Policies

Please find below our child safeguarding statement and privacy policies. For our policies in full or if you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with Belinda at 01-2780229/0857739723 or at belinda.briggs@urban-junction.com.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT

1. Name of service being provided:

Urban Junction provides educational, spiritual and recreational activities, clubs and services to children under 18 years of age and vulnerable adults through a range of community services.

2. Nature of service and principles to safeguard children from harm:

We, the Management of Urban Junction, under the authority of the Methodist Church in Ireland, are fully compliant with the Children First Act 2015 and Taking Care, the Child Protection Policy of the Methodist Church in Ireland.  We follow the correct procedures and guidelines, we acknowledge our duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and we are committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice.

3. Risk Assessment

We have carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while availing of our services. Below is a list of the areas of risk identified and the list of procedures for managing these risks.

 Risk identifiedProcedure in place to manage identified risk
1Harm caused by member of staff or volunteerCareful recruitment of staff, volunteers and leaders. Ensure that all staff/ helpers are checked by the National Vetting Bureau and that they attend regular training. No one-to-one private contact between adult and child.
2KitchenChildren are strictly not allowed to enter the kitchen unless there is a supervised activity taking place.
3Supervision of childrenWe have the correct ratios in place and our children are supervised adequately.  Leaders are fully aware of their supervision obligations and are assigned children who must remain under their care at all times. Doors are shut and careful supervision of the entrance areas takes place.
4Management of challenging behaviour amongst childrenAmongst others, the following policies are in place: Health and Safety Policy, Code of Behaviour
5Toilet areasSeparate staff and child toilets in use. Separate cubicles are available. Staff/leaders limit numbers using the toilets at the same time.
6Care of children with special needs including medical and intimate care needsTwo adults are present for all intimate care needs procedures in an appropriate space. Parents will be kept fully informed. All of the children attending our programmes have correct parental permission and information forms. Accident and First Aid Policy in place
   
7Visiting Speaker/Teacher/CoachGarda vetting procedures in place. Children remain in the care of the Leader/teacher etc. No one-to-one contact.
8That there may be need to make a referral to Tusla or An Garda Siochana.We are supported by the Methodist Safeguarding
Officer as well as the procedures outlined in Taking Care.
9Students participating in work experienceAll students over 16 years of age are Garda vetted. Child Safeguarding Statement. No one-to-one access, supervised by UJ Team Leader. Children at clubs remain under the insurance of their Secondary School.
10International InternsVetting procedures from home country, reference supplied.
11OutingsOutings Checklist. High pupil – leader ratio. Venue and coach insured. Pupils are supervised at all times. No child to be in changing/toilet area alone at anytime. Leaders ensure toilets/changing areas are safe before our pupils enter facility.  Venues chosen after careful consideration of safety.
12UJ AccessAccess to building is restricted and monitored. Children in clubs and activities are supervised at all times.
13Use of UJ Building by other agencies/clubsIt is required that the following is presented to UJ Management before using the building: vetting procedures and proof, CSS Policy in place, Proof of public liability insurance.
14Risk of harm due to children inappropriately accessing/using computers, social media, phones and other devicesNo phones or devices allowed during activities. No unsupervised computer access. Only designated leaders will take photographs and these will only be stored and used with parents permission.

Training of UJ personnel in Child Protection Matters:

  • Child Safeguarding Statement and Tusla procedures made available to all staff and volunteers. CSS will be reviewed annually. All personnel are required to adhere to the Children First Act 2015.
  • Mandated staff and volunteers will complete the Túsla eLearning Programme and the Methodist Safeguarding Training.
  • UJ retains all records of staff and volunteers.
4. Procedures

Our Child Safeguarding Statement has been developed in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017), and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, the following procedures support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service:

  • Procedure for the management of allegations of abuse or misconduct againststaff and volunteers of a child availing of our service;
  • Procedure for the safe recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers to work with children;
  • Procedure for provision of and access to child safeguarding training and information, including the identification of the occurrence of harm;
  • Procedure for the reporting of child protection or welfare concerns to Tusla, An Garda Siochana and the Safeguarding Officer of the Methodist Church;
  • Procedure for maintaining a list of the persons (if any) in the relevant service who are mandated persons;
  • Procedure for appointing our Designated Person(s).

All procedures listed are available upon request.

5. Implementation

We recognise that implementation is an on-going process. Our service is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our service.
This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed in June each year or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

6.  Safeguarding Officers

We have the following as our Safeguarding Officers:

Belinda Briggs (Manager) and Richard Phillips (Volunteer)

085 7739723




 

PRIVACY NOTICE

Data Protection Principles

Urban Junction complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as implemented in May 2018. We aim to ensure that, when processing information belonging to individuals, we will use that data with integrity, appropriately, and sparingly. We will endeavour to ensure such data is accurate, not kept forever, and stored securely. Training in data protection is recommended for all our staff and volunteers who store and/or use people’s information. We will post this Privacy Notice in our building and on our website. We will review this policy every three years.

Your Rights

You have data protection rights that you can exercise over the information you give us. These rights include: to be informed how your data is being used; to have access to the information we hold about you; to have inaccuracies corrected; to have your information erased; to object to or restrict the ways we process your information, and; data portability (to receive your digital information in a useful format). There may be some legal restrictions on these rights, which we will explain as appropriate. If you feel your rights haven’t been upheld please contact us in the first instance, or you can communicate with the Methodist Church in Ireland (Secretary of Conference) at 1 Fountainville Avenue, Belfast BT9 6AN; Phone: (028) 9032 4554; E-mail: secretary@irishmethodist.org.

Our Contact Details

If you need to get in touch with us please contact:
Belinda Briggs
Urban Junction, 42 Main Street, Blackrock, Do Dublin A94 Y3X7
01-2780229                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       belinda.briggs@urban-junction.com

Your Data

We may record and process some or all of the following personal information about you:

  • contact details (address, phone numbers, e-mail address)
  • date of birth
  • photographs/video recordings
  • Donations to Urban Junction
  • health and medication
  • next of kin details
  • doctor’s details (children’s registration forms only)
  • training undertaken with Urban Junction e.g. first aid (including copies of certificates received)
  • child protection details for those volunteering with children or vulnerable adults e.g. vetting applications, disclosure records
  • accident/incident report forms

We use this data (depending on which Urban Junction/Ignite groups you are a part of) so that we might:

  • keep you informed about events at Urban Junction, eg by sending you occasional notices by post, e-mail or text message
  • encourage you in your faith and provide pastoral care to you e.g. by visiting at your home, calling your telephone, or sending a text message or e-mail
  • process your involvement in activities of Urban Junction/ignite, including groups that meet regularly as well as residential and other special trips
  • give you the opportunity to give your time or money to the work of Urban Junction
  • facilitate the organisation of Urban Junction and Ignite, eg by creating volunteer rotas, keeping records of training undertaken by volunteers

Legal Bases for Processing

Our legal bases for processing your data are ‘legitimate interests’ (for activities related to the everyday functioning of the church) [GDPR Article 6.1(f)] and ‘consent’ (for everything else) [Article 6.1(a)]. In a small number of instances we rely on ‘contract’ (for example, if we are your employer) and ‘legal obligation’ (for example, in relation to safeguarding issues).
When using ‘legitimate interests’ as the legal basis for using the information you have given us we will ensure it is for a genuine purpose, necessary for the smooth running of Urban Junction, and not invasive to your privacy. For all other purposes we will ask for your positive consent before processing your details.

Sharing Your Data

Only people appointed to specific roles within Urban Junction (for example, staff, group leaders, admin volunteers) can access your details, and what they can see is limited to what they need in order to carry out their role.
If you are appointed to a specific role within the life of Urban Junction we may publish your details (eg in announcement sheets, reports or on our web presence) or share them directly so members and other relevant individuals/organisations can contact you. This will cease when you step down from the role.
We occasionally post photographs and/or video taken at events on our websites ([www.urban-junction.com; www.ignite-network.ie]) and/or other online platforms ([facebook, youtube, twitter and Instagram]).
If you donate money to us using the Irish Charities Donations Scheme we will send details of those gifts to the Revenue Commissioners.
We will not share your information with any other third parties without your permission unless we have a legal obligation to do so. However, we may need to share your details within our umbrella body, the Methodist Church in Ireland, as follows:

  • to comply with our Safeguarding policy when you volunteer with children and vulnerable adults.
  • if your role within Urban Junction means you need to receive specific information related to that role.
  • We use Dropbox cloud services for digital files, which have integrated appropriate security measures to keep your data safe, including instances where their servers are located outside of the EEA.
  • To prevent unauthorised disclosure of your information, our paper-based records are kept in a locked cabinet/safe when not in use. Electronic and portable memory devices storing personal information are protected by passwords or equivalent security measures. Digital documents containing personal data are either encrypted or password-protected.
  • Other than our permanent records (like Baptism and Marriage Registers, or Committee minutes) or details that need to be kept for legal compliance (such as Safeguarding notes, Incident Report Forms or Charitable Donation Scheme declarations), we will remove your information from our systems up to six years after your last personal contact with us (or after you turn eighteen years old if you are a minor).
  • One-off consent forms (such as for annual group membership or booking for trips etc) will be destroyed/erased one year after their use.

Security and Retention

  • We use Office 365/One Drive cloud services for digital files, which have integrated appropriate security measures to keep your data safe, including instances where their servers are located outside of the EEA.
  • To prevent unauthorised disclosure of your information, our paper-based records are kept in a locked cabinet/safe when not in use. Electronic and portable memory devices storing personal information are protected by passwords or equivalent security measures. Digital documents containing personal data are either encrypted or password-protected.
  • Other than our permanent records (like Baptism and Marriage Registers, or Committee minutes) or details that need to be kept for legal compliance (such as Safeguarding notes, Incident Report Forms or Charitable Donation Scheme declarations), we will remove your information from our systems up to six years after your last personal contact with us (or after you turn eighteen years old if you are a minor).
  • One-off consent forms (such as for annual group membership or booking for trips etc) will be destroyed/erased one year after their use.

Subject Access Request

You have the right to ensure our use of your data is lawful, and that the data we hold is accurate. If you would like to access the data we process about you, please write to us at:
Belinda Briggs
Urban Junction, 42 Main Street, Blackrock, Do Dublin
01-2780229                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        belinda.briggs@urban-junction.com
In order to locate the information you are requesting and to ensure proof of your identity, please send us:

  • Your name (including any names by which you used to be known) and Date of Birth
  • Address (incl postcode), e-mail address(es), telephone number(s)
  • Two pieces of identification that between them clearly show your name, date of birth and current address (eg passport, photocard driving license, birth certificate, recent bank statement/utility bill)

In response, and within one month at the latest, we will send to you:

  • The personal data we hold on record for you
  • The types of processing we do with your data
  • The people/groups with whom your data will have been shared (or will be in the future)
  • Our intentions regarding how long we might store your data
  • OR our reasons for not providing your data

We will not charge for this service unless you make multiple requests within a short space of time.

Further Information

You can learn about Data Protection principles, your rights, and more – including making a complaint about our handling of your data – from the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) [visit www.dataprotection.ie, call (0761) 104 800 or write to The Data Protection Commissioner, Canal House, Station Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois R32 AP23]. Guidance for Methodist churches is available at www.irishmethodist.org/data-protection-resources [short link: http://bit.ly/DPresources].