Succeeding in safeguarding: A guide for trustees

Safeguarding feels like a topic we only hear about when things go wrong. Whether it be the tragic case of Olive Cook, the malpractice of Oxfam employees, or recent revelations regarding safeguarding in Ampleforth Abbey Trust, headlines in recent years have centred on stories of safeguarding failure.

But why do safeguarding issues occur and how can we stop them? This article will look at the basics of safeguarding, why charities struggle, and what trustees can do to succeed.

The Basics

What is safeguarding and who is responsible?

NCVO defines safeguarding as “Creating a safe and welcoming environment, where everyone is respected and valued, is at the heart of safeguarding. It’s about making sure your organisation is run in a way that actively prevents harm, harassment, bullying, abuse and neglect”.

In terms of responsibility, the buck stops with trustees. As defined by the Charity Commission, “Protecting people and safeguarding responsibilities should be a governance priority for all charities. It is a fundamental part of operating as a charity for the public benefit”. However, it is worth stressing that, whilst ultimate responsibility will fall to trustees, everyone in a charitable organisation has an active role to play in safeguarding.

Why do charities struggle?

The above definition of safeguarding alludes to one of the key challenges for charities, scope.

Safeguarding is a large and sprawling topic that impacts all areas of a charity. As such, trustees must constantly review practice and policy. In a world where charities are enduring declining funding, increased demand for resources, and recruitment difficulties, some boards and executive teams have lacked capacity to adequately fulfil this obligation.

Another key factor has been support. As the resources at the end of this article demonstrate, there is a myriad of ways to define safeguarding, each with its own vision of best practice. Choosing and implementing a safeguarding strategy is ultimately down to individual charities and, whilst the Charity Commission gives guidance on what safeguarding policies must cover, it does not give structure for how this can be best achieved. This leaves charities with a wealth of information but little direction on how to implement and maintain best practices.

How to be Successful

With these challenges in mind, here are some tips on how trustees can succeed when it comes to safeguarding. We have broken this down into three areas: policy, culture and awareness.

Policy

Whilst we can’t provide the perfect policy for your organisation, here are some key things trustees can do when implementing and reviewing safeguarding policy.

1. Make time for feedback and discussion. Any new policies and amendments should be agreed by all and it is essential that time is given to ensuring that all trustees understand the requirements and remits of the policy.
    
2. Involve staff and volunteers in the process and, when finalised, make the policy publicly available (e.g. on the website).
    
3. Review the policy at least once a year with any changes or developments communicated across the organisation.
    
4. Appoint a lead trustee for safeguarding. This is a requirement from the Charity Commission for organisations working with with children or adults at risk, but a wider range of charities might find this role to be useful as well.

Culture

Developing a policy is a crucial first step, but it is important that this comes alongside a strong culture of safeguarding within the organisation, starting at board level. Key to success here is:

1. Safeguarding should be an item on the agenda of every board meeting. There should be space for questions and concerns and all trustees should engage with the topic.
    
2. The board should be visible to staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries with clear instructions on how to make a complaint or raise a query.
    
3. Trustees should embrace continuous improvement. A useful exercise here is to reflect on how safeguarding has been discussed historically. Are safeguarding concerns raised? If you never have any, could this be an indication that your policies or culture may not be strong enough for people to speak up? Have you sought feedback on whether the policies work? These questions both improve policy and show stakeholders that safeguarding is both understood and prioritised.

Awareness

Whilst good culture is essential, this is redundant without formal training. Everyone involved with the charity must know how to recognise, respond to, report and record a safeguarding concern.

The five Rs of safeguarding produced by Online DBS provides a useful framework for this.

• Recognise – become familiar with the symptoms and signs so you can spot an issue as early as possible.
• Respond – be careful and sensitive when dealing with individuals who may have been subject to safeguarding issues
• Report – follow your organisation’s internal and external process to make sure safeguarding issues are reported to the right people/places
• Record – make a record of everything that happened, keep communications. Be detailed.
• Refer – refer to the appropriate authorities and provide support to those who have been affected

Key here is the ability of all staff and volunteer to identify possible risks. Safeguarding training is essential to developing these skills and any training provided should be regularly evaluated to ensure it is relevant and responding to recent updates.

Conclusion

After reading this, you might not feel any less daunted by safeguarding. To help you get started, here are a few simple things you can do to improve your safeguarding practice and culture today.

1. Review your charity’s safeguarding policies and ensure they are comprehensive, up-to-date, and actively implemented across the organisation. Have a look at guidance from NSPCC and the Ann Craft Trust to see how your current policy measures up.
    
2. Make safeguarding a standing item on your board’s agenda to ensure continued focus and commitment from leadership.
    
3. Lead by example: foster a culture where safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and ensure staff and volunteers are trained, supported, and held accountable.
    
4. Leverage available resources: consult the Charity Commission’s guidelines, engage with relevant sector bodies, and ensure your safeguarding practices align with the latest standards. See a list of resources below.

Resources

Here are some resources to support your safeguarding work.

Safeguarding advice:

• NCVO has a wealth of information of safeguarding for trustees, and guidance on Charity ethical principles to support boards/individual trustees when making decisions on how to report safeguarding issues, in line with the code of conduct
• Bond have created a ‘good governance for safeguarding’ guide for UK boards. Bond also has a list of terms and definitions relating to safeguarding.
• ACEVO have resources to help identify and handle bullying in the workplace
• Charity Commission have details on adequate insurance for staff and volunteers
• Farrer’s how to bring your safeguarding up to scratch, covers:
  • Legal responsibilities – Charities must comply with safeguarding laws and regulatory guidance to protect vulnerable people they work with.
  • Culture and governance – a strong safeguarding culture starts at the top, with trustees and senior leadership setting the tone and ensuring clear policies
  • Training and awareness – regular training is essential for staff and volunteers to understand safeguarding responsibilities and recognise risks.
  • Reporting and response – robust systems should be in place for reporting concerns, managing incidents and learning from mistakes.
  • Continuous improvement – safeguarding should be a dynamic process with regular reviews, updates and audits to ensure compliance and best practice.

For charities looking at specific risks:

• Charities that work with adults at risk should refer to –
  • The care act
  • Care Quality Commission
  • Disability Law Service has a safeguarding fact sheet
• Charities that operate overseas with people in crisis must consider additional safeguarding guidelines and legislation, i.e., The Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability
• Operating online comes with its own safeguarding issues to consider. The following provide support on this issue:
  • Internet Matters
  • Get Safe Online
  • NSPCC
  • Charity Commission guidance of charities and social media