Author: Sara Fletcher
Consulted: Lisa Campbell-Squires, Deborah Rayner-Gray
Date last reviewed: August 2024
Renewal due: August 2025

Associated Documents

Online Safety Policy
Safeguarding Policy

Contents in this Policy

Introduction
The Aims, Purpose and Scope of This Policy
Individual Needs
Measures for promoting positive behaviour and relationships (including measures not used at TD, RPI search and confiscation)
Anti-Bullying Statement
Unacceptable Risks and Behaviours
End of Placement Procedures
Action Plan

Team Domenica’s purpose is to break down the barriers faced by young adults with a learning disability when entering the world of work. One barrier for some young people maybe, on occasion, exhibiting behaviours that many people would not recognise as appropriate, safe or helpful at work.

The purpose of our work, and this policy, is not to prescribe a list of good or bad behaviours and sanction those that are “wrong”. Rather, the staff team at Team Domenica seek to support learners to understand which behaviours will help them successfully gain employment and thrive in the workplace, and which will inhibit this. Key to this task is understanding the origins of any unhelpful behaviours and taking a person-centred approach to moving on from these where possible.

There are also some behaviours which present a level of risk to the individual, others and the organisation which may be unacceptable and this policy also outlines the steps in place in such circumstances.

This Policy Applies to all those directly employed by Team Domenica and who are in positions and roles that require them to interact with or work alongside or in proximity to our candidates.

All employees, whether they have a “front-line” role directly engaged with the candidates or an operational/administrative role are personally responsible for managing their own conduct in relation to promoting positive and professional behaviour, this includes actively modelling and investing in meaningful and considered relationships with candidates that work towards their best interests, promote their well-being and build their experience and understanding of professional conduct.

The same approach is requested of our professional partners and where this is not the experience of candidates or those working with them then this could lead to end of the working arrangement, following a period of discussion on the topic.

All concerns relating to behaviour should be discussed with Team Domenica’s Pastoral Lead Deborah Rayner-Grey, and where necessary recorded on the organisation’s MyConcern portal.

Log into MyConcern

Every candidate attending Team Domenica has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) due to their additional learning needs. These needs will be primarily, but not exclusively, for cognition and learning needs linked to learning disability, neuro-diversity, attention disorders, sensory processing and/or speech and language needs.

These may coexist with social and emotional needs, mental health concerns, transitions or instability in home life and a history of incomplete or disrupted education. Therefore, it is essential that all staff working with candidates take a considered approach to why they might be seeing behaviour that is not in line with workplace expectations.

As part of the joining process assorted documents will be produced that outline the needs of learners, the advised approaches and any risks. Teachers, training mentors and others will consider any preventing behaviours in the light of this documentation to formulate person-centered interventions.

Examples may include ensuring instructions are available in visual formats and broken down into manageable chunks, that expectations are clear and explicit and that assumptions about the transferability of knowledge and understanding are not made. Partnerships with families, carers and other specialist professionals are essential for formulating meaningful, measurable interventions.

(including measures not used at TD, RPI search and confiscation)

The primary resource that Team Domenica utilised for the promotion of positive behaviours is its staff team. The consistent modelling of respectful, professional and facilitating relationships in the classroom, cafes, day service and workplace creates an environment where high expectations are pervasive and embedded into all interactions. Central to this is a culture where “anti-social” and unhelpful behaviours are consistently challenged by staff, and where appropriate peers. This challenge is sensitively planned and considered but it is essential it is consistent and, where necessary, robust. For some learners at Team Domenica, conventional notions of politeness are a barrier to understanding.

Our curriculum is an important tool for promoting expected standards of behaviour. Discrete employability skills are taught that make clear what everyone has to do in the workplace, and why. Such sessions will cover topics such as punctuality, respectful relationships, following instructions, expected standards of dress and presentation and mobile phone usage, as examples. In addition, there is a structured curriculum for Personal, Social, Hath and Relationships education taught in small groups, this includes input from community groups and partners that reinforce the expectations of the wider community around prosocial behaviours. The law, as it applies to relationships and safety in particular, is explicitly taught. Candidates are encouraged to actively participate and give feedback to staff and peers and at the time of writing the development of the learner voice is a key task for Team Domenica.

Underpinning this is a one-to-one mentoring structure that allows for ongoing conversations about each candidate’s targets, any incidents and concerns and puts the individual at the centre of problem solving for themselves.

The role of the pastoral lead means that , where necessary and helpful, families and the network around the individual can come together as necessary.

Staff at Team Domenica are not expected to shout at, swear at or intimidate candidates and such behaviour is likely to result in disciplinary action. There is no acceptable circumstance where physical chastisement is allowed or condoned, and any such incident is likely to constitute an assault and a report to Sussex Police.

No staff member can deny a candidate basic care such as depriving them of food, drink or the use of the bathroom. Although the staff team at Team Domenica have the right to use restrictive physical intervention as a matter of common and civil law his is not a promoted strategy at Team Domenica and unless there is an extreme and immediate risk will never be used, any such incident would trigger external intervention. Similarly, although there are rights under the law for college staff to search for and confiscate harmful items it is not foreseen that this would be carried out by staff, with a more usual measure being for a candidate to leave the premises to the care of family/carers.

Many candidates at Team Domenica will have experienced negative treatment and exclusion from peer or community activity due to perceptions about their learning disability, and it is a core task for Team Domenica to break this cycle where it can.

Definitions of Bullying

Bullying is the sustained and repeated use of aggression or intimidation with the intention of causing harm or distress to another person. Bullying can occur in the following ways:

• Emotional: Intentionally excluding or tormenting.
• Physical: Intentionally pushing, kicking, hitting, punching, or using violence.
• Verbal: Name-calling, extreme sarcasm, spreading rumours, or excessive teasing with the intent to cause another distress
• Discriminatory or Hate-based bullying , This may include, but not be limited to
• Racial: Racial taunts, graffiti gestures.
• Homophobic: Focusing on the issue of homosexuality with the intent of causing distress for another.
• Disability based Mocking or highlighting impairment with the intent of causing distress for another
• Body shaming Highlighting body difference with a view to causing distress

Possible Signs and Symptoms of Bullying

A candidate may indicate non-verbally that they are being bullied. Adults should be aware of these possible signs and should take positive actions to intervene:

• Avoids attending Team Domenica or any workplace.
• Begins to do poorly in class work or in a training/work setting
• Clothes torn or property damaged or continually “lost’, often hungry (money / lunch stolen)
• Changes their usual routine
• Becomes withdrawn, anxious or lacking in confidence
• Asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay bully)
• Reports that they cry themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares
• Has unexplained cuts or bruises
• Attempt or threatens suicide or runs away
• Becomes aggressive, “disruptive” or “unreasonable”
• Is frightened to say what is wrong
• Gives improbable excuses for any of the above

These signs and behaviours could indicate other concerns, but bullying should be considered and investigated in response.

The Importance of Responding to Bullying

Team Domenica does not allow bullying in any form to go unchallenged -it is harmful, antisocial and possibly involves actions that are illegal. It directly challenges our mission of overcoming barriers to positive, productive and fulfilling adult lives.

Everybody learning and working at Team Domenica needs to work together to create a culture where bullying is not permitted or given space to occur, therefore everyone, staff and candidates:

• Need to have an understanding of what bullying is.
• Need to know what the policy is on bullying and follow it when bullying is reported.
• Should know what to do if they feel they are being bullied.
• Should know that Team Domenica takes the issue of bullying seriously.
• Should be assured that they will be supported if and when bullying is reported.
• Need to know that bullying will not be tolerated.

Strategies to Deal with Bullying

The staff at Team Domenica will actively deal with any specific incidents or allegations of bullying by:

• utilising the organisations safeguarding policy
• reporting and recording incidents on the MyConcern portal
• logging concerns
• using scheduled and unscheduled mentoring sessions
• if necessary, temporarily removing a suspected perpetrator of bully from a group or setting
• if appropriate facilitating restorative practices
• using teaching opportunities to reinforce legal or socially acceptable boundaries
• discussing the situation with families
• referring to other agencies, including the police.

All situations of bullying or suspected bullying will be overseen by Team Domenica’s pastoral lead who will coordinate the response, ensure rigorous recording and take actions to maintain a safe and productive working environment.

Some behaviours are unacceptable and will lead to end of placement procedures being considered. These include, but are not limited to:

• Violence
• Use of weapons to harm or make threats
• Interpersonal aggression
• Sexual violence or harassment
• Persistent acts of hate-based discrimination and harassment
• Fire setting

Where necessary for the safety of others Team Domenica reserves the right to call the police to prevent harm, this is never a decision taken likely. It is advised that staff discuss this with members of the safeguarding or senior leadership team in advance, however this must not delay actions to safeguard candidates and colleagues. If the police are called there will be an internal investigation into the incident.

In addition, there are some behaviours that may, if pervasive, unchanging, and habitual despite mentoring, support, teaching and intervention that may been a candidate cannot progress to the next year or phase of our offer. This may include persistent concerns about time-keeping, negative reactions to reasonable requests and instructions, or other behaviours our professional partners and employers cannot reasonably adapt for.

It is not a usual or common practice for Team Domenica to end a placement before it’s planned time. Where this does happen, it will normally be via the annual review of the EHCP where Team Domenica will evidence to the candidate, family and the local authority why the placement is no longer appropriate and meeting the emergent needs of the candidate. However, if any of the unacceptable behaviours listed above were to occur Team Domenica reserves the right to end a placement immediately.