Safeguarding
CafesideMTB CIC (community interest company) looks after everybody who rides, works or volunteers at Chalet Woods, and anybody else affected by what we do. If you are worried about a child or an adult, tell us. You do not need to be sure, and it is not your job to decide whether something is serious.
If somebody is in immediate danger
Do that first, before anything on this page.
If somebody is hurt or unwell on site
That is first aid, not safeguarding. Find a member of staff, or call 999 if it is serious. We record injuries separately.
Telling us about a concern
Email safeguarding@cafesidemtb.com.
It reaches both directors. A person replies within 24 hours to confirm they have it. It is not an emergency channel and nobody watches it overnight, so if it cannot wait, call 999 or use one of the numbers further down this page.
You can also tell any member of staff or volunteer on site, and they will pass it on the same day.
Our safeguarding lead is Ben Gibbard.
What to tell us, if you can:
- What you saw or heard, in the words that were used
- When it happened, and where on the site
- Who was involved, if you know
- How we can reach you
Do not worry about gaps. Tell us what you know rather than going back to ask somebody questions.
What happens next
Somebody replies within 24 hours to confirm we have your concern and who is dealing with it. That reply comes from a person, not an automatic system.
Within a further 24 hours we decide whether to pass it to Devon County Council or the police, and we write down that decision and the reasons for it either way.
You may never be told the outcome. That is not a sign that nothing happened. Once a concern goes to children's services or the police it belongs to them, and they decide who is told what. We know that is hard when you were the one who spoke up.
If your concern is about one of our directors
Do not use safeguarding@cafesidemtb.com, because both directors can read it.
Use one of the numbers in the next section instead. Devon County Council and the police take concerns about an organisation from anybody, and you do not need our permission or our involvement to raise one.
If you would rather not come to us
You never have to come to us first. These are the people we would pass a concern to anyway.
| Who | When | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Devon children's services (the Front Door) | A child, daytime | 0345 155 1071, or the online form at devonscp.org.uk |
| Devon adult social care | An adult at risk, daytime | 0345 155 1007 |
| Devon Emergency Duty Service | Evenings, weekends, bank holidays | 0345 600 0388 |
| Police | A possible crime | 101, or 999 in an emergency |
| NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), for adults worried about a child | Any time | 0808 800 5000 |
| Childline, if you are under 18 | Any time | 0800 1111 |
Reporting without giving your name
You can. We will look into it either way.
Two things are worth knowing. An anonymous report is harder to act on, because we cannot come back to you for the detail that often matters. And we cannot promise that you will stay anonymous once a concern goes to children's services or the police, because they usually need to know where the information came from.
What we do with what you tell us
A safeguarding concern is written down and kept securely. Only the safeguarding lead, the deputy and the directors can see it. It is not kept with our ordinary rider or booking records, and it is not shared with anybody else unless we are passing it to children's services, adult social care or the police.
We keep these records for a long time, because concerns about children sometimes only make sense years later.
Our policies
Our Safeguarding Policy covers children and adults at risk, and our Safeguarding Reporting Procedure sets out what we do and by when. Ask for either at safeguarding@cafesidemtb.com and we will send it to you.