Is safeguarding a priority within your organisation?
Is there sufficient discussion, oversight, and learning at every level, including at Trustee and senior level?
Safeguarding at Team Level
Is safeguarding a standing agenda item at team meetings, or do people only raise it response to incidents?
Addressing safeguarding solely when issues arise can create a perception that it is something done to people, rather than with them. This approach may also lead to fear and disengagement, which can overshadow the core messages of empowerment and prevention.
Embedding regular safeguarding discussions helps foster a proactive culture. It can help people recognise that the most effective safeguarding practice is rooted in prevention.
Safeguarding at Board Level
Safeguarding should also be a regular and substantive item on Board agendas.
Trustees should seek assurance that they have clear and consistent oversight of safeguarding arrangements. Your organisation should have effective reporting systems in place to accurately record concerns. This will also enable appropriate escalation while helping you to monitor themes and trends.
Trustees have a responsibility to review, question, and challenge safeguarding information. They should stay aware of high-risk situations, and regularly scrutinise the organisational risk register. Trustees should also fully understand the process for reporting serious incidents. There should be clear escalation pathways and a clear organisational response that reflects accountability.
Safeguarding policies and procedures should be formally reviewed and approved at Board level. While safeguarding is a collective responsibility of all Trustees, appointing a Lead Trustee for safeguarding can strengthen oversight, promote best practice, and ensure sustained focus and engagement at a strategic level.
Trustees should receive safeguarding training specifically tailored to their governance role. This will ensure that the Board as a whole has a clear and shared understanding of its safeguarding responsibilities. It will also equip Trustees to provide effective oversight, ask informed questions, and fulfil their duty of care with confidence and accountability.
At The Ann Craft Trust, we offer specialist safeguarding training for charity trustees. Learn more and book your place here.
Safeguarding at Senior Level
It’s essential to provide the appropriate level of safeguarding training for all roles, including volunteers. Your training should go beyond basic compliance with the regulatory requirements. You should treat it as a foundation for developing a team of competent and confident individuals who clearly understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding.
This commitment should extend across the organisation. Senior leaders should maintain active engagement in safeguarding at a strategic level. And like training, this engagement should go beyond operational compliance. It should instead be a shared commitment to embed protective culture throughout the organisation.
For senior leaders, safeguarding training can contribute to best practice in governance and risk management. It can also help to enhance your organisation’s reputation, through highlighting how you treat safeguarding as a core strategic priority, rather than a regulatory box-ticking exercise, or a process to go through when something goes wrong.
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Role
The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) role can support effective safeguarding practices across the entire organisation. But for the role to be effective, you need to establish a clear remit to ensure that everyone understands just what you expect from them.
The DSL role often sits within, or alongside, quality and governance functions. But at the same time, the DSL has oversight across all operational areas. As such, the role requires strong organisational buy-in and a shared understanding of its purpose and authority among senior leadership, with clear lines of accountability.
The DSL should provide regular reports to Trustees and the Head of Operations, in line with agreed timescales and organisational safeguarding policies and procedures. DSLs usually deliver quarterly reports that offer insight into safeguarding activity while highlighting emerging risks or trends. This can support decision making at a strategic level.
At The Ann Craft Trust, we run regular Level 3 Safeguarding Training sessions for managers and DSLs. You can browse upcoming training opportunities here, or you can book bespoke in-house training for your organisation here.
Safeguarding Boards or Committees
Trustees or independent safeguarding specialists often chair or support safeguarding sub-committees. These can play a key role in embedding effective safeguarding practice across the organisation.
Typically, the DSL will be a member of this board or committee, along with senior representatives from HR and other operational teams. The committees can act as a forum, providing a valuable opportunity to promote both robust oversight and organisational learning.
A safeguarding board or committee is most effective when guided by a clear work plan that sets out strategic priorities. It’s also important to track progress and to evidence the impact of any campaigns or initiatives. To support a culture of continuous improvement, the committee should regularly reflect on practice, while identifying any gaps or potential areas for development.
Co-Production
You can strengthen your practices through working closely with people who have direct experience of receiving safeguarding services. This is known as co-production, and it’s a person-centred approach that can help you ensure that your safeguarding policies and procedures reflect real needs, rather than assumptions.
One practical way to do this is through creating structured opportunities for participation. This might include user forums, advisory panels, or dedicated co-production groups. These spaces allow individuals to share their experiences. They can highlight what has worked well, while identifying areas for improvement. Participation should always be voluntary, and you should aim to make the groups as accessible as possible.
Co-production can be particularly powerful when you apply it to your training and development. People with direct experience of receiving safeguarding services could contribute to staff training sessions. They could help to shape case studies, or share perspectives that bring safeguarding to life in a meaningful way.
You could also involve individuals in reviewing safeguarding policies, procedures, and communication materials. This could help to ensure that your information is accessible and relevant to people who use your services.
Effective co-production relies on a strong ethical framework. This includes offering appropriate support, recognising potential emotional impact, and maintaining confidentiality.
Feedback Mechanisms
Developing a culture of trust is key. People are more likely to engage when they feel heard, respected, and confident that their voices can make a difference.
Regular surveys, listening events, or one-to-one conversations can help gather insight from as wide a group of people as possible. This could include those who may not wish to take part in more formal group discussions.
But it’s not enough to simply gather feedback. It’s also important to act upon any feedback you receive. This way, individuals will see how their input can influence change.
External Audits
For example, an independent, external safeguarding audit can help you maintain best safeguarding practices across your organisation.
An audit should never be a one-off. For best results, you should aim for periodic audits every one to three years.
The primary purpose of such an audit or review is to evaluate the design and operational effectiveness of your organisation’s safeguarding policies, procedures, and controls.
The audit should assess how effectively you have embedded these frameworks in your organisation’s daily operations. It will also consider the overall safeguarding culture across your organisation.
A robust review will seek to understand the context in which you are operating, along with the unique safeguarding risks and challenges you are facing. It will also identify areas of good practice while helping you identify opportunities for improvement and further development.
- Read our guide to how audits can help charities overcome certain governance challenges here.
- Read our full guide to how safeguarding audits work, and why they matter, here.
Want to book an Ann Craft Trust safeguarding audit for your organisation?
If you’d like to know more about our safeguarding audits, or if you’d like to book one for your organisation, please fill in the form below, and we’ll be in touch: