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1. Statement of intent
Suffolk Sensory Kitchen has a statutory and moral duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of every child and young person who attends the Provision, whether on placement, at an outreach workshop or as part of a community masterclass. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We accept that some of the young people who arrive with us are among the most vulnerable in Suffolk, and we organise the Provision accordingly.
The welfare of the child is paramount. If, at any point, the demands of a placement or a wider piece of work conflict with the safety of the child, the safety of the child wins.
2. Statutory framework
This policy is written to comply with, and should be read alongside, the following:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education - the current edition published by the Department for Education, to which all staff are required to read at least Part One.
- Working Together to Safeguard Children - the most recent inter-agency guidance from HM Government.
- The Children Act 1989 and 2004.
- The Education Act 2002 (section 175 / 157 duties).
- The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 - Prevent duty.
- The Equality Act 2010.
- The Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice (0–25).
- The Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership published procedures and threshold tool.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Where statutory guidance is updated between policy review cycles, the updated guidance takes precedence and this policy is amended accordingly at the next review.
3. Key safeguarding roles
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Director Kirsty Wilson. The DSL holds current Level 3 Safeguarding training, refreshed at least every two years, and undertakes additional training between cycles to remain current with developments in policy and practice.
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Director Selina Finch, who holds equivalent training and acts as DSL in Kirsty Wilson’s absence.
Nominated Safeguarding Lead for governance. The Board of Directors as a whole, with the chair holding executive responsibility for ensuring the policy is followed.
The DSL is available on site for the entirety of every session day. Out of hours, the DSL can be reached through the on-call procedure circulated to commissioning schools and local authority partners.
4. Recognising abuse, neglect & exploitation
All staff are trained to recognise the categories of abuse defined in KCSIE - physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect - and the specific contextual safeguarding issues most relevant to the cohort we serve. These include but are not limited to:
- Child criminal exploitation (CCE) and county lines.
- Child sexual exploitation (CSE) including online grooming.
- Domestic abuse and the impact of living in a household where abuse is present.
- Harmful sexual behaviour.
- So-called honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
- Radicalisation (Prevent duty).
- Modern slavery and trafficking.
- Self-harm and suicidal ideation.
- Substance misuse.
- Bullying, including online bullying.
- Mental health concerns including EBSA, eating disorders and depression.
- Poverty-related neglect and food insecurity.
Staff are reminded that signs of abuse can be subtle, that a single sign rarely confirms or rules out abuse, and that professional curiosity is expected at all times.
5. Reporting a concern
Any member of staff with a concern about a child must report it to the DSL on the same working day. Where the DSL is unavailable, the Deputy DSL is the first alternative. Where neither is available and the matter is urgent, the staff member contacts the Suffolk Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) directly and informs the DSL as soon as practicable.
Concerns are recorded on our internal safeguarding system within the same working day. The record includes the date, time and location of the concern, what was observed or disclosed (in the words used wherever possible), the action taken, the names of those informed, and the next review date.
Disclosures from a child are received with calm, are not over-questioned, and are not promised confidentiality. The child is thanked for telling us, told that we will need to share the information with people who can help, and given an honest, age-appropriate explanation of what happens next.
For dual-registered students, the home school’s DSL is informed of any concern about that child within the same working day, unless doing so would place the child at greater risk. A written record of the information shared is held with the safeguarding file.
6. Records, sharing & receiving information
We request, at point of referral, the complete safeguarding file held by the home school in respect of the young person, including any chronology, EHCP, behaviour log, attendance log and risk assessment. Information sharing is governed by the principles of Working Together and the seven golden rules of information sharing published by the Department for Education.
Safeguarding records are stored on encrypted, UK-region cloud infrastructure with strict access controls. Paper records are not used routinely; where they exist, they are stored in a locked cabinet in a locked office. Retention follows the schedule set out in SSK-POL-06 GDPR & Privacy.
7. Dynamic risk assessment - knives, heat, sharps & allergens
The Provision uses real kitchen equipment, including chef knives, hobs, ovens, blowtorches, blenders, mandolins and small electrical equipment. The use of this equipment is integral to the curriculum and is not avoidable. We manage the inherent risks through a documented dynamic risk assessment process that operates at three levels.
Level 1 - Cohort-level risk assessment. Reviewed annually. Sets out the standard control measures for each piece of equipment.
Level 2 - Individual student risk assessment. Completed before any new student is in the kitchen. Considers the young person’s history of self-harm, of harm to others, of food-related distress, sensory profile and any medical condition that might be relevant (e.g. epilepsy, severe allergy, diabetes). This document is co-signed by the home school and by the parent or carer with parental responsibility.
Level 3 - Session-level dynamic assessment. Each session opens with a regulation check-in. Where a student is presenting as significantly dysregulated, sharps and heat may be temporarily withdrawn from that individual’s station and replaced with prep tasks that do not present an acute risk. The decision is recorded in the session log.
Knives are signed in and out of a locked, numbered drawer at the start and end of every session. The count is checked at clean-down. Discrepancies are reported to the DSL within the same working day. Heat sources are checked for isolation at the end of every session by two members of staff independently.
8. Safer recruitment & staff training
All staff, volunteers and regular visitors are recruited under safer-recruitment principles. The directors are KCSIE Part Three compliant in their recruitment practice. Every paid member of staff is subject to:
- An enhanced DBS check with barred list information.
- Receipt and verification of two written references.
- Verification of identity and right to work in the UK.
- Verification of relevant teaching, food safety and first aid qualifications.
- An online presence check.
- Reading and signing Part One of KCSIE annually.
- Initial and annual refresher safeguarding training, with Prevent and FGM mandatory awareness training built in.
The Single Central Record (SCR) is maintained by the directors and reviewed at every quarterly board meeting.
9. Allegations against staff (LADO)
Allegations that a member of staff has behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child; possibly committed a criminal offence against, or related to, a child; behaved towards a child in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children; or behaved in a way in their personal life that raises safeguarding concerns - are referred to the Suffolk Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within one working day. The staff member’s line manager (or, if the allegation is against a director, the alternate director) follows LADO advice as to next steps, including any precautionary suspension. No internal investigation is undertaken in advance of LADO contact.
10. Online safety
Although the Provision is deliberately low-technology and partially screen-free (see Module 4 - Digital Detox), online safeguarding remains a live risk. Students may disclose online harm, may use devices during regulation breaks, and engage with online life outside of session hours. Staff are trained in current online safety concerns including sexual extortion, AI-generated harmful content, and harmful algorithmic exposure on mainstream platforms.
The Provision does not operate any pupil-facing social media account. Where photographs of cooking work are shared on the Provision’s public channels, consent is taken on the safeguarding consent form at point of placement and is re-confirmed annually; faces are not shown without specific written consent.
11. Review
This policy is reviewed annually by the Board, and immediately on publication of any new edition of Keeping Children Safe in Education or any material change in statutory guidance. The DSL is responsible for proposing amendments. The Board approves them.
Editing this policy: The full text of every policy lives in /app/policies/*/page.tsx and supporting copy lives in /content. The named author and approving director should re-date the document at every review.