Balham Community Centre does not tolerate from any person, whether a staff member, user or visitor, bullying, aggressive, confrontational or threatening behaviour, or behaviour intended to result in conflict. Our Centre and Clubs are a place of safety and security for our users, the children in our care and for the staff who work there.

Unacceptable behaviour

Unacceptable behaviour includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Shouting at members of staff, whether in person or over the phone

• · Physically intimidating a member of staff, eg standing to close or blocking their exit

• Using aggressive or abusive hand gestures, eg shaking a fist towards another person

• Any other threatening behaviour, both physical and verbal

• Swearing

• Physical violence, pushing, hitting, slapping, punching or kicking

• Spitting

• Racist or sexual or otherwise abusive comments

Balham Community Centre will not tolerate such behaviour, whether it is directed

at the staff, our users or children in our care.

Procedure

 When someone behaves in an unacceptable way towards a member of staff, our

 users or children in our care, we will take the following steps:

• In order to ensure the safety of the children and to limit possible distress, we will if necessary, remove them from the vicinity of the incident.

• The manager or senior member of staff will seek to resolve the situation through calm discussion.

• If the individual wishes to make a complaint, we will encourage them to follow the Centre’s complaint procedure, or to complain directly to Ofsted if they so choose.

• If the individual continues to behave in an aggressive and intimidating manner,

• We will insist that they calm down or leave the premises immediately.

• If the individual refuses to calm down or leave the premises, the manager will contact the police without delay.

When the immediate incident has been resolved, the manager and staff will reflect on the incident, and decide whether it is appropriate to ban the individual from the premises for a period of time. The decision will take into account both the seriousness of the incident and whether the individual has behaved aggressively before.

If we decide that a ban is appropriate, we will write to the individual concerned to inform them of the reason for the ban and its duration.