BRECKLAND ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Charity No. 1044478

www.brecklandastro.org.uk

Affiliated to the British Astronomical Association and the Federation of Astronomical Societies

Dr Dan Self, Chairman, 56 Lindley Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 2HF.

07734 364667  chairman@brecklandastro.org.uk

This document incorporates Child Protection & Safeguarding. The Risk Assessment for the use of the premises and the society’s and our personal equipment is a separate document. Other statements of intent are laid out in the society’s constitution.

Background: The purpose of the society (Breckland Astronomical Society) is to promote and to advance public education in the Science of Astronomy and all branches of scientific research. We run visits and outreach activities at other sites. For the purpose of definition ‘Supervisor’ below shall refer to any demonstrator, or teacher undergoing an outreach activity.

General statement of intent: Breckland Astronomical Society abides by the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, is committed to safeguarding practice that reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice requirements.

1. It is the statutory duty of the trustees and appointed supervising members of Breckland Astronomical Society to look out for the welfare of under 18’s at the society’s facility and at outreach events and protect them from harm.
2. The Chairman is DBS checked as part of his profession, but we cannot pursue checks for all supervising members. Therefore, we require any visitors under 18 to be accompanied with a suitable parent/guardian or a responsible DBS checked adult(s) at an appropriate minimum adult to child ratio: Ages 4-8, 6:1, Ages up to 12, 8:1, Ages up to 18, 10:1 (NSPCC guidelines).
3. The organisation cannot afford external Safeguarding training for all supervisors however it is best practice. The chairman has up-to-date training as part of their job and will provide supervisors with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection. See learning.nspcc.org.uk.

Physical Safety

4. A copy of the Risk Assessment is available on request.
5. Children should be supervised when around equipment in order to not expose them to hazards. Supervisors should be made aware of the equipment’s hazards.
6. Contact details for under 18s should be available in case of accidents. The society’s details should be publicly available.
7. Supervisors acting on behalf of the society should be aware of the nearest available medical facilities in the event of an accident.
8. Parental or guardian consent is necessary for children to visit or attend our outreach events. The responsibility for organising this is with the visiting party leaders.
9. Other than open evenings, visits to our facilities should be arranged in advance.

Concerns

10. In the event of a concern being raised regarding one or more of our members or supervisors, one of the trustees should be contacted. Details are available on the website and should be given as a matter of course. The issue shall then be investigated at the earliest opportunity by an independent safeguarding authority, such as the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub or the Local Area Designated Officer.
11. No supervisor or member who is deemed not being suitable for supervising children, unanimously by the Trustees listed below (the committee) will be permitted to be present when delivering outreach activities where there could be a child present.
12. No supervisor or member who has a known record of failing a Disclosure and Barring Service Check shall be permitted to attend outreach activities or be present at any session where children may be present. This rules out many sessions including some weekly members nights where visits have been arranged.

Abuse

13. It may not be possible during short activity times and in various contexts, but it is important to recognise and report evidence of abuse against any particular child or children including: bullying (including cyber bullying), child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation, child trafficking, domestic abuse, grooming, historical abuse, online abuse.

Confidentiality

14. a. Information (identifiable pictures, names, data) about children should not be shared without explicit permission from the child or parent/guardian/leader. Leaders need to obtain parent/guardian permission. Care must be taken especially with social media.b. However, records must be kept about any concerns, signed and dated and include details, decisions and be reported to the appropriate agency, then stored in line with GDPR.

15. Work together to safeguard children and provide a safe environment of care, and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. This includes the ability to raise concerns or whistleblow and that there should be no culture of authority or threat against such doing (whether legally provable or not).
16. This policy also extends to vulnerable adults.

Contacts

17. Officers to whom safeguarding issues can be reported are the chairman, treasurer and secretary, listed below, who have regular safeguarding training. The LADO (local area designated officer) are available on 01603 223473 lado@norfolk.gov.uk for reporting suspicions. Police can be called on 101 for non-emergency or 999 for emergency situations. NSPCC run a helpline on 0808 800 5000.

Trustees as of 18/04/2026 are: Dr Dan Self *(Chairman) – chairman@brecklandastro.org.uk, Keith Fowler (Treasurer/Membership Secretary) – treasurer@brecklandastro.org.uk, John Copsey (Secretary) – johncopsey@live.co.uk, Richard Harmon, Mark Humphrys, Justin Pearson. Other appointed supervising members for visits and outreach: Peter Farmer, Andrew Luck, Chris Bailey, Mick Ladner, Keith Morris, Gerald North.

*DBS checked for their main job.