In undertaking this work, the Trust is aware of the requirements of safeguarding legislation, in particular the Care Act (2014) which applies to England and similar legislation for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the duties on the Trust’s trustees relating to safeguarding as required by the Charities Commission.
Safeguarding legislation relates to children (persons under 18 years of age) and adults with care and support needs.
Policy Statement
The Trustees of the Trust proactively safeguard and promote the well-being and welfare of the Trust’s beneficiaries and take reasonable steps to ensure that the beneficiaries or others who come into contact with the Trust do not, as a result, come to harm. This is a key governance priority for the Trustees.
The Trustees know their responsibilities. They have adequate measures in place to assess and address safeguarding risks, adequate safeguarding policies and procedures appropriate for the Trust’s particular circumstances, which reflect both the law and best practice, and make sure that these policies and procedures are effectively implemented and regularly reviewed.
The Trust’s Safeguarding Policy for Children and its Safeguarding Policy for Adults with care and support needs are on its website.
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being and welfare of children and of adults with care and support needs – it requires all individuals associated with the Trust to share this commitment, and to work together to help achieve the best possible outcomes for adults with care and support needs and to protect them from harm.
In addition, the following principles govern the Trust’s approach to safeguarding:
- The welfare of children and adults with care and support needs is, and must always be, paramount.
- No children or adult or group of children or adults with care and support needs will be treated any less favourably than others in being able to access services which meet their particular needs.
- All children and adults with care and support needs without exception have the right to protection from abuse regardless of their age, gender, race or ethnicity, disability, sexuality, religion or beliefs.
- All concerns and allegations of abuse and/or neglect will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
- Working in partnership with adults with care and support needs, their parents/carers (if/as appropriate) and other organisations is essential.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility
Through this Policy Statement and its policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, the Trust seeks to enable all those who are associated with the Trust to safeguard and promote the well-being and welfare of children and of adults with care and support needs, to help achieve the best possible outcomes for them, and to ensure that they are protected from harm as much as possible. The Trust seeks to ensure that its staff and volunteers:
- are clear about how to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns and allegations;
- have a clear understanding of the principles and practice involved in the safeguarding of adults with care and support needs;
- understand the importance of prevention in responding proactively and efficiently to all safeguarding concerns and allegations; and
- understand that it may not be possible for information relating to safeguarding concerns or allegations to remain confidential and that, if appropriate, the Trust will report them to the relevant authorities.
Partner Organisations
The Trust is committed to ensuring where possible within our capacity as a funder that we play our role in ensuring children and adults with care and support needs who are connected with the work we fund are safeguarded from abuse and neglect.
While it is the responsibility of the organisations the Trust funds to ensure that their own safeguarding policies and procedures are fit for purpose and proportionate given the nature of their work and the manner in which this is conducted, the Trust will carry out appropriate due diligence on any partner organisations which apply for funding support from the Trust, and further checks before granting a partner organisation subsequent funding, to ensure we are confident that the partner organisations are capable of delivering the proposed activities or services and have in place appropriate systems of control, including adequate safeguarding policies and procedures.
Safeguarding Concern
A safeguarding concern is any worry about a child or an adult who has or appears to have care and support needs that they may be subject to, or may be at risk of, abuse or neglect and may be unable to protect themselves against this.
If you have a safeguarding concern
Anyone associated with the Trust should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the Trust’s safeguarding system and know that such concerns will be taken seriously by the senior leadership team. These concerns should be reported in accordance with the Trust’s Whistleblowing Procedure, available on the Trust’s website.
Suspected wrongdoing can also be reported directly to the Charity Commission via its dedicated email address (whistleblowing@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk).
If you are worried about the safety or welfare of any child, young person or adult with care and support needs, a referral should be made to the children’s social care team or adult’s social care team at your local council. If they are in immediate need of help, call the police. If the individual concerned has a connection to the Trust, please inform the Trust
