Spicy Minds whistleblowing policy

Any concerns that someone in the organisation, including senior management, volunteers or contractors, might be putting someone at safeguarding risk or is involved in unsafe practice that might hurt service users should be immediately escalated.

Please bring any worries, regardless how small they might seem, to the immediate manager/ someone else you feel comfortable talking to who will bring these to the designated safeguarding lead (if they are not the person of concern). Alternatively they can be brought to a the DSL or to the CEO.

Any concerns should be documented in a confidential file and the DSL should seek further advice within 24 hours. An HR specialist with knowledge of child or adult safeguarding concerns should be appointed and consideration needed as to whether suspension should take place while concerns are investigated and whether the individual concerned needs reporting to DBS (eg if police are involved in investigation). Advice can be sought from a safeguarding consultant, if further advice is needed.

As the organisation works towards best practice, any concerns about any individual within the organisation should require immediate attention and specialist consultation on next best steps. It might be necessary to suspend the member of the team while concerns are investigated.

It might be that someone in the team feels that concerns or more general patterns of improper or unsafe behaviour are taking place and there is a public interest case for whistleblowing. Wherever possible, the team member of any level should be encouraged first to immediately take concerns to the designated safeguarding lead who will investigate seeking consultancy as needed, but if concerns are about the DSL, then advice can be sought from specialist whistleblowing charity, Protect, which has an advice line that individuals can call: https://protect-advice.org.uk/advice-line/

Spicy Minds adopts a proactive and positive attitude to whistleblowing where the organisation wants to create a culture where team feel empowered to bring attention to any matters of concern and should not worry about direct or indirect negative consequences, but should be encouraged to raise worries. Practical steps such as reflective practice and safeguarding committees help to create such a transparent culture.