Safe Guarding Policy

Walking.im is an Isle of Man business registered at:

Auldyn Lodge, Mount Auldyn, Ramsey, Isle of Man, British Isles, IM8 3PJ

and operates within Isle of Man law and procedures.

The business owner: Mr Ken Harding

Email: info@walking.im

Telephone: +44 (0)7624 480129

Website: www.walking.im

Safeguarding Policy and Procedures Principles and Policy Statement

Walking.im and its staff are fully committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all clients who attend any courses, walks and events it organises. In addition to careful planning, hazard & risk assessment, and client briefing, Walking.im takes additional measures for the safeguarding of children, young people, and vulnerable adults on courses, walks and events. The principles which lie behind these measures draw from a common basis which will apply to all clients.

General Principles of Walking.im:

Values inclusivity, appreciates difference, welcomes learning from others, and considers all participants to be equal
Respects everyone’s dignity equally
Acts as a positive role model, in the use of language, behaviour and good time keeping
Sets and monitors appropriate boundaries and relationships when working with children
Puts the welfare of the child and their enjoyment of the activity first
Creates and maintains a safe and caring environment to enable children to ask questions and/or raise concerns
Builds relationships based on mutual respect, and gives and receives feedback in constructive ways
Does not tolerate activities or behaviours which are abusive or inappropriate, e.g., bullying or harassment including those from a child’s peers
Acts if they have concerns about a child’s welfare
Ensures physical contact occurs only when necessary, and is kept to the safe minimum e.g., in a medical emergency. This should be done only with the knowledge, informed consent, and agreement of the child and/or their parent/guardian/responsible adult and this may be a verbal agreement.
Respects confidentiality whenever possible when issues are reported

General child (under 18s) safeguarding policy:

All participants aged under 18 are only allowed on activities with Walking.im provided:

they are accompanied by a parent/legal guardian on a 1:1 basis always, and their parent/legal guardian is within sight and sound of their child during the activity or
accompanied by teachers, teaching supporters and/or parent helpers who are acting in loco parentis of the child or group of children and at least one of whom is within sight and sound of the child(ren) during the activity acting as a responsible adult
the parent/guardian/person acting in loco parentis (responsible adult) must take heed and act upon all information, guidance or hazard warnings given by Walkling.im in advance of the activity, in the pre-activity briefing or during the activity itself walking.im does not act in loco parentis at any time.

All interaction, coaching, leading, and guiding of children must be within the group, with at least one other adult present so as to avoid working in isolation with a child.

Walking.im duty of care applies to the activity only and there will be a clear transfer of responsibility at the beginning and at the conclusion of the activity. Since not all activities offered by Walking.im may be suitable for (all) under 18s, we reserve the right to decline work which might threaten our duty of care to all our clients.

General Procedure as the owner of Walking.im, Mr Ken Harding is the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

He is also the Point of Contact for any other bodies or individuals should there be a safeguarding incident. He is qualified through Mountain Training England (and other bodies), First Aid-trained and insured.

Mr Ken Harding will ensure that this policy is reviewed at least every two years, or following circumstances which provide an additional reason to review it and updated (if deemed necessary).

Safer recruitment: Should Walking.im seek to engage someone as an employee or volunteer who will be working with children or known vulnerable adults, especially if they are working unsupervised, then an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (or the review of an existing enhanced DBS check) will form part of the recruitment process and a requirement to have undertaken Child Safeguarding training. Ken Harding will ensure that any volunteers, co-workers, partner organisations and staff are issued with and made aware of this policy. Any safeguarding concerns should be reported to Ken Harding, and he will make the decision whether to refer the incident to a statutory and/or other agency.

In following these procedures, Ken Harding will be guided by the policies and procedures of Mountain Training England (MTE) as a National Governing Body. Referral may also be made to Isle of Man legislation and the policies and procedures of Isle of Man safeguarding bodies.

Safeguarding arrangements and procedures for Walking.im

Should there be an event of safeguarding concern, Walking.im and any member of staff involved will follow this approach:

Recognise and respond:

Recognise any form of abuse and neglect (physical, emotional, sexual abuse, neglect, bullying)
Recognise any form of inappropriate behaviour
Respond appropriately Diagnosis of abuse is not the role of Walking.im, but it is our role to notice concerns and act on them. When listening to a disclosure from a child, we shall be empathetic, supportive, reassuring, calm and listen carefully. We shall not ask investigative questions or try to gather evidence. We shall make notes and record the information.

Reporting and Recording

Walking.im will report and record our concerns using the Safeguarding Report Form, along with any action we have taken. The information will always be passed on and the disclosure will be reported to, or advice sought from, Isle of Man Safeguarding (Safeguarding Children Board or Safeguarding Adults Partnership as appropriate), the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care Children and Families Team, the NSPCC’s helpline, Childline, Emergency Services and/or the Police, depending on the nature of the disclosure. We shall only share information on a need-to-know basis with people who have a role in protecting children, and only what is important for them to know. We shall report the disclosure within 24 hours, or as soon as is practically possible.

For safeguarding concerns in relation to children we shall contact: (01624) 686179 during office hours (01624) 631212 out of office hours If there are doubts as to whether to report something, we shall seek advice from Childline: 0800 1111 or NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000. In certain circumstances, it may be helpful to discuss concerns with the child’s parents, guardians, carers, or those acting in loco parentis, as this may explain our concerns (e.g., family bereavement).

However, the welfare of the child is the priority. We shall only discuss concerns with parents, carers etc. if appropriate. If it is not appropriate, we shall contact Childline/NSPCC Helpline. If Adult Safeguarding issues arise this will also be reported to relevant authorities.

For safeguarding concerns in relation to adults we shall contact: (01624) 686179 during office hours(01624) 650000 out of office hours.

What we shall report

Name and information about the child/vulnerable adult
Nature of concern – what the child/vulnerable adult said, physical signs, behavioural indicators
My name and role
When and where it happened, who else was present
What the child/vulnerable adult said, and what I observed
Any relevant observations about the child/vulnerable adult in the past (change in behaviour etc)
What I said in response to the child/vulnerable adult, my opinion
Name and address of the alleged perpetrator (if known)
Who I have told, any advice received, or action taken

What we shall record

The child’s/vulnerable adult’s details
Nature of the incident – details of concern, injury, abuse, or neglect
Those involved and the circumstances
What was said or done – any action taken, what the child/vulnerable adult said, what was said to the child/vulnerable adult
Record my observations, accurately, clearly, and concisely
Sign and date the record
Report appropriately. This information is confidential, and should only be shared with people on a need-to-know basis Informing MTE when Walking.im Child Safeguarding Procedures have been invoked during a MTE course or activity, we shall inform MTE. The information which will be shared with MTE will be:
A brief description of the nature of the concern
The action taken in response
The outcome

It is recognised that there may be some circumstances where identifiable information can be shared, with informed consent. This may be because the person concerned will continue to be involved in Mountain Training courses and sharing information will enable them to be better supported, for example.

Allegations against staff and volunteers

Should there be an allegation against staff or volunteers working with or for Walking.im, this should be reported to Mr Ken Harding for initial assessment. He will record and report in line with the procedures outlined above. Should there be an allegation made against Mr Ken Harding, then the appropriate Isle of Man agency and MTE should be informed.

Codes of conduct:

Walking.im…

Values inclusivity, appreciates difference, welcomes learning from others, and considers all participants to be equal
Respects everyone’s dignity equally.
Recognises that we are in a position of trust and leadership, and will act, behave, and communicate in a professional manner
Will act as a positive role model, in the use of language, behaviour and prompt time keeping
Sets and monitors appropriate boundaries and relationships with our clients
Puts the welfare of the person and their enjoyment of the adventurous outdoor activity first
Creates and maintains a safe, caring environment to enable everyone to ask questions or raise concerns
Builds relationships based on mutual respect; gives and receives feedback in a constructive way
Will not tolerate activities, language or behaviour which is abusive or inappropriate, e.g., bullying, harassment, racist or sexist language, misuse of alcohol, drug use etc
Ensures physical contact occurs only when necessary, and is kept to the safe minimum e.g. in a medical emergency. This should be done only with the knowledge, informed consent, and agreement of the person and this can be verbal agreement.
Walking.im will lead by example, showing good behaviour, positive group management and acceptable language, refraining from offensive language and sharing
Walking.im will engender an environment free from prejudice or discrimination with regards to age, gender, sexuality, religion, or ethnicity
Walking.im staff will not drink alcohol or smoke whilst undertaking the adventurous activity. If the event includes overnight stays, then good behaviour will continue throughout the evening, with any alcohol consumption done in moderation (if applicable).
Walking.im will not tolerate abusive, offensive, or inappropriate language and/or behaviour from people within their group. Ken Harding or the person in charge of the event will initially speak with the person concerned to discuss appropriate language/behaviour. If such behaviour continues after a warning, then they will be asked to leave the group (but only if safe/appropriate to do so), and then refused attendance on future events.
Walking.im will engender an environment supportive of lone participants and people who are new to outdoor activities. This will be done through an open and flexible response to enquiries, clear joining instructions, good time keeping, accessible meeting points.
Walking.im will be the last party to leave the site at the end of an event to ensure the safe departure of all other participants. Photographs and/or videos may only be taken during a walking activity or skills course with the knowledge and consent of all those included in the photograph and/or video that these images are being captured and may be shared on social media. This may be a verbal agreement. These images may then be shared on Walking.im’s website and/or social media streams but people will not be tagged, nor personal or identifiable information shared. Participants are encouraged to nform the instructor or walk leader if they do not consent to images being captured and/or shared.

Next scheduled review date: 12th February 2026 – Policy reviewed every 2 years.

Mr Ken Harding – Walking.im