Flicks and friends volunteer training

Training 3: Problem solving and safeguarding

Keeping everyone safe

As Re-engage staff and volunteers, we all have a responsibility to look out for each other’s health and safety. Many older people have mobility issues and may be more at risk of accidents.

To help keep everyone safe at flicks and friends, please keep an eye out for the following health and safety concerns:

• Trip hazards, such as people’s bags or coats.
• Slip hazards, such as spilled drinks or a recently mopped floor.
• Burning or scalding risks, such as an older person leaning to pick up a hot drink which might be too heavy for them.

If you see any potential hazards during the flicks and friends, please alert the rest of the group and support the cinema to remove or reduce any risks.

The cinema

Please be mindful that the cinema is a public venue and isn’t owned by Re-engage. You must park in a designated space and ensure that you’re not parking in a way that can cause a blockage or an obstruction to anyone else.

All Re-engage events are non-smoking and flicks and friends is no exception and pets are not allowed at flicks and friends.

Responding to issues

We hope that flicks and friends will run as smoothly as possible, However, we do understand that issues can sometimes arise.

For example:

• An older person may start to experience a change in their health.
• Some of the people attending flicks and friends may not get on well with each other.
• A flicks and friends volunteer may ‘talk over’ or ‘talk down’ to the older people.

Whenever you’re faced with an issue and you aren’t sure how to proceed, your first step should be to check our online FAQs which cover a wide range of scenarios and are updated regularly.

If you do need to have a difficult conversation with an older person or with a volunteer at flicks and friends, remember to:

• Be clear about why you’re having the conversation and what you want to get out of it before you start the conversation.
• Try to approach the conversation calmly and with a clear head.
• Try to recognise and manage your emotions.
• Keep an open mind and be prepared to challenge your own assumptions and beliefs.
• Give yourself time to plan what you would like to say.
• Listen to the other person’s side of the story.
• Try to find the middle ground so that you can reach a solution that works for everyone.

The most important thing to remember is that the team at Re-engage are here to support you and that you can contact the Re-engage team by emailing knowledge@reengage.org.uk or by calling 020 7240 0630 (office hours 9am-5pm Monday to Friday).

Reporting safeguarding issues or concerns

You must maintain an open mind and understand that any adult, in any situation, could be the victim of abuse or neglect. When concerned about the welfare of a person, you must always act in the best interests of the person and act immediately as outlined in the safeguarding adults at risk policy and the safeguarding adults at risk training.

Help and support

If you’ve any questions or queries about flicks and friends, please take a look at our library of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Re-engage website which are regularly reviewed.

You can also contact the Re-engage team by emailing knowledge@reengage.org.uk or by calling 020 7240 0630 (office hours 9am-5pm Monday to Friday).