What should you include in your charity’s safeguarding policies and procedures?
08/22/2022
Any organisation with safeguarding responsibilities has a duty to put in place appropriate policies and procedures to protect vulnerable people from harm.
We have produced a detailed guide, which explains many of the key considerations when creating safeguarding policies and procedures. You can download our safeguarding guide here.
In this article, we briefly explain some of the fundamentals of safeguarding policy and procedure for small charities, including some of the misunderstandings around the terminology.
What safeguarding rules and responsibilities apply to my organisation?
If your charity comes into contact with children or adults-at-risk, you are responsible for putting in place relevant safeguarding policies and procedures.
In relation to children, section 11 of The Children Act 2004 places safeguarding duties on a range of organisations including Local Authorities, NHS providers and the Police. However, the latest statutory guidance (Working Together to Safeguard Children) makes clear that other organisations and agencies who come into contact with children through the nature of their activities should also have appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place. The guidance specifically references voluntary, charity, social enterprise, faith-based organisations and private sectors (VCSE).
It is important you understand your role and your responsibilities. Whether you rely on paid staff, volunteers, or a combination - these responsibilities are the same.
The latest Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance also has an impact on how safeguarding concerns should be referred to children’s services. Again, it is important to be aware of these changes and understand how these relate to you and your organisation.
As a charity, your trustees will also have individual safeguarding responsibilities under charity law – see the Charity Commission’s 4-strand safeguarding strategy.
What are some of the key safeguarding responsibilities?
As a small charity, you will have specific requirements relating to people in positions of trust. All organisations who work with children must have clear policies for dealing with allegations against people who work with children.
Specifically, your charity must have certain arrangements in place, including:
- Clear lines of accountability
- Clear whistleblowing procedures
- A clear policy for escalating safeguarding concerns
- A senior board level lead for safeguarding
These are just some of the responsibilities your charity may face – our guide includes a more comprehensive list. In addition, you should also ensure you are fostering an environment and working culture where your staff and volunteers feel able to raise a concern. This includes ensuring that staff are confident and able to carry out safeguarding responsibilities appropriately, that they have received appropriate, timely and relevant safeguarding training (including at the point of induction) and that there are regular reviews of safeguarding training and practice.
What is the difference between safeguarding policy and safeguarding procedures?
According to Marie Williams, Safeguarding Risk Consultant, Zurich, this is a common area of misunderstanding.
She says: “A safeguarding policy is your public commitment to how you will keep people safe, whereas your safeguarding procedure is your internal, in-depth operational guidance and advice.
“People often get confused by the two. I’ve seen examples of organisations including everything they know about safeguarding in a 30-page document and calling it their safeguarding policy – that’s not what a policy should be.”
A safeguarding policy is essentially a statement that makes clear what your organisation will do to keep vulnerable people safe. Your safeguarding policy should contain only a few pages of information that demonstrates your understanding of safeguarding in the context of your exposure.
What should I include in my safeguarding policy?
Your safeguarding policy should meet certain criteria and include specific information, including the purpose, aim and scope of the policy (and who it applies to), an equality statement, and links to relevant laws and statutory guidance that underpin the policy. Safeguarding policies should be made available, in an accessible format, to every staff member or volunteer, irrespective of their role.
Our safeguarding guide includes more detail about what to include in a safeguarding policy, and explains some of the specific risk areas which may, depending on the circumstances, be better addressed in a separate policy, such as county lines, female genital mutilation (FGM), domestic abuse, radicalisation, extremism and online harm.
What should I include in my safeguarding procedure?
A safeguarding procedure should include detailed information and guidance for your staff, explaining how to perform their safeguarding duties appropriately. Like your safeguarding policy, your safeguarding procedure should be easily accessible and easy to read for all staff, without unnecessary jargon.
A safeguarding procedure should include guidance on:
- What safeguarding and abuse is (including clear definitions) and how to identify abuse
- Disclosure, referral and escalation processes
- Information-sharing protocols
- Record-keeping instructions
- How to respond to allegations against staff or peer-on-peer abuse
While safeguarding responsibilities can seem daunting, especially for a small charity, help is available. Our guide to safeguarding contains details to help you better understand how to develop a safeguarding policy and procedure that is appropriate for your organisation.
