Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Manor Farm Experiences and Learning Barn on Manor Farm | Lower Kingswood, Surrey
Revised draft: 19 October 2026 • Approval date: _20.10.26 • Review: within 12 months of approval
1. Our commitment
We are committed to providing a safe, welcoming environment where children are listened to, treated with dignity and protected from abuse or neglect. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All concerns must be taken seriously and reported, even when they do not appear urgent. Staff must never inflict physical or psychological harm on a child.
This policy applies to everyone working or volunteering for Manor Farm Experiences and Learning Barn on Manor Farm, including contractors and those supporting activities. It covers children under 18 attending farm visits, parties, mobile animal experiences, tuition, social groups, one-to-one sessions and commissioned placements. Each provider remains responsible for safeguarding within its own activities. We also follow the appropriate adult safeguarding route when supporting adults at risk.
2. Safeguarding contacts
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Antonia Stewart • 07734 348245
Deputy Safeguarding Lead
Caroline Thomas • 07544 858988
Email for general safeguarding correspondence
manorfarmexperiences@gmail.com
Do not use a shared inbox to report an allegation about someone who can access it.
Surrey Children’s Single Point of Access (C-SPA, formerly MASH)
0300 470 9100 • Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
cspa@surreycc.gov.uk
Out-of-hours Emergency Duty Team
01483 517898
Surrey Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
0300 123 1650, option 3
LADO@surreycc.gov.uk
Adult safeguarding enquiries (Surrey)
0300 200 1005 (Surrey Adult Social Care)
ascmash@surreycc.gov.uk
Immediate danger or urgent medical assistance
999
3. Recognising safeguarding concerns
Concerns may involve physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, bullying or abuse between children (including discriminatory bullying, aggression, sexual harassment or harmful sexual behaviour), domestic abuse, exploitation, grooming, radicalisation, online abuse or other harmful behaviour. Warning signs can include injuries, distress, changes in behaviour, inappropriate adult conduct, or something a child says or communicates.
Children with special educational needs or disabilities may communicate distress differently or find it harder to report abuse. Staff must not assume that worrying behaviour is simply part of a child’s disability or diagnosis. Use the child’s preferred communication methods and allow time for them to respond.
4. What staff must do when concerned
If a child or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 999 and take steps to keep them safe.
Listen calmly and take the concern seriously. Do not promise secrecy, ask leading questions, investigate or confront anyone.
Telephone Antonia immediately, including for concerns that are not urgent. If she is unavailable, telephone Caroline. Arrange safe cover for your session before stepping away, if needed.
If neither lead is available, you are unhappy with the response, or a child needs protection without delay, contact Surrey C-SPA (or the police) yourself.
Make a factual record using the safeguarding concern form as soon as possible, on the same day where practicable. Include the date, time, exact words used, what you observed, who you told and any actions taken. Separate observations from opinions; submit the record securely to the DSL or deputy.
Do not wait until a written form is completed before reporting a concern. Staff do not need evidence or certainty to raise one.
5. What happens after a concern is reported
The DSL or deputy will consider the risk, seek advice and refer concerns to children’s social care or police when needed. They will document the decision, any referral, actions and follow-up, and escalate if risk remains unresolved. For a child who lives outside Surrey, the relevant local authority may need to be contacted. A child’s safety must never be delayed by uncertainty about responsibility.
Parents and carers will usually be informed unless this could increase the risk to the child or compromise enquiries. Consent is not required where information needs to be shared to protect a child. Relevant schools, commissioners and professionals will be informed when appropriate and lawful. For commissioned placements, the provider and commissioner must agree in advance how safeguarding concerns and attendance or unexplained absences will be reported promptly.
Parents and carers may raise safeguarding concerns with either safeguarding lead or contact C-SPA directly. Other complaints are handled under our complaints procedure.
6. Concerns or allegations about an adult
Any concern about a staff member, volunteer, contractor, visitor or other adult must be reported, including behaviour that appears inappropriate but may not meet the threshold for an allegation of harm.
Concern about another adult: tell Antonia immediately.
Concern about Antonia: tell Caroline or contact the Surrey LADO directly. Do not email a shared inbox that Antonia can access.
Concern about Caroline: tell Antonia or contact the LADO directly.
If both leads are involved, or internal reporting is unsafe or ineffective: contact the Surrey LADO directly.
The lead receiving a serious allegation will seek LADO advice promptly and make a referral within one working day where the threshold is met. Staff must not investigate allegations themselves. Lower-level concerns will also be recorded, reviewed for patterns and escalated if necessary. Police will be contacted immediately in an emergency. DBS or other referrals will be made where legally required. Nobody raising a genuine safeguarding concern will be penalised for speaking up.
7. Keeping children safe during activities
Staff follow the agreed risk assessments, code of conduct, behaviour and physical intervention, first aid, and health and safety procedures. Physical intervention is only used where lawful, necessary and proportionate to prevent imminent harm, never as punishment; any incident is reported and recorded.
Children are treated respectfully and their individual communication, sensory and care needs are recognised. Personal care follows an agreed plan that maintains dignity, privacy and safety. Children can raise worries with any trusted member of staff, who must pass them on using this procedure.
For Learning Barn drop-off sessions, staff supervise children between agreed arrival and authorised collection. Group sessions operate at no more than four children per supervising staff member, with additional support when needed. For accompanied visits and parties, the booking arrangements identify the accompanying adult’s supervision responsibilities.
One-to-one work must be agreed and risk-assessed. Another responsible adult knows the location and timing, with suitable check-in or visibility arrangements.
Attendance, emergency contacts and authorised collectors are checked. Unexplained absences, missing children and late collections are acted on promptly. Police are contacted without delay if a missing child is at risk.
Visitors, residents and contractors do not have unsupervised access to children. Staff maintain professional boundaries, including no private social-media contact or unauthorised meetings with children.
Child-on-child abuse must be reported and recorded, with immediate steps to protect children, suitable supervision and a referral where needed; it must not be dismissed as banter. Images are taken and used only for approved purposes, with permissions and approved devices/accounts. Online concerns are reported through this procedure and managed under our online safety arrangements.
8. Recruitment, training and safeguarding records
We use safer recruitment arrangements appropriate to each role, including identity and suitability checks, references and the correct level of DBS check where legally eligible. Checks do not replace supervision and professional conduct. Staff and volunteers receive safeguarding induction, read this policy and the reporting procedure, and confirm that they understand how to report concerns. Staff know which safeguarding lead is available during each session.
Knowledge is checked through discussion or scenarios; refresher training and updates are provided at least annually. The DSL and deputy maintain training appropriate to their roles.
Safeguarding records are dated, factual and stored securely with access limited to authorised people. Information is shared only as necessary and lawfully to protect children, and records are retained in line with applicable guidance. Staff should report any loss or unauthorised disclosure of safeguarding information immediately.
9. Review and related guidance
We review this policy annually and after significant incidents or changes in guidance or services. Staff are informed of updates. Read it alongside the staff code of conduct, whistleblowing, safer recruitment, behaviour and physical intervention, online safety, first aid, health and safety, risk assessment, privacy and complaints procedures. We also consider current national safeguarding guidance and relevant alternative provision standards.
