Child Protection Policy

Writing West Midlands will endeavour to safeguard children by adopting the following principles. We will:

• Treat all children and young people with equal respect and dignity;
• Always work in an open and transparent environment with participants;
• Maintain a safe and appropriate relationship with participants;
• Maintain up-to-date insurance policies checks and ensure that appropriate recruitment procedures are followed;
• Be aware of the developmental needs and capacity of participants;
• Ensure that individuals will receive support through education and training to be aware of and understand best practice and how to manage any welfare issues which may come to light;
• Recognise that it is not the responsibility of staff, contractors or volunteers to determine if abuse has taken place, but it is their responsibility to act upon and report any concerns.

We expect everyone who represents Writing West Midlands (staff, trustees, partners, agency staff, volunteers and contractors) to have read, understood and adhere to this policy and its related procedures.

To read our Child Protection Policy in full, please follow this link: Writing West Midlands’ Child Protection Policy. If you have any questions about it, please contact our Child Protection Officer Jonathan Davidson on 0121 246 2770 or email him jonathan[at]writingwestmidlands.org.

All members of our staff and contracted artists are asked to read and sign a Code of Conduct. We expect everyone associated with our activities to behave responsibly, this includes the contracted artists and those taking part in the activities. We reserve the right to temporarily or permanently exclude anyone whose behaviour is unacceptable. We do not tolerate any form of offensive behaviour.