Policies and Procedures - FFYNNON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Ffynnon is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, our policies and procedures ar presented to ensure transparency, accountability, and excellence as a community interest company.

Environmental Policy

Ffynnon Community Resilience CIC and its employees have a duty to act responsibly towards volunteers, staff, suppliers and the public with regard to the effect that business operations may have on the environment and will endeavour to achieve its responsibilities through the following objectives:

Energy Consumption

Lighting and other energy consuming equipment will be switched off when not in use.
All new electrical items that are purchased will be chosen for energy efficiency wherever possible.
Ensure proper maintenance of all equipment to ensure efficiency.
When considering constructing a new building or the renovation of an older property we will ensure low energy usage.

Transport

All car usage is private, however we will ensure that any vehicles hired are able to operate on either unleaded petrol or diesel.
Staff will always work towards reducing fuel consumption by combining journeys to sites via planning and vehicle sharing.

Natural Environment and Nature

We will not purchase tropical hardwoods from unsustainable sources and will instead use local grown hardwoods where available or wood from sustainable temperate sources.
COSHH regulations for the use of chemicals will be upheld.

Recycling

The Organisation will adopt a basic strategy of reducing, re-using and re-cycling waste, general waste will be disposed of through the domestic waste stream.
All paper purchased, and promotional materials created will contain a good proportion of recycled fibre and be as low a grade as possible.
All waste paper, glass, metal and polythene will be sorted and recycled.
All electrical products to be disposed of as commercial waste and a waste note obtained.
All used photocopy toners will be returned to the supplier and a waste note obtained.
All batteries of a domestic type will be recycled through the local supermarket

Office and Work Practices

All cleaning products will be as environmentally friendly as possible.
The Partnership will not purchase products containing CFC compounds and will ban the use of CFC propelled aerosols and aerosols containing 1.1.1. Trichloroethane. Where possible pump action (re-useable) aerosols and non-spray products (e.g. furniture wax) will be used.
Appropriate machinery and/or tools are to be used for all jobs, because of safety and to minimise the impact on the landscape.
All opportunities will be taken to recycle.

Policy Implementation

An environmental audit will be carried out annually to monitor where changes to our environmental practices are required. After which the relevant course of action will then be implemented to achieve the required standards.
All staff will be issued with a copy of the course of action that they need to take and be encouraged to implement the proposals within their daily working activities and areas of influence.
It is the responsibility of the Project Manager to ensure adequate training of staff to enable implementation of the above policy aims.
All staff are responsible for ensuring that all aspects of this policy are carried out in their area of work.

Fair Trade Policy

Ffynnon Community Resilience CIC is committed to making Fair Trade an integral part of their business practice. We confirm that:

We will support, promote and use Fair Trade
Staff understand the meaning of Fair Trade, recognize the benefits that it brings to producers and are aware of the range of Fairtrade products available
Staff have access to Fairtrade refreshments such as tea, coffee and snacks
Our cafe offers Fairtrade produce

Health & Safety Policy

Statement of Intent

Ffynnone Community Resilience CIC trading as Ffynnon intends to maintain a safe and healthy environment for all staff, volunteers and visitors to Ffynnon on any of the three following sites. Field of Beans (Meigan Hill, Blaenffos, Boncath SA37 0JE), Fruit & Nut and Pen Y Foidr community allotments (Parc-Y Dre, SA43 2TF) and Clynfyw Community garden/Farmstart site (Abercych, Boncath, Pembrokeshire, SA37 0HF).

Responsibility

Overall and final responsibility for health and safety at all events and activities carried out by Ffynnon lies with the committee. This responsibility will be delegated to a named staff member or volunteer for each event or activity. This staff member or volunteer will be responsible for ensuring that this policy is upheld.
For the regular garden volunteer meeting and work days the responsible person is each and every volunteer present on the site. All volunteers will be made aware of their individual responsibilities when carrying out an activity at one of Ffynnon sites.
For all other events the responsible person will be named in advance and their name will be noted on all relevant risk assessments. All volunteers involved will be made aware of who is responsible for health and safety.

General arrangements

The main activity of Ffynnon is to support volunteers to use and maintain the community gardens for horticultural activities. A risk assessment will be carried out once a year and each volunteer will be inducted to the health and safety policy, risk assessment, equal opportunities policy, first aid kit location and specific site emergency contact and details location.
Ffynnon will also run regular events at each of the community gardens detailed above. Such events may occur at the same venue more than once, use the same equipment at different sites and/or carry out the same activity. In this case we will carry out a general risk assessment for the event/activity/equipment/venue. All general risk assessments will be reviewed at least once a year.
We will have a trained first aider present at all events which are open to the public.
We will make sure all volunteers and staff at events and activities are aware of the location of the emergency procedure details and contacts on each site.
All volunteers and staff will be made aware of the precautions they need to take as noted on the relevant risk assessment.
No volunteer or employee will run an event or activity on their own, and at least two volunteers or staff members should stay at an event until it is finished and the last attendees have left.
Ffynnon will hold Public Liability Insurance

Volunteer Policy

This volunteer policy sets out the principles and practice by which we involve volunteers and is relevant to staff, volunteers and committee members within the organisation. It aims to create a common understanding and to clarify roles and responsibilities to ensure the highest standards are maintained in relation to the management of volunteers.

Our commitments

We recognise volunteers as an integral part of the organisation. Their contribution supports our mission and strategic aims and complements the role of paid staff. We aim to encourage and support volunteer involvement to ensure that volunteering benefits the organisation, the community and the volunteers themselves.

Appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that paid staff are clear about the role of volunteers and to foster good working relationships between paid staff and volunteers. Volunteers will not be used to replace staff.

We are committed to offering a flexible range of opportunities and to encouraging a diversity of people to volunteer with us, including those from under-represented groups such as youth, people with a disability, older people and people from ethnically diverse communities.

We recognise that there are costs associated with volunteer involvement and will seek to ensure adequate financial and staffing resources are available for the development and support of volunteering.

We recognise that people have a right to participate in the life of their communities through volunteering and can contribute in many ways. We recognise our responsibility to organise volunteering efficiently and sensitively so that the valuable gift of the volunteer’s time is best used to the mutual advantage of all concerned.

What is a volunteer?

Volunteers are individuals who undertake activity on behalf of our organisation, unpaid and of their own free choice.

The Welsh Government Volunteering Policy (2015) defines volunteering as activity which

is undertaken freely, by choice
is undertaken to be of public/ community benefit
is not undertaken for financial gain

Committee members are volunteers with responsibility for governance of the organisation.

Volunteers may be involved on a one – off, short term or on a longer term, regular basis. They may be involved:

in the direct delivery of our services
on our committee as Directors
in community engagement to raise awareness of our work
in one off events and promotional activities
in our offices or in community gardens

Volunteers are valued for:

Bringing additional and diverse and new skills and perspectives to the organisations
Enabling us to be more responsive and flexible in our approach
Championing our cause within the wider community
Enhancing the quality of our work and of client experience
Promoting the wellbeing of users of services, staff, local communities and themselves

Roles and responsibilities

A designated staff member (The Volunteer Co-ordinator) has responsibility for the development, management and co-ordination of voluntary activity within the organisation, including volunteering policies and procedures and the welfare of volunteers.

All volunteers will have a designated and named staff member/volunteer for guidance, support and supervision. Staff responsibilities for volunteers will be explicitly referred to in their job/role description.

The volunteer role is based on trust and mutual understanding. There is no enforceable obligation, contractual or otherwise, for the volunteer to attend or to undertake particular tasks or for the organisation to provide continuing opportunities for voluntary involvement, provision of training or benefits.

However, there is a presumption of mutual support and reliability. Reciprocal expectations are acknowledged – both of what the organisation expects of volunteers and what volunteers expect of the organisation.

The organisation expects volunteers:

To be reliable and honest
To uphold the organisation’s values and comply with organisational policies
To make the most of opportunities given, e.g. for training, mentoring etc.
To contribute positively to the aims of the organisation and avoid bringing the organisation into disrepute
To carry out tasks within agreed guidelines

Volunteers can expect

To have clear information about what is and is not expected of them
To receive adequate support and training relevant to role
To be insured and to volunteer in a safe environment
To be treated with respect and in a non-discriminatory manner
To receive out of pocket expenses
To have opportunities for personal development
To be recognised and appreciated
To be able to say ‘no’ to anything which they consider to be unrealistic or unreasonable
To know what to do if something goes wrong

Recruitment and selection

Potential volunteers are able to attend volunteer days with no commitment and the hours are optional within parameters set by each individual project.

Equal opportunities principles will be adhered to in recruiting volunteers. Opportunities will be widely promoted, in both English and in Welsh and in other languages as appropriate, so as to attract interest from different sectors of the community.

Information will be made available to those enquiring about volunteering, including role descriptions which set out the nature and purpose of the volunteering role, key tasks, skills required and benefits. A risk assessment will be undertaken on all volunteer roles and identified risks and steps to mitigate risks will be shared with the volunteer.

Induction and training

Volunteers will be given induction and training appropriate to the specific tasks to be undertaken. Each project has unique systems for inducting new volunteers.

Support and supervision

Volunteers will be offered support and supervision as appropriate and this is discussed during induction and ongoing. Arrangements vary according to the volunteer and the role undertaken, and may include telephone support, group meetings or collaboration with paid staff.

Recognition

Volunteers will be given the opportunity, where relevant, to share their views and opinions with the organisation via staff and volunteer work days, garden steering group meetings, committee meetings and/or volunteering surveys. Formal recognition of the contribution of volunteers is expressed through annual reports, website articles, social media, and with the Magic Bean Scheme.

Dealing with problems

The organisation aims to treat all volunteers fairly, objectively and consistently. It seeks to ensure that volunteers’ views are heard, noted and acted upon promptly.

We will attempt to deal with any problems informally and at the earliest opportunity.
Where informal resolution is not possible, the organisations Conflict Resolution Policy
will be adhered to.

Volunteers will be made aware of the organisation’s complaints policy and how to use it. They will also be made aware of how inappropriate behaviour by volunteers will be addressed by the organisation.

Expenses

Volunteers will be given clear information about what expenses can be claimed and how to make a claim. Volunteers will receive all out of pocket expenses incurred by their volunteering activities.

Rewards

Safeguarding Policy

Purpose & scope

This safeguarding policy applies to all paid staff and volunteers of Ffynnon Community Resilience C.I.C (Ffynnon) and is designed to protect those of all ages who may be at risk including but not limited to those with mental health issues, learning disabilities, and others who may be at risk.

It is our priority to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for everyone involved in any of our activities including.

Definitions

Vulnerable Adults: Individuals over 18 who may need extra support due to mental health issues, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or other vulnerabilities.
Safeguarding: The action taken to promote the welfare and protection of children and vulnerable adults’ health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

Policy Statement

Ffynnon is committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all participants, regardless of age, background, or ability.

We have zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, or discrimination and will take action to address any concerns in a timely and appropriate manner.

We will ensure all staff have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy.

Roles and responsibilities

Safeguarding Lead

Responsible for overseeing all safeguarding policy implementation, receiving reports and liaising with external authorities if and when necessary. Supervisor to the Safeguarding Officer and is the main person accountable for safeguarding within the Ffynnon sharing safeguarding responsibilities as listed below.

Safeguarding officer

Responsible for:

Ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals.
Ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are in place to protect vulnerable adults and children from harm.
Providing staff and volunteers with safeguarding training and ensuring they are aware of their responsibilities.
Investigating safeguarding concerns, and escalating them to the Safeguarding Lead and the relevant authorities if necessary.
Identify and address safeguarding risks within the organisation’s activities or services, collaborating with local authorities, social services, and other relevant organisations to ensure effective protection.

Staff

Must follow this policy and promote and its objectives reporting any concerns, all staff must undergo a DBS check and complete relevant safeguarding training as required.

Passwords and security codes granting access to protected data, dangerous tools, materials and equipment or valuable possessions will be updated whenever staff leave or change roles that no longer require such access ensuring continued security and protection.

Ffynnon will

Design and undertake all its projects and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm and ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals minimising any potential risks associated with that may arise from their coming into contact with Ffynnon and our activities, this includes the way in which information about individuals are collected, protected and communicated and shared with others.

Code of conduct

All staff and volunteers are expected to:

Respect Each Other: Treat all individuals with respect, dignity, kindness and courtesy, regardless of age, ability, background, or beliefs, obtaining consent before making any physical contact (e.g., helping with mobility).
Work Together: connect and collaborate, fostering a sense of teamwork and community and never engaging in inappropriate, abusive or exploitative behaviour.
Be Inclusive: Support and encourage all individuals, Value everyone and celebrate diversity, adopting and promoting our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy.
Protect Nature: Adopt and promote our Environmental policy.
Stay Safe: Adopt and promote our Health & Safety policy.
Report Concerns: Speak up if you see or experience anything unsafe or inappropriate. Contact the safeguarding officer when and if needed (See reporting procedures below)

Reporting procedure

Reporting Procedures Any staff member or volunteer who has a safeguarding concern must:

Report it to the safeguarding officer or lead immediately.
If there is an immediate risk of harm, contact emergency services.
Record incidents accurately, maintaining confidentiality.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

Confidential information about individuals must be kept secure. Information will only be shared on a need-to-know basis, ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act (2018).

Please see our terms & conditions and privacy statement website pages in regards to online data collecting and protecting.

Training and Awareness

All staff and volunteers must attend safeguarding training and continue to do so on an annual basis. They will also be provided with guidance on recognizing and reporting abuse.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or after any safeguarding incident to ensure it remains effective and compliant with UK safeguarding regulations.

Data Protection Policy

1. Collection and Use of Data

Comments: When visitors leave comments, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: AUTOMATTIC

2. Media: If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

3. Use of Cookies

Comments: If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

Login: If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser. When you log in, we will set up several cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

Editing and Publishing: If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after one day.

4. Embedded Content from Other Websites Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

5. Sharing Your Data If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

6. Data Retention If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue. For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information provided in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

7. Your Data Rights If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

8. Data Transfer Visitor comments may be checked through an automated third-party spam detection service.

9. Mailing List Subscriptions We use a third-party company to host and serve our mailing lists. Any details you provide when subscribing are shared with them in accordance with all legal regulations.

10. Photographs We strive to obtain permission before posting anyone’s images online, particularly of those under 18 years of age and anyone who is the main focus. If you appear in a photo and would like it taken down, please contact us, and we will be happy to remove it.

Welsh Language Policy

Ffynnon acknowledges Wales as a bilingual nation and is committed to treating Welsh no less favourably than English.

We understand the importance of language in supporting a cohesive and inclusive community.

Main Objectives

Ensure effective communication of our projects and activities though Welsh.
Encourage and facilitate use of Welsh in all our circles.
Take steps to increase engagement though Welsh language, by first language speakers and learners.

Implementation

Delivery: Provide a bilingual service. Produce all outward-facing advertising bilingually. Allocate sufficient resource for Welsh translation.

Staff: Provide resources for staff to improve and use Welsh language at work. Prioritise bilingualism. If two applicants are equally qualified, the Welsh-speaking applicant will be hired if the post is deemed to require or desire Welsh.
Volunteer: Encourage and facilitate use of Welsh in volunteer sessions. Provide sessions with Welsh language content.
Improvement: Monitor the involvement of Welsh first-language speakers in all projects. Conduct regular reviews to ensure policy effectiveness and incorporate feedback

P.S.E.A. Policy (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse)

Ffynnon is committed to protecting individuals, especially children and vulnerable adults from sexual exploitation and abuse. We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of sexual exploitation and abuse, including abuse of power, harassment, and any form of coercion.

This policy aims to protect all individuals from harm and to uphold the highest standards of conduct.

Zero Tolerance: We do not tolerate any form of sexual exploitation or abuse, whether it involves staff, volunteers, partners or others associated with our work.
Reporting: Any incidents or concerns related to sexual exploitation and abuse should be reported immediately to a designated safeguarding officer or the appropriate authority.
Confidentiality: Reports will be treated confidentially and sensitively, and information will only be shared on a need-to-know basis.
Investigation and Action: All reports will be taken seriously and investigated. action will be taken to address violations of this policy.
Training: We provide ongoing training for all staff and volunteers of PSEA standards and to equip them with the knowledge to recognize and respond to these issues.

Our goal is to create a safe environment free from sexual exploitation and abuse for all individuals involved in our work.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (E.D.I) Policy

Diversity & inclusion statement

Individuals with different cultures, perspectives and experiences are at the heart of the way Ffynnon works. We want to recruit, develop and retain the most willing volunteers, regardless of their background and make the best use of their skills. At Ffynnon we are guided by our ethical values in everything we do, and recognise that being a diverse and inclusive organisation helps us fulfil our aims to make a difference in the community.

We seek to develop an environment where we treat all staff and volunteers as individuals, fairly and in a consistent way. We work within the spirit and the practice of the Equality Act 2010 by promoting a culture of respect and dignity and actively challenging discrimination, should it ever arise. We will remove unnecessary barriers for our staff and volunteers seeking opportunities through training and development.

We will continue to support our staff and committee members to demonstrate the principles of diversity and inclusion in their everyday activities, roles and functions.

Aims

Ffynnon is open to the local community to volunteer in a variety of roles and is open to anyone in North East Pembrokeshire or concerned about the community in this area.

Ffynnon aims to help the area to have an atmosphere of friendship, respect and care for each other and our goal is to foster community resilience, equipping individuals to confront both current challenges and those that lie ahead, providing a platform for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to create an environment where individuals feel valued and supported.

In particular, we aim to treat every volunteer and staff member equally, regardless of their age, physical ability, gender identity, relationship status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Accessibility

Ffynnon meetings are held in the most appropriate location for our current committee and steering group members, should an issue arise with accessibility we will rearrange locations if they are unsuitable.

Each garden has its own accessibility issues and we endeavour to make the sites more accessible as we continue to improve the sites.

All of our training courses that are held in a building are fully accessible to wheelchair users and any that are held outside there will be a provision to make them accessible to wheelchair users.

Our events will be mixed terrain, often on grass and so provision will be made to accommodate people attending with mobility issues.

When we organise paid for training and events we provide free places for carers of volunteers who can only attend if they bring their carer. We are committed to ensuring any community member is able to attend our activities, so we will reassess our access requirements to meet the needs of new volunteers..

Diversity

Ffynnon aspires to reach the whole community. We aim to organise a range of events and activities to suit the interests and meet the needs of a wide variety of people.

Ffynnon aims to include Welsh translations in all our written communications and to increase awareness of the multitude of nationalities within North East Pembrokeshire.

The organisation should be open to new ideas, and particularly prioritise opportunities for volunteers to share their cultural heritage with one another.

Inclusion and respect

Every volunteer at Ffynnon should be made to feel equally welcome and included at all Ffynnon meetings and events.

Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or otherwise offensive and inflammatory remarks and behaviour are not acceptable. These constitute harassment, and have no place in the organisation.

Dealing with discrimination and harassment

If any volunteers feel they have been discriminated against by anyone within Ffynnon or harassed at a Ffynnon event they should raise this with the committee. The committee will investigate the complaint, listening to all members involved. (If the complaint is against a committee member, that member will not be part of conducting the investigation).

If the complaint is against a particular individual, this person will have the opportunity to express their point of view, accompanied by a friend. The person making the complaint will also have this opportunity.

If the complaint is against Ffynnon as a whole, the Committee must work to ensure that such discrimination is not repeated in the future, and must inform the staff of how they propose to do this.

Any decision to exclude a person from the organisation due to discriminatory or harassing behaviour will be made with reference to the Ffynnon constitution. Ffynnon will support people who feel they have been harassed or discriminated against, and will not victimise or treat them less well because they have raised this.

Conflict Resolution

Ffynnon has developed conflict resolution and feedback systems to support smooth interpersonal relationships across the staff and volunteers. Individuals are encouraged to familiarise themselves with these procedures and default to them whenever difficulties arise. Ffynnon is committed to support interpersonal relationships and is able to provide internal and external facilitators when requested.

Feedback strategies are circulated amongst groups under Ffynnon and all complaints will be dealt with through

Commitments

Ffynnon commits to upholding equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work by identifying and preventing unconscious bias, using objective criteria when recruiting specific roles within the organisation and being proactive with updating use of language within groups and on all documents.

All Ffynnon staff and committee members are responsible for promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all they do within the organisation. At least one staff member will be trained in EDI and hold ultimate responsibility within the organisation. Name and signature below.

These policies will be implemented with inclusive volunteer recruitment processes, accountability within Ffynnon staff and committee members, promoting feedback within groups, provide equal opportunities for role development and measure and track progress.

Information regarding the diversity of the volunteer base is monitored and accessibility issues are met with particular action plans to eradicate barriers to particular demographics. Monitoring will also include assessing how the EDI policy is working in practice, be reviewed annually and considering and taking action to address any issues.

Concerns and complaints will be fully investigated and directed towards the conflict resolution systems in place and a written response with an action plan will be provided within 2 working weeks. Once the concern or complaint has been investigated and an action plan given, if the person who raised the concern/complaint is not satisfied with the response, they have the right to appeal against the decision.