Background to Baby Week
Baby Week began in Leeds with it’s first ever launch in September 2016, is an early years initiative helping to bring and celebrate services from across the sector together and is an adaptation of Semana do Bebe (Baby Week Brazil) and supported by UNICEF.
Baby Week has hundreds of events during a week celebrating babies and under 5s and bring sectors and organisations together to really understand and promote the best start for every baby growing up! It brings professionals together working in maternity, health and early years to share best practice, learn from one another and develop a model of strong partnership and cross sector working.
Baby Week Leeds began as an initiative aimed at bringing sectors and services together to promote the Best Start in life and after it’s launch – the need and demand for it to become an annual event led to Baby Week becoming a registered charity in May 2018! Since then, Baby Week takes place annually in November in different regions and towns both in person and virtually including Leeds, Bradford, Cheshire and Merseyside!
In 2023, Princess Catherine came to visit Leeds to launch her campaign in Early Childhood and featured Child Friendly Leeds and Baby Week on the Royal Foundation for Early Childhood’s website as good practice.
Charity Aims
- Increasing awareness of, and access to, supportive services including early start centres and antenatal education, for parents, parents-to-be and wider family members;
- Raising awareness of, and engagement with the relevant local strategies and the wider evidence-base for early intervention among professionals, families and the public;
- Encouraging and promoting the messages around how to improve outcomes during pregnancy and for the first two years of life among professionals, families and the public;
- Celebrating success and good practice, in relation to supporting all children to have the best start in life.
Safeguarding Statement
The Children’s Act 1989 states the child’s welfare is paramount and that every child has a right to protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
The Charity Commission has stated that safeguarding should be a key governance priority for all charities, regardless of size, type, or income, not just those charities working with children or vulnerable adults. It has also stated that it is essential for charity trustees to have and implement safeguarding policies and procedures and that they have to be adequate and appropriate for the charity’s particular circumstances.
This policy is intended to support all staff, trustees and volunteers to create a secure environment, and to ensure a clear understanding of duty of care to children and families. Safeguarding children and protecting them from harm is everyone’s responsibility.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play. Children are best protected when professionals are clear about what is required of them individually, and how they need to work together.
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Baby Week understands safeguarding to be about ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone with whom we work in partnership with including families, carers and other professionals as well members of the community.
Baby Week is centred around people who are pregnant, newborn babies, infants and adults who are parents, carers and the wider family and promoting services which are there to support them for the best start in life.
The responsibility extends to our trustees and the active working group made up of representatives in statutory and non-statutory services.
Our approach to safeguarding involves promoting a culture of safety and wellbeing to all who are involved with Baby Week, however, does not employ any staff but only freelance roles who have the correct documentation and policies.
As a charity and voluntary organisation Baby Week is recognised and supported by the Children and Families Trust Board, the NHS, Public Health and takes the responsibility of following guidance of the Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership as an ambassador of Child Friendly Leeds.
Baby Week’s main purpose is to bring sectors and services together for one week helping to share best practice and improve access to services for families.
We seek to understand policies, procedures, and practice of our partners and to support them where assistance is required to build and strengthen good practice.
The Board of Trustees has the responsibility to ensure that:
- There are designated persons or services to ask for safeguarding issues. Sadiya Salim would be the first contact and then passed on to management at Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds City Council for any partnership events or activities.
- All staff and volunteers undertake Safeguarding Training relevant to the role;
- All staff and volunteers access supervision relevant to the post.
- All staff and volunteers understand where to get support and guidance
Dated: 01/11/2022
