Team Ingenuity Safeguarding Document

v0.0.2

Last updated: Monday, May 25th

This Safeguarding Policy is currently in “Draft” status. This means that this Policy is subject to change, and is currently exempt from updating notification requirements.

This Safeguarding Policy (hereby referred to as “Policy” or “The Policy”) is intended to outline guidelines that will ensure the safety of all participants and staff at Team Ingenuity events.

1. Scope

1.1 Application

This policy applies to all participants at Team Ingenuity events, including but not limited to:

• Minor participants
• Parents and guardians
• Organizers, staff, and volunteers
• Mentors, guest speakers
• Anybody other individual present

This policy covers all spaces used by the event at all times while the event is considered to be running, as well as all event related communication and event related activities.

1.2 Principles

This policy seeks to ensure the following principles are met:

1. A safe space for all to learn, grow, and explore is provided.
2. No person may be discriminated against regardless of their characteristics. This includes but is not limited to:
   • Age
   • Ethnicity
   • Sexual Identity
   • Gender Identity
   • Language
3. The safety of minors should be placed first in all considerations.
4. Behavior should align with both Team Ingenuity and HCCS Code of Conducts.
5. All incidents or concerns should have a clear path to reporting, along with report confidentiality as well as fast time to action.
   • No report or concern may be unresponded to.
6. All participants, volunteers, or any other external individuals, must report any incidents to the designated Safeguarding Officer or an Event Lead as soon as they are made aware of an incident.
7. Any updates to this policy must be communicated to event organizers, event participants, and adults as soon as the update is made.

1.3 Rules

Rules include but are not limited to:

1. No minor may have 1 on 1 contact with an adult volunteer or minor volunteer. There must be at least two adults at all time should there be a need to talk with a student alone.
2. Physical contact between volunteers and participants should remain within cultural boundaries (i.e. a handshake or high five is okay, hugs are probably not) unless in an emergency (e.g. first aid).
3. Volunteers must remain in common, visible areas of the event space when interacting with or supervising participants.
4. No alcohol, drugs, or smoking on event grounds, with the exception of OTC drugs with parental approval.
5. No volunteer may photograph or film a participant without explicit organizer approval and in line with the media policy.
6. Any volunteer who witnesses a potential rule violation must report it immediately, even if they are uncertain.
7. A volunteer may choose to report or take action on their own discretion, even if the rule is not outlined in this document.

2. Roles

2.1 Event Lead / Point of Contact

• Responsible for implementation and oversight of all policies designated within this document
• Responsible for handling of all safeguarding incidents, or may designate a safeguarding certified individual to handle such.
• Must have accreditation in safeguarding
• Accreditation of the designated safeguarding individual must be available upon request, and contact details should be clearly communicated to all participants using the contact template outlined in Appendix C. This includes a personal cell number at which they may be reachable.
• Event Lead may be required to maintain communication with venue staff and security to ensure that these requirements are met.

2.2 Volunteers

• Responsible for timely reporting of any incidents spotted
• Responsible for timely escalation of any incidents reported
• Responsible for abiding by this policy
• Responsible for recognizing possible signs of concern, such as bullying.
• Responsible for understanding how to report and escalate any concerns to the designated Event Lead.
• Must maintain proper boundaries with participants in any space, and must never be alone with participants.
• Must not attempt to communicate with participants outside of official communication channels designated by the Event Lead

2.3 Participants

• Responsible for behaving in line with both Team Ingenuity and HCCS Code of Conducts
• Responsible for behaving in line with any additional venue regulations
• Responsible for understanding and recognizing the Code of Conduct as well as any punishments which may be issued.
• Participants are liable for any violations, even if they have not read the rule pertaining to said violation.
• Must be made aware of reporting methods as well as who to speak to in the event of a concern or incident.

2.4 Parents / Guardians

• Responsible for providing consent for communication as well as all details for their children Team Ingenuity may require, including but not limited to:
  • Emergency contact details, media consent, and any relevant medical or support needs on behalf of minor participants.
• Responsible for understanding this policy, any emergency details, as well as the code of conduct of both Team Ingenuity and HCCS.
• Responsible for understanding that they are not exempt from this policy when on event grounds or participating in an event related activity.

3. Medical & Emergency Plans

3.1 First Aid

• All events must have at least one first aid kit on site. The recommended ratio is 1 kit per 60 participants. Organizers should familiarize themselves with their first aid kit.
• At least one organizer, who may be the event lead, must be first aid certified.
• Participants must disclose any medical information which may be relevant to Team Ingenuity ahead of time. This includes allergies, medications, and medical conditions.
• Emergency contact information, waivers, and medical information must be available for retrieval from a secure location in a timely manner for organizers.
• An incident log should be maintained via the Team Ingenuity incident logging spreadsheet.
• OTC medication may only be administered should the parent provide explicit permission and only may the specific medication (including brand, dose, and time) be administered.

3.2 Other Emergencies

• Organizers are expected to work with the venue to familiarize themselves with other emergency procedures, such as evacuations, lockdowns, and more.
• Organizers are expected to be prepared for any events which have specific appendices outlined, as well as be able to respond to any unexpected emergencies and ensure participant safety.

3.3 Participant Incidents

• Participants and organizers alike are expected to be able to recognize incidents, such as mental health crises, bullying, sexual abuse, or a participant disclosing personal incidents (such as self harm, abuse at home, or other incidents).
• Organizers must ensure clear signage both digitally and physically of instructions on how to contact the Event team as well as the designated safeguarding person.
• Organizers must ensure that this policy is clearly posted digitally and made available to parents and participants, as well as any other individuals attending the event.
• Organizers must ensure safeguarding incidents are reported within the timeframes outlined in Appendix B.
• Organizers must ensure all safeguarding reports are kept confidential.
• Emergencies must be reported to local authorities first, and then escalated to the safeguarding officer when able.
• Failure to report may lead to restrictions, a suspension from running events from Team Ingenuity, or discharge from Team Ingenuity.
• The safeguarding person must review all reports, provide guidance on next steps, and support organizers during complex situations.
• The team must review all safeguarding incidents after the event and make continual improvements to prevent repeat incidents.

3.4 Confidentiality

• All reports must be confidential.
• Report data must be shared on a need to know basis only.
• No retaliation shall be made against any reporter.

3.5 Disciplinary Actions

• When Team Ingenuity organizers are made aware of misconduct, disciplinary actions may include: warning, being sent home, being barred from further participation in Team Ingenuity events, and removal from events.
• Serious incidents, such as sexual abuse, will lead to an immediate removal and escalation to local authorities. Team Ingenuity will make all efforts to work with local law enforcement when it believes that escalation may be required.

3.6 Media & Photography

• All participants must complete a media release form as part of the Team Ingenuity event waiver prior to participation. This form governs the capture and use of photography, video, and other media at Team Ingenuity events.

3.7 Parent Consent

• All participants must have parental consent to participate if under 18.
• If Team Ingenuity is made aware that a minor participant does not have parental consent, Team Ingenuity will make all steps possible to contact the parents should no safeguarding incidents prevent such action from being taken.
• If Team Ingenuity is made aware that a minor participant may be experiencing issues at home, Team Ingenuity will work with local law enforcement to ensure the participant’s safety.

4. Discretion

• If a policy is not specifically outlined, Team Ingenuity members may take actions under their own discretion following the principles set out in Section 2.2.

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Appendix A. Missing Child Guidelines

Should a child go missing, organizers are to take the following actions immediately.

1. The safeguarding designated organizer should be notified immediately.
2. Event activities should be stopped and a headcount should begin immediately.
3. Information for the child should be retrieved as soon as possible and distributed among organizers as needed.
4. The parents are to be contacted.
5. The venue is to be contacted.

Organizers may then take actions at their discretion after these 5 steps have been completed as per Section 5.

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Appendix B. Incident Reporting Timelines

All safeguarding incidents must be reported within the timeframes below. Timelines begin from the moment an organizer or volunteer becomes aware of the incident.

Urgency Level	Incident Type	Reporting Deadline	Notes
1 — Critical	Immediate threat to life or safety (e.g. medical emergency, physical assault, missing child)	Immediately — call emergency services first, then notify the safeguarding officer	Do not wait. Local authorities take priority.
2 — High	Serious safeguarding concern (e.g. disclosure of abuse, sexual misconduct, credible threat of self-harm)	Within 1 hour of becoming aware	Safeguarding officer must be notified verbally first, followed by a written report.
3 — Medium	Significant behavioral incident (e.g. bullying, harassment, Code of Conduct violation requiring removal)	Within 4 hours of the incident	Written report must be submitted to the Event Lead and logged in the incident spreadsheet.
4 — Low	Minor behavioral or welfare concern (e.g. low-level conflict, participant distress not requiring immediate intervention)	Within 24 hours of the incident	Report must be logged in the incident spreadsheet before the end of the event day.
5 — Routine	Post-event review (all safeguarding incidents, regardless of tier)	Within 7 days of the event concluding	The safeguarding officer and event lead must review all reports and document any recommended improvements.

Any incident that is unclear in classification should be treated as the higher-urgency tier until the safeguarding officer makes a determination.

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Appendix C. Safeguarding Contact Template

The following template must be completed and communicated to all participants, parents, and volunteers prior to and at the start of each event. It should be displayed physically at the event and distributed digitally.

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Team Ingenuity — Event Safeguarding Contact

Event Name: ___

Event Date(s): ___

Event Location: ___

Designated Safeguarding Officer

• Name: ___
• Role: ___
• Cell (available during event hours): ___
• Email: ___

Event Lead / Point of Contact

• Name: ___
• Cell: ___
• Email: ___

To report a concern: Speak directly to the Safeguarding Officer or Event Lead, or speak to a volunteer.

In an emergency, always call 911 first.

All reports are treated confidentially. No retaliation will be made against any reporter.

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