Last Updated: 26/07/2022

Policy Statement

Safeguarding is a fundamental part of our work with communities and this commitment is reflected in the values of Hexitimeas a business, which inform and support all our safeguarding activity.

Hexitime are:

• Respectful
• Inclusive
• Empowering
• Solutions-focused

We treat others as they would want to be treated. We work together, we involve, and we consult; we support and enable others to achieve their goals.

Hexitime is a digital timebank working on the simple premise of reciprocity (e.g. give an hour and get one back). As our digital platform hosts individuals and their networks to build stronger partnerships, we are committed to reducing the risk of abuse.

Social networking sites can be great tools to help organisations and groups communicate and interact. However, if used inappropriately, they can also pose potential safeguarding risks and this may lead to abuse, both online and offline. We are committed to minimising these risks.

The six principles of safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility andeveryone has a responsibility to keep people who need care and support safe from abuse and neglect. We uphold the six principles of safeguarding as outlined by the Social care Institute for Excellence:

1. Empowerment– We will be person-centred and uphold rights in our safeguarding work.
2. Prevention– We will put sensible measures in place to prevent abuse, including appropriate identity checks of timebank members, promoting safe working practice and raising awareness of safeguarding.
3. Proportionality – We will adopt the least intrusive response that is appropriate to the risk presented.
4. Protection– We will provide policy, procedures and information to enable all Hexitime staff and clients to identify and respond appropriately to concerns about abuse.
5. Partnership – we will work with our communities who also have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse.
6. Accountability– We aim to be transparent in our approaches and recognise the need for continuous learning and improvement.

Roles and Responsibilities

All staff and volunteers
Every individual working with Hexitime, irrespective of their role, has a part to play in safeguarding people who need care and support. Everyone must familiarise themselves with our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.

Directors
The Directors have a responsibility to ensure that safeguarding is included, where appropriate, in the strategic plans, risk assessments and communications of their business. In some cases, they may be required to make decisions in relation to complex or serious safeguarding concerns, in consultation with the Head of Safeguarding from the relevant client’s platform.

Managers
Managers are responsible for ensuring that they, and the staff that they supervise, are aware of our safeguarding policy and procedures and access relevant training. They should promote the discussion of safeguarding at team meetings and as part of supervision or one-to-one meetings. They may be required to make decisions relating to complex or serious safeguarding concerns and can seek advice from the Head of Safeguarding where required.

Head of Safeguarding-Hexitime
The Head of Safeguarding is the designated person for safeguarding at Hexitime. They are responsible for developing and quality assuring safeguarding activity across all platforms and supporting best practice for clients licencing the Hexitime platform. This is Dr. Hesham Abdalla.

Reporting process

If a safeguarding issue arises, the following process should be used:

1) Before raising a Safeguarding concern

See it

Recognise what you are seeing/hearing/reading may be potential abuse or neglect.

Talk to the person

Make safeguarding personal: share your concerns with the person. Ask them what they want to happen.

Make a judgement

Have regard to person’s wishes and views, consider their mental capacity, level of risk, gather information from other sources, details of who else may need to be informed. What options are open to you? Do you need to take advice? In an emergency ring 999.

2) Raise a Safeguarding concern

Order of escalation

Hexitimemembers wishing to report a concern can do so using the form provided on our standard ‘Contact’ page template.

Messages will be sent to the Head of Safeguarding at Hexitime who will identify an appropriate strategy to take to resolve or escalate the concern within 48 hours.

Allocate level

Use the scale below to allocate the level of response needed to each safeguarding concern:

1. No enquiry/form mis-used
2. Low: one-on-one response and actions can be taken
3. Medium: notify platform administration team and prepare response together
4. High: multi-agency strategy meeting involving Hexitime and any licensing partners of the platform

3) Enquiry & evaluation of the concern

Undertake the enquiry

• Plan detail of approach
• Initial conversation with the individual
• Undertake the enquiry

Evaluate

• Is there a need for a discussion of meeting to form the conclusion and next steps?
• Is the client satisfied with the enquiry and the outcome?
• Have the 6 safeguarding principles underpinned the enquiry and conclusion?
• Is a more formal enquiry required?

4) Safeguarding planning & closing of concern

Consider if a meeting should be held to agree the plan.

• With the individualand relevant agencies, agree the plan, roles, responsibilities and timescales.
• Distribute plan.
• Review plan or end plan.
• Ask for feedback. 

Breaches of Policy

Failure to comply with Hexitime’s safeguarding policy may be managed in a number of ways, depending on the nature and consequences of any incident. In some cases, a combination of responses may be required.

• Local authority co-ordinated safeguarding investigation
• Police investigation
• Referral to the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)
• People & Performance disciplinary process
• Internal review or co-operation with an external review

Online safeguarding – The Hexitime timebank

In addition to our standard safeguarding policy and processes, we have additional recommendations for our clients hosting their networks on Hexitime.

Registering to join Hexitime requires completion of a separate data-capture form within a member’s dashboard (e.g. post-registration). This allows the platform administrators to conduct an extra safeguarding checks on members. Once approved, members can use the timebank freely. 

We recommend the following minimum data capture requirements to help platform administrators conduct basic safeguarding checks.

These are:

• Name
• Surname
• Email address

In addition, we ask anyone requesting to join to agree to our timebanking terms and conditions, be reminded of our Acceptable Use Policy within our general terms and conditions, and understand our privacy policy.Timebanking is built on trust and goodwill but please remember that you are responsible for your own safety and the safety of others, especially when meeting up with fellow timebankers. We also ask that you complete your profile on this platform as a complete profile helps to build up trust.

Handling data

Hexitime’s data is held on a server which we have full control over. Our privacy policy sets out how we handle data and comply with GDPR rules.

Additional advice

Advice from Jess McBeath, Online Safety Consultant for UKSIC and SWGfL looks at how online life can expose vulnerable groups to a range of risks, highlighting the importance for professionals to quickly identify and manage them effectively

Associated documents

• Hexitime terms and conditions
• Hexitime Terms and Conditions
• Hexitimetimebanking terms and conditions