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.
Safeguarding
It’s important that everyone in your community can access your services safely, without risk of abuse or exploitation. This is particularly important if any of the people using your space are children or vulnerable adults. If so, you need to be aware of the Scottish Government’s Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme via Disclosure Scotland. The PVG scheme helps employers make safer decisions when they're recruiting people, including volunteers.
New laws on disclosure and protection of vulnerable groups (PVG) checks
New law is coming into force in April 2025. Make sure you understand the changes and what they might mean for you by visiting Volunteer Scotland's disclosure information hub.
We held a webinar on 4th December 2024, you can watch the recording in your own time: New laws on disclosure and safeguarding: make sure you’re ready
You should also consider having a safeguarding policy and process. This can help reassure people about using your space and is also increasingly a requirement from funders. What goes in it depends on your activities, but should outline:
- How you will proactively protect people, particularly children and young people
- How people can make a complaint if they feel unsafe or witness anything they’re not comfortable with
- How you will respond to any safeguarding concern
- How you will regularly review any safeguarding concerns, to notice any themes and proactively prevent them.
It’s also good practice to ensure that hirers of your community space that provide activities for children, also have such policies in place. This could be included in your hiring agreement (see later sub-section).
SCVO’s safeguarding information can be used to help develop a strong safeguarding culture in your organisation and signposts to other relevant resources.
The Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Service, funded by Disclosure Scotland to support the voluntary sector with processing disclosure checks, has guidance and resources on the PVG application process.
The Scottish Charity Regulator OSCR, has a useful online safeguarding resource for registered charities, detailing what’s meant by safeguarding and highlighting key steps that charity trustees can take to make sure that it is considered in an appropriate way for their charity. The NSPCC has produced a range of resources on safeguarding and child protection for voluntary and community groups, including advice on what you need to include and consider when writing your policy statement and procedures.