It’s one thing to write your safeguarding policies and procedures. But how can you ensure that people read them, understand them, and implement them?
Just because you have policies, procedures, and codes of conduct in place, it does not mean that everyone knows about them. Don’t assume that everyone has read them, or even knows where to find them.
Effectively Communicating Safeguarding Policies and Procedures Can Help Embed Best Practices Across Your Organisation
You need to help everyone involved in your sport or activity understand:
- That there are systems in place to support, listen, and act on any safeguarding concerns.
- What to do and who to speak to if they have any concerns.
- What the procedure and potential outcome might be.
- Any other support that’s available, whether within the organisation or from a third party.
It’s easy to focus solely on making sure you have the relevant up to date policies and procedures in place. But it’s equally important to make sure everyone involved in your organisation knows about these policies and procedures.
Also, your policies and procedures must be easy to access and easy to understand for everyone involved in your sport or activity: From the participants who take part once a week, to the volunteer who only helps out once a month.
This all might seem easier said than done. That’s why we created The Safeguarding Adults Roadmap.
By breaking the process down into six manageable stages, The Roadmap is here to help you develop effective strategies for implementing meaningful policies and procedures in your sport.
The Safeguarding Adults Roadmap – Stage Four – Communicate and Implement
How can you ensure that everyone involved in your club or organisation is onboard with your safeguarding policies and procedures? Does everyone in your sport know what responsibilities they have, and what you expect from them? Would your participants know who to turn to if they ever had to report a concern?
These are the sort of questions you’ll answer in stage four of your roadmap journey.
In stage three, you developed your club or organisation’s safeguarding policies and procedures. In stage four, you’re going to develop a Communications Plan. This is how you’ll ensure that everybody knows and understands their safeguarding responsibilities, and the measures you have in place to support people with their welfare.
In stage three you thought about your training matrix. Now it’s time to start thinking about how you make safeguarding adults training available to whoever needs it in your club or organisation.
This is also a good time to start looking at your club or organisation’s website. Does it include a section on safeguarding adults? What should this section include, and who is it for?
Finally, in stage three we’ll invite you to return to the action plan you put together in the beginning stages of your Roadmap journey. How are you doing in terms of your tasks, timeframes, and responsibilities?
Safeguarding should be embedded throughout an organisation like the writing in a stick of rock. It should be embedded explicitly, with posters, documents, and email signatures. And it should also be embedded implicitly, in how everyone inside and outside and organisation is treated. Make your values shine through.
Peter Few, Safer Dance
