The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Policies and procedures
This section discusses how you can approach a safeguarding policy and processes that are relevant to your organisation, responding to the real life issues that your board, staff and volunteers could encounter.
Identify the safeguarding risks in your work
Your safeguarding activity needs to be suitable for your organisation. Begin by identifying and agreeing on the safeguarding risks you face so you can set the right policies, procedures and practices.
Start by thinking about:
- what kind of activities your organisation does
- who you work with
- what kind of harm people within, and connected to, your organisation might experience.
Trustees are responsible for assessing and managing all of the risks their organisation faces. A risk management policy and risk register, which are regularly reviewed, will show your organisation has considered any potential risks, the likelihood of them occurring, and their possible impact, and how you will manage or reduce those risks.
The risks you face should influence the development of your policies, procedures, induction and training. For example,
- if you work with children, your training should include specific risks of harm they may face, such as physical and sexual abuse, and how to listen effectively to a child’s disclosure and confidentiality and consent.
- If you work with the elderly, your training might focus on the risks they face, including financial or institutional abuse or issues of self-neglect.
Weigh up the key risks facing your organisation and then decide how that should influence your approach to safeguarding.
Adopt the right policies and procedures
Safeguarding policies outline what your organisation will do to protect people from harm. Everyone in your organisation, such as trustees, staff, volunteers, should understand how you manage safeguarding.
When developing your safeguarding policies and procedures, you should consider your organisation’s activities and size, the level of risk, and your legal status. Your safeguarding approach should be proportionate and cover all the key risks for the people you work with and all your activities.
Regardless of the breadth and depth of your policies and procedures, remember:
- Policies and procedures must be clear and concise, with any technical terms explained. They should always have a date of approval and contact details for where someone can learn more.
- Consulting your team or those benefiting from your organisation when developing your policies and procedures can bring fresh insight and ideas for improvement.
- Policies and procedures should generally be approved by your Board of Trustees (or equivalent).
The Safeguarding Policy outlines what your organisation will do to keep people safe.
Key things to consider:
- An introduction: introduce your organisation. Explain to whom this policy applies and if there are other relevant organisational policies or procedures people need to consider alongside this.
- Context: what specific legal or regulatory obligations have you identified as relevant to your organisation? Find out more in our page on safeguarding laws, regulation and guidance.
- Policy statement: why is safeguarding important to your organisation? What key principles shape how you want to keep people safe?
- Your commitments: what are the specific ways you embed safeguarding in your organisations (eg. in recruitment, in vetting, in training, etc)?
- Responsibilities: Who are the specific roles with responsibilities for safeguarding?
- Monitoring: How will you know if the policy is being implemented and making a positive difference? How often will it be reviewed and updated?
Safeguarding procedures outline what action will be taken if there are safeguarding concerns. This will help your team if they are:
- worried about someone’s welfare or wellbeing or concerned they are being abused, neglected or exploited
- worried someone is posing a risk to others or not following safeguarding expectations
- worried a child or adult at risk of harm involved in your work is harming others
- wanting to make an allegation against a staff member, volunteer or another team member.
This procedure should outline:
- how to respond to someone sharing they are being harmed or how to spot signs and symptoms of harm
- who to share this information with, for example, your designated safeguarding lead and their contact details
- what information should be recorded and how should it be shared? For example, by completing a specific form or by emailing a specific person/address
- how any information will be stored and shared internally and externally.
If you work in a specific local authority area, consider aligning your procedures with those issued in that area. You might also include the contact details for local social services.
A code of conduct sets out your expectations of your team's behaviour. This could include behaviour you want to encourage and behaviour you want to prevent (for example, anything illegal, unsafe, unprofessional, or unwise).
Safeguarding in its broadest sense should include a wider set of policies and procedures including:
- Anti-bullying and harassment
- Data protection
- Fire safety
- Grievance
- Health and Safety
- Social Media
- Whistleblowing policy for people who do not think concerns are being dealt with properly.
Many policies may apply across your organisation. However, distinct policies and procedures for employees and volunteers reduce the risk that volunteers are perceived as gaining employment rights. You may need different policies for managing problems, disputes, or suspensions.
You can find templates policies for most of these topics, and many more, in our Templates, model policies & checklists library.
Policies and procedures are only helpful when they accurately reflect your situation and context. You should regularly review them to ensure that they reflect any changes in legislation, your strategy or activities, or team structures or roles.
In addition to regular planned reviews, consider reviewing your policies and procedures following any serious safeguarding concerns or incidents. You can incorporate any learning from the management of the concern into the revised policies and procedures. Don’t forget to tell your team about any changes and what they mean to them.
Policies and procedures only help if others know and understand them. They must be easily accessible and positively advertised to your staff, volunteers, and anyone in contact with your organisation.
You could:
- Put your safeguarding policy on your website
- Produce summaries relevant and accessible to those you work with
- Share the policies and procedures with any new member of your team and give them space to ask questions for clarification
- Run regular awareness-raising events or reminders on safe practices
- Place signs in your building reminding people how to report concerns or details of your Designated Safeguarding Lead (if you have one).
Learn more
- Scotland International Development Alliance provide guidance on developing a safeguarding policy.
- NSPCC offers guidance on writing safeguarding policies and procedures when working with children
- SCVO members can access templates, model policies and checklists.
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