Projects

Middleton Co-operating
Safeguarding Policy

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

Middleton Co-operating aims to adopt the highest possible standards and take all reasonable steps in relation to the safety and welfare of everyone our organisation comes into contact with. This policy statement focuses specifically on the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Terms and Definitions

Adult: A person aged 18 years or over.

Safeguarding Adults: As defined in the Care Act 2014, safeguarding means protecting an adult's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It involves people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse and neglect while ensuring the adult's wellbeing.

Child or Young Person: A person who has not yet reached their 18th birthday, as defined in the Children Act 2004.

Safeguarding Children: Defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health and development
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Policy Statement

Middleton Co-operating:

• Believes everyone has the right to live free from abuse or neglect regardless of personal characteristics.
• Is committed to creating a safe and positive environment with a culture of openness.
• Recognises safeguarding as everyone’s responsibility and is committed to preventing abuse.
• Understands that wellbeing and life circumstances affect a person's resilience and ability to seek help.
• Follows safeguarding legislation and procedures relevant to children and adults with care/support needs.
• Ensures safeguarding actions are proportionate and respectful of the adult's voice.
• Believes in the responsibility to promote welfare and protect children and young people.
• Adopts an intersectional and reflective approach to safeguarding with ongoing learning.

Scope

Applies to all involved in Middleton Co-operating including employees and the Management Committee, covering safeguarding concerns involving our co-op or the wider community.

Purpose

This policy ensures all involved understand:

• Relevant safeguarding legislation, policy, and procedures
• Their role and responsibilities
• How and to whom concerns should be reported

Implementation

Middleton Co-operating commits to:

• Ensuring all staff understand their responsibilities within this policy
• Designing activities to minimise harm risks
• Following safe recruitment practices including DBS checks where needed
• Making referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service when required
• Ensuring contractors have safeguarding policies or agree to ours
• Training employees and volunteers in safeguarding based on their roles
• Promptly following up on safeguarding concerns
• Appointing Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs)

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Kerry Amanda Edwards and Veronika Susedkova are DSLs. Contact:

• Kerry: kerryama@hotmail.co.uk
• Veronika: veronika@middleton.coop

DSLs are responsible for monitoring and sharing safeguarding concerns with the appropriate authorities. They will document decisions clearly and maintain confidentiality.

Reporting Procedure

Concerns should be reported to DSLs. If both DSLs are implicated, contact safeguarding@middleton.coop or:

• Rochdale Children’s Social Care Team: 0300 303 0440 (Out of hours: 0300 303 8875)
• LADO: lado@rochdale.gov.uk
• Adult Care: adult.care@rochdale.gov.uk | 0300 303 8886

For serious immediate risks, call 999 or seek emergency medical care.

Response

Upon receiving a concern:

• Listen and empathise
• Avoid asking "why"
• Clarify details
• Seek support if unsure

Confidentiality

Information is shared on a need-to-know basis only, including among Management Committee members.

Record Keeping

Written, dated records of concerns must be kept securely and confidentially.

Our Partner Responsibilities

We expect safeguarding policies from partners or adherence to ours, and their commitment to safe working practices.

Our Employee, Management Committee and Volunteer Responsibilities

Responsibilities include:

• Creating safe environments
• Listening and respecting vulnerable individuals
• Reporting concerns appropriately
• Whistleblowing if necessary

Appendix

1. Safeguarding Learning Resources

• Maslaha Radical Safeguarding Project
• Contextual Safeguarding
• Intersectionality and Safeguarding (Safeguarding Support Hub)
• Intersectionality in SEND

2. Organisations Supporting Safeguarding

• Rochdale Borough Council: Safeguarding for adults and children
• NSPCC: 0808 800 5000 | help@NSPCC.org.uk
• Respond: 020 7383 0700 | 0808 808 0700
• Hourglass (elder abuse): 0808 808 8141

4. Types and Signs of Abuse - Vulnerable Adults

• Discriminatory
• Domestic abuse/violence
• Financial or material
• Neglect and acts of omission
• Organisational
• Physical
• Psychological
• Sexual
• Self-neglect
• Modern slavery and trafficking

5. Types and Signs of Abuse - Children and Young People

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Neglect
• Emotional abuse
• Bullying (including cyberbullying)
• Domestic abuse
• Online abuse

This list is not exhaustive. Adults must remain alert to signs and take action if abuse is suspected.

Privacy Policy for CBN

Our Contact Details

Community Broadband Network (CBN)
Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester M60 0AS
info@broadband.coop

The Type of Personal Information We Collect

We collect and process the following types of information:

• Personal identifiers, contacts, and characteristics (e.g., name, contact details, date of birth, and gender)
• Analytical data (like IP address, web browser type/version, and operating system)
• Email content (when using our email server)

How We Obtain and Use Your Personal Information

The personal information we process is mainly acquired directly from you:

• When you interact with us through our website, phone, post, email, or other means
• Upon registering or setting up an account to access our products/services
• If you opt to receive marketing communications from us
• During the use of our services, especially our email server

We use the gathered data to:

• Furnish you (and your employees or agents, as you may request) with email accounts
• Enhance our services and ensure smooth operation

While we technically could access emails stored on our server, we commit not to view, use, or share this data with anyone. We respect your privacy and confidentiality.

We may share the other data (excluding email content) with our employees, agents, or professional advisors when necessary for business operations.

Legal Bases for Processing Your Information

Per the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we process your data based on contractual obligations between you and us.

How We Secure Your Data

Your data is stored safely. We implement both technical and organisational safeguards:

• Your account access is safeguarded by a unique username and password combination
• Data is housed on secure servers
• Measures are in place to address any potential data breaches

If you suspect any misuse, loss, or unauthorized data access, please inform us immediately at s.fensom@broadband.coop.

For extensive online safety advice, visit www.getsafeonline.org, backed by HM Government and leading businesses.

We retain your personal data for as long as you utilize our service, adhering to GDPR guidelines and as mandated by law. Subsequently, we erase your data from our servers and CRM systems.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection legislation, you possess rights such as:

• Access – Request copies of your data
• Rectification – Amend any incorrect or incomplete data
• Erasure – Ask for data deletion under specific circumstances
• Restriction of Processing – Limit data processing in particular situations
• Objection to Processing – Contest data processing in certain cases
• Data Portability – Request data transfer to another entity or to you under specific circumstances

There’s no fee for exercising your rights. We aim to respond as soon as possible; depending on the nature and complexity of your request, we may need up to one month to respond. For requests, reach out to us at the address above.

Lodging a Complaint

Should you have concerns about our data practices, you can file a complaint with us at s.fensom@broadband.coop.

Alternatively, if dissatisfied with our actions, you can file a complaint with the ICO:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk

We are MIDDLETON CO-OPERATING.

We're committed to Middleton and the people who live and work and study here.

We aim to bring people together across our town to improve the affordability and the quality of the things that have the biggest impact on our lives - for example, housing, energy, child care, social care, food, transport.

We believe that by working together - co-operating - we can achieve positive lasting change for Middleton. It will take hard work, time, and patience. But together we can build a stronger local community that has a sense of ownership and responsibility for what happens in our town, and how things are done - supporting each other to improve all our lives.

MIDDLETON COOPERATING has been developed so far by a number of people who live and work locally, but membership is open to everybody. If you support our principles and our vision, we'd love you to join in our work in whatever way suits you.

Welcome to Art House Middleton, Middleton’s Community Art Space by Kallum Nolan