| 1.1 |
The Youth Offending Service (YOS) is a multi-disciplinary team, with staff seconded from a range of professional agencies. As a result there exists a wealth of experience within the team, which facilitates the achievement of the key aims and objectives of the service. |
| 1.2 |
Each agency contributing a member of staff to the team has its own policies and procedures in relation to personnel and professional issues. However, in order to maintain some consistency and accountability across the team membership, the YOS management has developed core procedures and policies which apply to all staff. |
| 1.3 |
It is not intended that these local YOS guidelines replace those held by agencies and care has been taken to ensure that they do not contradict them. Rather they are to be seen as guidance which complements that provided by the host agencies whilst providing a framework of support and stability for each member of staff in the team. YOS staff should be clear of the expectations that are placed on them and their colleagues, as well as the support and guidance they should expect from management. |
| 1.4 |
The implementation of this policy will be discussed as part of the induction programme and staff will sign to demonstrate that they have understood its contents. |
| 2.1 |
This document focuses only on the risk posed to staff by service users. Inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues is dealt with under separate procedures. |
| 2.2 |
The YOS management believes that all workers in the team have the right to work in an environment which is free from threat, intimidation or abuse from clients. |
| 2.3 |
The document has two main aims:
- To raise the awareness of all team members of personal safety matters.
- To identify practical steps to reduce risk where at all possible.
|
| 2.4 |
It is not possible to prescribe for every eventuality; however risk assessment in terms of his or her own personal safety should be a theme that underpins the work of each team member. Risk assessments should be continually reviewed as circumstances and relationships develop. |
| 2.5 |
Any deviation from the guidelines below must be discussed with the Operational manager before being carried out and recorded on the case file. |
| 4.1 |
Darren House - The structure and layout of Darren House is such that there are no physical barriers in the building to separate office areas from ‘communal areas’. This has implications for general safety but also confidentiality. Thus young people and their carers visiting the office should not be allowed access to the offices until the worker is available to see them. Similarly after the appointment they must be escorted out of the building. |
| 4.2 |
Young people who arrive more than five minutes early for an appointment, and for whom the worker is not ready, will be asked to return at the appropriate time. Where young people arrive late for appointments the person with whom they have an appointment will decide whether or not they can be seen and will go to reception to advise the young person him or herself. This is not a task for the admin. team. |
| 4.3 |
No young person will be left for more than five minutes in the reception area for his or her appointment. The administration team will advise the duty manager where young people appear to have been waiting for excessive lengths of time. |
| 4.4 |
The basement area is a particularly isolated part of the building and should be reserved for staff meetings, reviews and group work (i.e. where there is more than one member of staff in the room). As staff become more familiar with their client and feel as a result that risk has been reduced to minimal, it may be appropriate to use the basement room for interview, however the worker must advise the admin. team where they are. There is a panic alarm in the basement room. |
| 4.5 |
Link 1a – has no separate reception area, and thus no physical barriers to separate visitors from staff and the rest of the site. This has implications for general safety but also confidentiality. Young people and their carers visiting the office should not be allowed into Link 1a until their worker is available to see them. They can be asked to wait in the main reception of the Civic Centre from where they will be collected. Young people should not be in the main office for more than a minute as there will be confidential phone conversations taking place. |
| 4.6 |
With respect to both sites, if the worker answering the door has any concerns about the behaviour of the visitor they must alert the allocated worker and the senior officer in the building. As a general rule anyone who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed into the building. Possible exceptions to this may be where young vulnerable clients are felt to be at risk if left unsupervised and in need of safe transport home/medical attention. Any decision needs to be made with the senior officer. |
| 4.7 |
Young people are not to bring friends to appointments and where the young person is subject to an intervention, reference to this should be included in their contract. Friends must not be allowed to wait on site for an appointment to finish. |
| 4.8 |
Clients must not be left unsupervised within the building. This will require workers to plan their programmes and ensure that they have all the material they will need for their sessions. |
| 4.9 |
Appointments should take place in rooms where there is an alarm button and all staff should be aware of where the button is. There is a mobile alarm, which must be used when members of staff wish to use other rooms on the building. In Link 1a the alarms are linked to the council’s system and will elicit the help of security staff. The security team have been advised to access Link 1a though the first floor entrance. |
| 4.10 |
Rooms where interviews are taking place should be checked prior to the meeting to ensure there are no unnecessary items in the room that could cause injury to staff. |
| 4.11 |
Clients must not be seen in the building when there are no other members of staff present on site. The allocated worker should make arrangements in advance with colleagues to ensure cover, particularly when evening appointments are made. |
| 4.12 |
All appointments with representatives of partner agencies that take place in either site must be recorded in the office diary and on Careworks. Where such representatives make subsequent appointments the caseworker must be advised so the appointment can be entered in the diary and on careworks. |
| 4.13 |
Where risk issues have been identified prior to interview the worker must ensure that the interview room used is easily accessible by other staff should difficulties arise. The senior on site should be notified prior to the appointment taking place and have positioned themselves within easy access of the room. |
| 4.14 |
Panic alarms are installed in all interview rooms. Training on their use will be part of the induction process. |
| 5.1 |
Home visits are required to check living circumstances and familial arrangements as per national standards. Where a risk has been identified the allocated officer should discuss this with their line manager and practical arrangements made to minimise this risk in so far as possible e.g. joint visiting. |
| 5.2 |
In general young people should not be seen at home on their own. Some young people may, however, be living independently and decisions regarding home visits should be made on a case by case basis against a framework of risk assessment. |
| 5.3 |
All staff undertaking visits/appointments with young people outside of the office should have with them a mobile phone which should be left on so they are contactable by their colleagues. |
| 5.4 |
All appointments outside the office should be recorded in the team diary with an estimated return time. Where staff are significantly overdue from their estimated return time efforts should be made to contact them on the mobile phone. If unsuccessful the operational manager/YOS manager should be notified. |
| 5.5 |
Where late afternoon/early evening appointments are taking place outside of the building the worker should identify in advance a peer whom they will contact when the appointment is over. |
| 6.1 |
When a young person is being assessed for an intervention a risk assessment must also be undertaken. If the core asset indicates that there is a risk of the young person committing serious harm, then the full Risk of Serious Harm (ROSH) Assessment must be completed. This provides detailed information on the degree of risk posed by the young person. |
| 6.2 |
Any young person for whom a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) is being written and a ROSH is completed must be brought to the case review meeting for discussion. Any risks identified in the assessment must be identified, their management discussed and the information used to inform the proposal being made. |
| 6.3 |
It must be acknowledged that the risk presented to staff by some young people may render them unsuitable for a particular order. Any court report must reflect this even where a custodial sentence may be the only alternative. |
| 6.4 |
Young people receiving other interventions for whom no PSR has been required e.g. Referral Orders, final warnings, must also be assessed using Asset as per point 1. |
| 6.5 |
Young people for whom a risk of ROSH has been completed will be managed through the risk panel process (see Risk Management Policy). |
| 6.6 |
Where a young person is identified as presenting a high risk and receives a custodial sentence, the time spent in custody must be used to ensure all appropriate assessments are undertaken which may inform subsequent work undertaken and risk management upon release. |
| 6.7 |
Any contract with a young person must note that violence or abuse to staff will not be tolerated and that a young person found to be abusive, either physically or verbally, risks police action and being breached for their current court order. |
| 7.1 |
All staff must make themselves aware of the Council’s Violence to Employees at Work Policy and the Accident Reporting Policy - both are available on Horizon, the council web site. |
| 7.2 |
Where members of staff feel that a client’s behaviour is unacceptable or is escalating into a potentially abusive situation, they should terminate the interview and ask the young person to leave seeking support from colleagues where necessary. Where members of staff feel under immediate threat it is appropriate to take immediate action, which may include contacting the police for assistance. |
| 7.3 |
Where a staff member has been physically assaulted the police must be notified immediately |
| 7.4 |
Following a violent incident against staff a young person will be asked to leave the building and not to return until we contact them. The parent must be updated as soon as possible by phone. A letter confirming this position will be sent to the young person and a copy sent to the parent/carer. |
| 7.5 |
Where an incident has taken place and a staff member has been assaulted or feels that they are at risk of future assault then they should consult with the senior officer on duty to establish whether the police should be involved. This consultation does not take away the right of either party to seek police assistance if they so wish. |
| 7.6 |
Any incident will be fully investigated by the victim’s line manager and a report prepared, including findings on appropriate action to be taken in the future. |
| 7.7 |
A ‘violent incident meeting’ will be held within 24 hours chaired by a manager and involving the responsible officer, any other case workers and as many other staff as may be available. A representative of the admin. team will also be present. |
| 7.8 |
The primary objectives of the meeting will be to:
- Review the incident and immediate actions, and ensure appropriate policies and procedures had been followed.
- Identify any learning points for the team as a whole on health and safety issues
- Review the young person’s behaviour particularly with respect to future risk
- Conclude whether the young person will be breached immediately or whether alternative action is appropriate.
|
| 7.9 |
The agreed action will be put in writing to the young person. |
All staff must be aware of the positioning of the alarm buttons throughout Darren House and how to reset the alarm.
All staff must be aware of the positioning of the alarm buttons throughout Link 1a.
