Staff and Volunteer Code of Conduct

Section 1Purpose and status

The Charity Commission’s safeguarding guidance for trustees opens its checklist by requiring an adequate safeguarding policy, a code of conduct and any other safeguarding procedures. The Department for Education’s out-of-school settings guidance likewise expects a staff behaviour policy. This code is that document. It tells every person acting for Being The Cure what is expected of them and where the line is.

It applies to employees, volunteers, trustees, sessional workers, contractors and anyone else acting for or on behalf of BTC, at BTC activities and, where the conduct affects BTC’s children or reputation, outside them. For employees it forms part of the terms of employment. For volunteers it forms part of the Volunteer Agreement. A breach may lead to disciplinary action, to the ending of a volunteer placement, to a referral to the local authority designated officer or the Disclosure and Barring Service, and to a report to the police.

Section 2The standards expected

Conduct towards children

• Treat every child with respect and dignity, and never use language that belittles, shames or humiliates.
• Never inflict physical or psychological harm on a child in any circumstances. Corporal punishment, rough handling and any form of physical chastisement are absolutely prohibited.
• Avoid being alone with a child where you cannot be seen. Where one-to-one contact is necessary, work in a room with a window or an open door, tell another adult, and record it.
• Do not give a child a lift in your own vehicle, take a child to your home, or meet a child outside BTC activities, unless the CEO has agreed it in writing in advance and a parent or carer has consented.
• Do not offer personal gifts, money or favours to an individual child, and do not accept them from a child or family beyond a token of thanks, which must be declared to the CEO.
• Physical contact should be appropriate to the child’s age and need, never initiated for the adult’s benefit, and never in a way the child is uncomfortable with. Intimate or personal care is provided only by a person specifically authorised to do so, following the agreed plan for that child, and is recorded.
• Do not make promises of confidentiality to a child. If a child begins to disclose, explain that you may have to tell someone whose job it is to keep them safe.

Communication and technology

• Communicate with children and families only through BTC accounts and channels, never from a personal phone number, personal email address or personal social media account.
• Do not accept or send friend or follower requests to a child, or to the parent of a child, on a personal account.
• Do not photograph or film a child on a personal device. Images are taken only on BTC equipment, only where consent has been given, and are handled under the Photography, Filming and Image Consent Policy.
• Do not post anything about BTC, its children or its families on personal social media that could identify a child, bring the charity into disrepute, or compromise a safeguarding matter.

Conduct generally

• Do not attend a BTC activity under the influence of alcohol or of drugs, including prescription medication that impairs your ability to carry out your role safely. Do not smoke or vape in the sight of children.
• Declare any relationship, interest or connection that could give rise to a conflict, under the Conflicts of Interest Policy, including any personal relationship with a child’s family that predates or arises from your role.
• Keep confidential any information about a child, family, colleague or the charity that you learn through your role, subject always to the duty to share safeguarding information.
• Comply with the Data Protection Policy. Do not remove personal data from BTC systems, store it on personal devices, or send it to a personal email address.
• Do not accept a donation, gift or hospitality that could be seen to influence your conduct, and declare anything above a nominal value to the CEO.

Section 3Raising and reporting concerns

Every person to whom this code applies must report a concern about a child to the Designated Safeguarding Lead immediately, and on the same day at the latest. A concern about the conduct of another adult, however small, must be reported to the CEO, or to the Chair of Trustees where it concerns the CEO, under the Managing Allegations Policy. Concerns that do not meet the harm threshold are still reported: they are recorded as low-level concerns so that patterns can be seen.

Concerns are recorded on the Saturday School app at saturdayschool.beingthecure.org. Reporting to the DSL in person and recording on the app are both required; neither replaces the other. Using the app is part of induction and every member of staff and volunteer is given an account before their first session.

No one will be penalised for raising a concern honestly, even if it turns out to be mistaken. Deliberately discouraging, delaying or preventing someone else from reporting is treated as gross misconduct, and once sections 85 to 94 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 are commenced it will be a criminal offence where the concern relates to a child sex offence.

Where you believe a concern is not being dealt with properly, use the Whistleblowing Policy. You may also report directly to Newham MASH on 020 3373 4600 or MASH@newham.gov.uk, and to the police on 999 in an emergency, without going through anyone at BTC first.