  • all children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
  • working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and their agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare. This will include working with hospitals, medical staff at the relevant hospitals in the UK and their home countries.

The purpose of the policy:

• • To provide protection for the children and young people who receive Facing the World services, including the children of adult members or users
  • To provide staff and volunteers with guidance on procedures they should adopt in the event that they suspect a child or young person may be experiencing, or be at risk of, harm
  • This policy applies to all staff, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, students or anyone working on behalf of Facing the World
  • This policy also applies to all medical staff even those employed by other institutions who are involved in the treatment and care of those treated by Facing the World

We will seek to safeguard children and young people by:

• • valuing them, listening to and respecting them
  • adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers
  • ensuring that all medical staff, medical volunteers and other professionals involved in the treatment and care of children treated by Facing the World adopt child protection guidelines
  • recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
  • sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
  • sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
  • providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.

We are also committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

It is the policy of Facing the World to treat all employees and job applicants fairly and equally regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, age, disability or union membership status.

Furthermore Facing the World will ensure that no requirement or condition will be imposed without justification which could disadvantage individuals purely on any of the above grounds.

The policy applies to recruitment, selection, and terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

Facing the World will regularly review its procedures and selection criteria to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and otherwise treated according to their relevant individual abilities and merits.

Facing the World is committed to the implementation of this policy and to a programme of action to ensure that the policy is, and continues to be, fully effective. The overall responsibility for the policy lies with the CEO. However, all staff and Trustees are required to comply with the policy and to act in accordance with its objectives so as to remove any barriers to equal opportunity.

Any act of discrimination by employees or any failure to comply with the terms of the policy will result in disciplinary action.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 interlinked objectives designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”.  We believe the work of Facing the World can play a role in achieving these goals through fostering direct benefit towards Good Health and Well-Being (Goal 3), Quality Education (Goal 4)and Reduced Inequalities (Goal 10), as well as making indirect contributions to a number of the other targets.