Voluntary Community and Faith (VCF)
Safeguarding in Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector
All Voluntary, Community and Faith organisations should have in place at a minimum:
- A safeguarding children policy
- A designated person for safeguarding children
- Appropriate safeguarding training for all staff. The designated person should undertake the Kirklees level 2 multi-agency training course ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.
All organisations also need to ensure that arrangements are in to include:
- Procedures for staff and others to report concerns that they have about the children
- Appropriate codes of practice for staff
- Appropriate recruitment procedures
- Appropriate training and supervision of staff and volunteers
- All allegations against staff must be reported to the local authority designated officer (LADO) who will advise on what action needs to be taken.
Local Resources
TSL Safeguarding Children policy
TSL Safeguarding Children Policy Procedures Template 2020
Safeguarding Guidance
DfE OSS Safeguarding guidance 2023 Leaflet
DfE OSS Safeguarding Guidance 2023
Safeguarding Checklist
The Safeguarding Board recommends that voluntary and community groups use this checklist to assess their current level of safeguarding practice, identify any concerns and areas for improvement, and identify any support that may be needed to implement improvements:
- Safeguarding Checklist – A self-assessment tool for the voluntary sector (Word document)
- Safeguarding Checklist – A self-assessment tool for the voluntary sector(PDF)
West Yorkshire Sport
National Resources
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions on more than four million people every year. DBS is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office. They are responsible for:
- processing requests for, and issuing, DBS checks for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
- making considered decisions regarding whether an individual should be barred from engaging in regulated activity with children, adults or both, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- maintaining the children’s and adults’ barred lists
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-duties-for-charity-trustees
Government Guidance on what to do to protect people who come into contact with your charity through its work from abuse or mistreatment of any kind.
Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings
- Safeguarding LGBTQ+ young people
- Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings: code of practice
- Information for self-employed providers or volunteers running out-of-school settings
- Information on safeguarding for providers of tuition and faith groups
- Information for providers on keeping children safe in sports clubs and other extra-curricular activities
- Seven steps checklist towards running a safe club, activity or tuition class for children
- Safeguarding for providers of extra-curricular clubs, youth organisations and study groups
- Guidance for parents and carers on safeguarding children in out-of-school settings
- Information for parents choosing an after school club, community activity or tuition
Department for Education
Keeping Children Safe: Code of practice (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Safeguarding Children in Sport
- Safeguarding Children in Golf ensures golf instructors, volunteers and anyone else working with children are using best safeguarding practice. – https://www.gcma.org.uk/news/england-golf-safe-golf-programme/
- Swimming – http://www.swimming.org/asa/clubs-and-members/safeguarding-children/
- Football – Safeguarding Children and Young People in Football
- NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) Guidance.
NSPCC guidance and support for the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector
This set of recommended standards and accompanying guidance will help non-statutory organisations in England that work with children and young people up to the age of 25, to put clear safeguarding arrangements in place.
They are aimed at voluntary and community organisations, as well as social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations that may not consider themselves to be within the voluntary, community and faith sectors.
The standards help organisations to take responsibility for keeping children, young people and young adults safe; have a practical approach; and comply with legislation and national guidance. They provide useful templates, examples, and links to further information, and are designed to be used alongside our safeguarding tool.
These include:
NSPCC – About safeguarding in faith communities
About safeguarding in faith communities | NSPCC Learning
Mosque Management
Practical advice for successful madrassah and mosque management. Provides guidance on how to instigate good management styles, how to improve record keeping and how to build on good teaching and learning practice.
The NSPCC have produced 7 short films of people talking about their faith and how safeguarding is central to their beliefs and work. The films are aimed at people working in faith settings and places of worship across the UK to help them keep children safe.
Key Lessons From Safeguarding Practice Reviews
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