Safeguarding & Child Protection

Hikora is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people who take part in our activities, and to creating an environment where they feel safe, respected and able to enjoy learning.

We follow the principles of the UK government's statutory guidance, 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' and 'Working Together to Safeguard Children', and we expect every member of staff and volunteer to share this commitment.

We have a named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who is responsible for handling any safeguarding or child-protection concern and is the first point of contact for staff, parents and children on any welfare issue.

If you have a concern about a child's safety, you can reach our Designated Safeguarding Lead by emailing info@hikora.co.uk with 'Safeguarding' in the subject line. We treat every concern seriously and in confidence.

Everyone who works directly with children at Hikora holds an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and we take up references before anyone works with our young people.

Staff and volunteers receive a safeguarding induction appropriate to their role and are briefed on this policy before every programme.

Children are supervised by our team at all times during sessions. We keep sensible adult-to-child ratios appropriate to the age group and activity, and we confirm the ratio for each programme to parents in advance.

We manage sign-in and sign-out at the start and end of every session, and children are only released to a parent, guardian, or another adult agreed with us in advance.

Any concern about a child's welfare is reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead without delay. The DSL decides on the appropriate action, which may include speaking with parents, or contacting the local authority children's social care team or the police.

Where a child is at immediate risk of harm, we will call the emergency services on 999. We keep a confidential written record of any concern and the action taken.

Concerns about the conduct of a member of staff or volunteer are referred to the DSL and, where appropriate, to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

Because our classes involve computers and the internet, online safety is built into how we work. Activities are supervised, internet access during sessions is filtered and monitored, and we teach children age-appropriate habits for staying safe online.

We only photograph or film children, or use their image in our marketing, where a parent or guardian has given written consent through our photo & media consent form. You can give or withdraw consent at any time, and we never publish a child's full name alongside their image.

We expect kind, respectful behaviour from everyone who takes part. Bullying, discrimination and harassment of any kind are not tolerated, and our team is briefed on how to respond if they occur.

We ask parents to tell us about any medical conditions, allergies or additional needs when booking, so we can support every child properly, and we have arrangements in place for first aid during sessions.

Questions about this policy, or a safeguarding concern? Email info@hikora.co.uk (mark it 'Safeguarding') and we will respond promptly.