What is included in a Safeguarding Policy?

This Safeguarding Policy template covers: the purpose and scope of the Policy what safeguarding is the organisation’s safeguarding commitments staff members’ safeguarding responsibilities safeguarding training reporting and handling procedures for safeguarding concerns business and employment policies and other documents that support the Safeguarding Policy

Why do I need a Safeguarding Policy?

Having a Safeguarding Policy in place helps an organisation to operate conscientiously, by helping it set out and communicate how it will safeguard the people that it works with. Safeguarding Policies provide foundations for organisations’ safeguarding compliance, upon which they can develop comprehensive safeguarding practices to meet all safeguarding legal requirements and to protect people as well as possible. Certain types of organisations should always have Safeguarding Policies in place, including: charities (especially those that work with children and/or adults at risk) childcare providers other organisations that work with children and/or adults at risk

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding generally refers to work that’s aimed at preventing or responding to harm or risks of harm posed to certain individuals and to promoting these individuals’ general welfare. It is most important in the context of protecting children and/or adults who are at particular risk of harm. Safeguarding usually covers the prevention and management of different types of abuse. For example, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, domestic violence, material and financial abuse, bullying, and online abuse.

What safeguarding legal requirements must organisations meet?

UK law imposes safeguarding obligations on multiple different types of organisations. Different types of organisations are subject to different safeguarding legal requirements, which reflect the types of activities they undertake and the types of people they work with. For example, health and care organisations are subject to particularly strong safeguarding obligations due to their routinely working with people in situations in which they are vulnerable. Exactly what’s required of an organisation varies, but often includes: having safeguarding policies and procedures in place (eg a written Safeguarding Policy) facilitating reporting of safeguarding concerns (ie of someone’s knowledge or reasonable belief that a risk is being posed to someone’s safety or wellbeing) dealing fairly and adequately with safeguarding concerns once they’ve been reported providing staff members with appropriate training on safeguarding matters assigning a safeguarding officer or another person responsibility for safeguarding matters setting out how safeguarding will be considered during recruitment processes (eg by carrying out criminal record checks (eg Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks )) Using this Safeguarding Policy is a great way to start your organisation’s safeguarding compliance. However, you must usually make sure this is supported by various other policies and procedures and other documents. For example, it may be suitable for your organisation to set out: specific procedures for reporting and handling safeguarding concerns in various different situations what safeguarding training will be provided to staff members and the information that will be included specific recruitment policies and procedures relevant to safeguarding review requirements for your safeguarding practices risk assessments that have been undertaken to analyse safeguarding-related risks and how they are or will be mitigated

When is this Safeguarding Policy not suitable?

This Safeguarding Policy is specifically designed to be used by childcare providers, charities, or other organisations that work with children and/or adults at risk . For safeguarding purposes, children are individuals under 18 years old. Adults at risk are individuals 18 years old or over (in England or Wales) or 16 years old or over (in Scotland) who have care and/or support needs and who are, due to these needs, unable to protect themselves from harm (eg due to illness or disability) at the relevant moment in time. An adult may be vulnerable at one time but not at another. If an individual in Scotland can be defined as a child or as an adult at risk, they can be covered by safeguarding policies and procedures applicable to both groups or by whichever are most appropriate in the given circumstances. This Policy is designed to be used to safeguard the beneficiaries of an organisation’s activities. For example, the clients that it works with (and their children) or the users of a charity’s services. The Policy is not designed to be used to safeguard an organisation’s own staff members. Safeguarding Policies that cover this are important for some organisations, for example, organisations that have volunteers as members of staff, particularly if any of the volunteers are children. If you need a Safeguarding Policy for your organisation’s staff members, Ask a lawyer for assistance. This Safeguarding Policy does cover safeguarding of an organisation’s beneficiaries from risks posed by both: the organisation’s own activities and personnel, and situations and people outside of the organisation’s control, of which the organisation’s personnel are or ought to be aware

What safeguarding obligations do charities have?

Charities that work with children and/or adults at risk should have Safeguarding Policies in place. They should usually meet the general safeguarding obligations set out above. Charities must also meet other safeguarding-related requirements, for example: formally reporting any safeguarding incidents (eg via their annual return submitted to the Charity Commission ) following relevant statutory guidance and similar, including requirements set out by the Charity Commission or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) For more information, read the various resources provided by the Government and other organisations, including: the Government’s guidance on protecting people for charities and on safeguarding for charities the National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO’s) guidance on charities’ safeguarding reporting duties the NCVO’s guidance on safeguarding policies and procedures the OSCR’s guidance on charity safeguarding in Scotland the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s (NSPCC’s) introductory guidance to safeguarding children for charities Ask a lawyer if your charity needs help with its safeguarding compliance.

What safeguarding policies do childcare organisations have?

Childcare providers are organisations that look after children. Most childcare providers must register with the relevant regulatory body (ie Ofsted in England, the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) in Wales, or the Care Inspectorate in Scotland). Some childcare providers do not need to register. For example, in England, those providing sports coaching or providing care to children for less than 2 hours per day. Regardless of whether they’re registered, organisations that work as childcare providers should meet their general safeguarding obligations (as above) and, in particular, should: follow safeguarding guidance issued by Ofsted or similar, where appropriate make sure they hold all necessary registrations (eg CIW, Ofsted, or Care Inspectorate registration) ensure that all staff members are safe to have working with children (eg by conducting DBS checks) uphold the ‘Prevent’ duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism (eg by providing training on recognising the signs of radicalisation) Ask a lawyer if your organisation needs help with its childcare provision and safeguarding compliance.

How should staff members report safeguarding concerns?

It’s up to you how your organisation’s staff members should report any safeguarding concerns that they have (ie their knowledge or reasonable belief that a risk is being posed to someone’s safety or wellbeing). You should, however, make sure that your procedures are always fair, accessible, and clearly communicated. Your reporting procedure could, for example, involve: filling in an online form organising meetings for the reporter with a safeguarding officer or other person responsible for handling reported concerns setting out specific procedures for different types of issues emailing or calling a specific email address or phone number keeping reports confidential as far as is appropriate (ie not telling people outside of the official reporting procedure about concerns until it’s appropriate to do so) You should make sure your reporting procedures follow any necessary laws, including data protection laws .

How should an organisation handle reported safeguarding concerns?

Exactly what happens after a safeguarding concern has been reported depends on the organisation and the concern in question. All organisations, however, should have clear processes that are to be followed. These should generally: clearly assign responsibility for handling concerns to an appropriate party, for example, a safeguarding officer or HR manager set out what will happen if one of the organisation’s staff members is implicated in a concern (eg fair investigations will be conducted and, if this person would usually be involved in conducting investigations, they will not be involved in this instance) explain what will happen if a staff member is found to have breached a safeguarding responsibility (eg they will be treated in line with the organisation’s Disciplinary policy or procedure ) explain that staff members who report concerns will be kept up-to-date with their concern’s investigation as far as is appropriate (eg it may be inappropriate for them to be told certain things about a beneficiary’s private life, if such comes to light during an investigation) set out how the organisation will abide by data protection laws when handling concerns explain when external referrals may be made (eg to emergency services if there is a concern for someone’s immediate safety, or to local authorities if a concern falls within the scope of local authorities’ safeguarding obligations and the referral is appropriate) You should set out detailed processes that are appropriate for your organisation. You can do this in this Safeguarding Policy or in a separate document or documents, to which your Policy will refer. Ask a lawyer if you need help establishing and/or communicating your processes.

What safeguarding training should organisations provide?

All organisations that have Safeguarding obligations should generally provide their staff members with safeguarding training that is appropriate to the organisation’s activities and sector and to each staff member’s role within the organisation. This Safeguarding Policy will always set out that your organisation will provide training on certain essential areas of safeguarding. These are: understanding and identifying the signs of different types of abuse and threats to wellbeing (ie safeguarding concerns) how staff members should respond to safeguarding concerns or related issues disclosed to them by someone else (eg by other staff members or beneficiaries who are worried for their own safety or who have been abused) how to report safeguarding concerns how to access additional resources on safeguarding Other types of training that may be appropriate for your specific organisation (either for all staff members or only for some) include training on: online safety health and safety whistleblowing child protection specific types of abuse that are particularly prevalent in your industry complying with reporting obligations specific to your industry It’s important that you provide high-quality training to new and existing staff members when required, either using external training providers or internal training sessions. Some useful resources to help you develop your safeguarding training include: NCVO’s guidance on planning safeguarding training the Government’s guidance on what to do if you’re worried a child is being abused NSPCC’s child protection training courses NSPCC’s guidance on child protection systems across the UK

MAKE YOUR FREE Safeguarding Policy

Other Names: Safeguarding Policy Statement Safeguarding Statement Child Protection Policy Child Protection Statement

What is a Safeguarding Policy?

Safeguarding Policies set out organisations’ commitments to protecting those they work with from harm. An organisation’s Safeguarding Policy will help it to meet its legal safeguarding obligations by ensuring its staff members know how to recognise, report, and handle any safeguarding concerns.

When should I use a Safeguarding Policy?

Use this Safeguarding Policy:

for organisations that work with children and/or adults at risk (ie adults who are unable to protect themselves from harm at a specific point in time)
if your organisation is a charity, a childcare provider (either as a business or a non-profit), or another organisation (eg a business) that works with children and/or adults at risk
to set out your organisation’s commitments to and procedures for safeguarding its beneficiaries (ie its clients or service users)
only for organisations based in England, Wales, or Scotland

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SAFEGUARDING POLICY

Statement of Purpose

(the Organisation, we, our or us) is committed to preventing and responding to risks of harm to and promoting the welfare of all that we work with (i.e. as ’s clients). These individuals are referred to as the ‘Beneficiaries’ of this Safeguarding Policy.
We recognise the importance of this commitment to safety and welfare and, further, are committed to safeguarding all Beneficiaries without discrimination due to an individual’s age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity leave status, marriage or civil partnership status, or sexual orientation.
This Safeguarding Policy is based on the safeguarding laws of England, Wales, and Scotland, including related guidance issued by the UK Government and relevant governmental departments, agencies, and public bodies. If this Policy is at any time inconsistent with this body of law, will act to meet the requirements of up-to-date safeguarding laws in priority to the requirements set out in this Policy.
has implemented this Safeguarding Policy in order to meet its obligations as an organisation working with.
Any questions in relation to this Policy should be referred to in the first instance.

Scope of this Safeguarding Policy

This Policy explains key aspects of how prevents harm in relation to its Beneficiaries via its practices and its Staff Members’ conduct.
This Safeguarding Policy covers the organisation and operation of all of ’s activities involving (i.e. our Relevant Activities). These primarily include:
This Policy’s guidelines and obligations apply to all individuals working for or acting on behalf of in the UK at all levels, including senior managers, officers, employees, consultants, trainees, homeworkers, part-time and fixed-term workers, casual workers, agency workers, volunteers, and interns (collectively ‘Staff Members’).
This Policy does not form part of any contract of employment or similar and may amend it at any time at our absolute discretion.

Defining Safeguarding

‘Safeguarding’ is an umbrella term that refers to work refers (e.g. practices and procedures) aimed at preventing or responding to harm or risks of harm posed to vulnerable individuals, and at promoting these individuals’ wider welfare. Safeguarding is particularly important for children and adults at risk. Most safeguarding legal obligations relate to the care of these groups. For safeguarding purposes
The commitments and practices contained in this Safeguarding Policy apply to the safeguarding of ’s Beneficiaries from harm caused by either:
1. The activities and practices of and any conduct of its Staff Members, or
2. People and situations outside of ’s and its Staff Members’ control, where ’s Staff Members are aware of, ought to be aware of, or reasonably suspect the risks posed by a situation.
For the purposes of this Policy, a ‘Safeguarding Concern’ is any conduct or situation that is known or reasonably suspected by a Staff Member or another party that risks violating the safeguarding commitments set out above.

Key Measures that is Committed to Implementing and Maintaining to Safeguard its Beneficiaries

Ensuring that Staff Members are trained to, and encouraged to, report any Safeguarding Concerns that they identify. Staff Members will be encouraged to follow ’s safeguarding reporting procedures as closely as possible when reporting concerns (set out below under the heading ‘Procedures: Reporting’).
Ensuring that all Staff Members listen to all safeguarding-related queries and concerns raised by other Staff Members, Beneficiaries, or relevant other parties, with respect and professionalism. Staff Members should be trained how to, and encouraged to, then assist with reporting any such concerns via ’s regular reporting procedures.
Ensuring that all reported Safeguarding Concerns are dealt with by appropriate individuals and teams and in accordance with ’s relevant procedures (set out below under the heading ‘Procedures: Investigation and Response’).
Implementing and maintaining comprehensive, accessible, fair, and efficient procedures for Staff Members to use when reporting and dealing with Safeguarding Concerns. These procedures will be made known and easily accessible to all Staff Members.
1. Procedures will be designed to ensure all safeguarding issues are dealt with fairly and objectively even when allegations are made against one of ’s Staff Members. Any such allegations will be treated in a manner that takes into account the gravity of the accusations, but which does not vilify or presume the guilt of an accused individual without a fair investigation.
2. Any reports that qualify as protected disclosures under whistleblowing law will be treated securely and in a protected manner in line with whistleblowing law.
Appointing to hold responsibility for managing safeguarding policies and procedures within .
Following appropriate recruitment processes when recruiting new Staff Members, including volunteers. This includes:
1. Conducting all appropriate pre-employment checks (e.g. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record checks).
2. Ensuring new Staff Members take part in, and understand the content of, all necessary safeguarding training before having any contact with ’s Beneficiaries.
3. Following ’s policies and procedures on hiring and recruitment.
Providing appropriate safeguarding training for all relevant Staff Members. Every Staff Member should be provided with, and required to undertake, training that is appropriate to their role, responsibilities, and degree and type of contact with Beneficiaries. This should, where appropriate, include training on:
1. How to define and identify potential signs of different types of abuse, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation, neglect, and others.
2. How to listen to and respond to concerns or disclosures about safeguarding issues during an initial conversation (e.g. how to explain when information can and cannot be kept confidential).
3. How to use ’s safeguarding reporting procedures and when doing so is appropriate.
4. Which additional resources (e.g. policies, other supporting documents, or external educational resources) are available to ensure Staff Members remain informed about safeguarding.
Ensuring that all information related to Safeguarding Concerns, including the content of reported concerns as well as the personal data of anybody involved, is handled safely and securely. This involves:
1. Following the requirements set out by the UK’s data protection laws, including The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Following ’s data protection policies and procedures.
3. Providing Staff Members with training on data protection and privacy, where appropriate.
4. Ensuring Staff Members always have an identifiable point of contact for questions or concerns about data protection and privacy. This is currently .
5. Only sharing information about a Safeguarding Concern internally as far as is necessary to manage the concern for the relevant Beneficiary’s benefit.
Ensuring transparency and awareness regarding safeguarding information and procedures. For example, by:
1. Providing information to Beneficiaries about our safeguarding procedures so that they are aware of how to raise any concerns.
2. Ensuring all Staff Members are aware of safeguarding laws, ’s safeguarding commitments and procedures, and Staff Members’ responsibilities in relation to these.
Regularly reviewing all safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that they are up-to-date with safeguarding law and that they remain suitable for ’s Relevant Activities and workforce, and meeting any review and evaluation requirements specific to ’s industry and organisation type.

Staff Members’ Responsibilities

All Staff Members have a responsibility to promote the safety and wellbeing of all of ’s Beneficiaries. This means that all of ’s policies and procedures relevant to safeguarding and all UK laws relevant to safeguarding must be followed at all times. Specifically:
All Staff Members must contribute to upholding the key measures that has committed to taking to safeguard its Beneficiaries (set out above) to an extent that is appropriate for their role, responsibilities, and degree and type of contact with Beneficiaries. Specific ways that Staff Members should do this will be clarified during training. If a Staff Member is uncertain as to their responsibilities, it is their responsibility to raise this with .
Staff Members must actively participate in all safeguarding training they are assigned and, if they do not understand any aspects of their training, must raise this with .
Staff Members must never do anything to actively risk the safety or wellbeing of any of ’s Beneficiaries. This includes, but is not limited to:
1. Subjecting them to or facilitating abuse of any sort.
2. Engaging in any sexual activity with children (i.e. anybody under the age of 18).
3. Participating in or facilitating any activities that may commercially exploit Beneficiaries. For example, failing to report suspected child labour or trafficking.
Staff Members must report all Safeguarding Concerns that they have regarding Beneficiaries, regardless of whether the concerns relate to potential wrongdoing of other Staff Members, other Beneficiaries, or external parties (e.g. parents, teachers, other organisations, or members of the public).

Procedures: Reporting

Staff Members will receive safeguarding training that should enable them to identify Safeguarding Concerns (e.g. suspected abuse, neglect, or threats to wellbeing) relevant to ’s Beneficiaries.
If a Staff Member identifies a Safeguarding Concern, to report it they should:
If a Staff Member feels unable to follow the above steps, they should report their Safeguarding Concern in a reasonable alternative manner. This may the case if, for example:
1. Following the above procedure would require disclosing the concern to somebody who is implicated in the Safeguarding Concern or who the Staff Member is otherwise uncomfortable contacting about this concern, or
2. The matter is time sensitive and involves a risk of serious harm to somebody, in which case contacting an external agency (e.g. the police, the ambulance service, or a mental health crisis line) or a more senior member of ’s staff first may be more appropriate.

Procedures: Investigation and Response

Staff Members who report a Safeguarding Concern will be kept informed about the progression of the matter they reported to an appropriate degree. Note that, depending on the nature of the concern and consequent investigations, some information about matters may be kept confidential and not shared with the reporter.
If a Staff Member is found to be in breach of this Safeguarding Policy or safeguarding law in general, they will be treated fairly and will only be dismissed if appropriate in the circumstances and in accordance with employment law.
Referrals or notifications to external organisations (e.g. police services, local authorities, or regulatory bodies) will be made when, and only when, this is appropriate, and will always be made in accordance with the law (e.g. data protection law).

Supporting Documents and Other Protections

All of the policies, procedures, and other documents set out above are available on request from the person within the Organisation responsible for HR matters or via Staff Members’ line managers.

Attribution

This Safeguarding Policy was created using a document from Rocket Lawyer (https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en).

About Safeguarding Policies

Learn more about making your Safeguarding Policy

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How to make a Safeguarding Policy
Making your Safeguarding Policy online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all of the information about your organisation’s practices and procedures prepared in advance, creating your document is a quick and easy process.

You’ll need the following information:

The organisation
- What is your organisation’s name?
- Is your organisation based in England, Scotland, or Wales? If you operate in multiple constituent countries you can make a separate Safeguarding Policy for each country or Ask a lawyer for help making a combined policy
- Is your organisation a charity?
  - If so, what is its Charity Commission registration number (in England or Wales) or Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) registration number (in Scotland)?
- Is your organisation a childcare provider?
  - If so, what is its Ofsted (in England), Care Inspectorate (in Scotland), or CIW (in Wales) registration number? This may not apply to all childcare providers.
The organisation’s activities
- Does your organisation work with children, adults at risk, or both?
- Which of your organisation’s activities involve working with children and/or adults at risk?
Key contacts and assignment of responsibility
- Who holds overall responsibility for safeguarding within your organisation?
- Who is your organisation’s key contact for questions related to safeguarding? For example, questions about training or procedures.
  - What are this person’s or department’s phone number and email address?
- Who is your organisation’s key contact for data protection matters?
  - What are this person’s phone number and email address?
Training and procedures
- Will you set out additional types of safeguarding training that your organisation will provide? This Policy will always state that you will provide certain training - see the FAQ ‘What safeguarding training should organisations provide?’ for more information.
  - If so, which other (or more specific) types of training will your organisation provide?
- How should staff members report safeguarding concerns?
- Will you set out within this Safeguarding Policy your organisation’s procedures for handling reported safeguarding concerns?
  - If so, how will reported safeguarding concerns be dealt with?
Other documents and policies
- Which of these categories of documents does your organisation have in place that support your Safeguarding Policy:
  - Detailed safeguarding investigation and response procedures?
  - Safeguarding training plans and schedules?
  - Safeguarding training materials for reference purposes?
  - Documents setting out safeguarding considerations for use during recruitment?
  - Other relevant documents? If so, which?
- Which other employment or business policies does your organisation have in place that help to protect its beneficiaries, staff members, or others:
  - An Anti-harassment and bullying policy?
  - A Whistleblowing policy?
  - A Health and safety policy?
  - An Equal opportunities policy?
  - A Recruitment policy?
  - A Data protection and data security policy?
  - A Disciplinary policy or procedure?
  - Other policies? If so, which?
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Common terms in a Safeguarding Policy
Safeguarding Policies set out organisations’ commitments to and procedures for protecting their beneficiaries. To do this, this Safeguarding Policy includes the following sections:

Statement of purpose

The Safeguarding Policy starts by setting out your organisation’s commitment to safeguarding its beneficiaries (ie the children and/or adults at risk that it works with). It identifies the body of law on which this commitment is based and provides the organisation’s relevant registration numbers (eg Care Inspectorate and OSCR registration numbers) and the safeguarding key contact’s details.

Scope of this Safeguarding Policy

Next, the Policy makes clarifications about when it is applicable. For example, it sets out which activities the organisation carries out that are covered by the Policy and clarifies that the Policy applies to all of the organisation’s staff members (including volunteers) but does not form part of anybody’s Employment contract (or similar), so it can be changed by the organisation at any time.

Defining safeguarding

This section provides detailed definitions of ‘safeguarding’ and ‘safeguarding concerns’ for the purposes of the Policy. It also clarifies that the Policy applies to threats to beneficiaries’ safety or wellbeing that are caused by the organisation’s own activities or personnel and to threats caused by people or situations outside of the organisation’s control but of which personnel are aware or ought to be aware.

Key measures that the organisation is committed to implementing and maintaining to safeguard its beneficiaries

This section sets out the key commitments that the organisation is making in the Policy, which are intended to help it meet its safeguarding obligations. These include:
- following leadership and guidance provided by local safeguarding bodies (eg regional Safeguarding Boards and the National Independent Safeguarding Board Wales if your organisation is located in Wales)
- complying with specific safeguarding requirements for childcare providers, for example, compliance with specific relevant statutory regulations and meeting the ‘Prevent’ duty
- ensuring staff members are correctly trained on safeguarding matters
- implementing safe and fair procedures for reporting safeguarding concerns and ensuring these are followed
- appointing somebody to hold overall responsibility for safeguarding within the organisation
- setting out safeguarding-related rules for recruitment processes
- ensuring safeguarding concerns are handled in accordance with data protection law
- regularly reviewing the organisation’s safeguarding policies and procedures and updating them where necessary
Staff members’ responsibilities

Here the Policy explains staff members’ safeguarding responsibilities under the Policy. These include:
- following the organisation’s safeguarding procedures and rules
- taking part in training
- reporting all safeguarding concerns
- not doing anything to actively risk a beneficiary’s wellbeing (eg by subjecting them to or facilitating any sort of abuse)
Procedures: Reporting

This section sets out how staff members should report safeguarding concerns. It also explains when it’s appropriate for staff members to deviate from the specified procedure (eg if an issue is time sensitive or it implicates someone who is usually involved in the safeguarding concern investigation process).

Procedures: Investigation and response

This section starts either by setting out how your organisation deals with reported safeguarding concerns or by referring to an external document for this information. It then makes additional provisions about how concerns will be handled, for example, specifying that staff members will be kept informed about the progress of concerns they’ve reported to an appropriate degree and that external referrals will be made when, and only when, appropriate.

Safeguarding documents and other protections

If your organisation has any employment or business policies or other documents in place that support this Safeguarding Policy, these will be specified here. Staff members will be referred to their line managers or the person responsible for the organisation’s HR matters for copies of these.

If you want your Safeguarding Policy to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review the document for you (or to make the changes for you) to make sure that your modified Policy complies with all relevant laws. Use Rocket Lawyer’s Ask a lawyer service for assistance.
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Legal tips for organisations
Make sure you comply with all of your organisation’s safeguarding obligations

Safeguarding law is in place to protect individuals who deserve a high level of protection from harm. This is, consequently, a large and complex area of compliance. Making and implementing a Safeguarding Policy is a great starting step towards compliance, but more must almost always be done. For example, different types of organisations have different requirements in place. If you’re not sure whether you should do something (eg provide a certain type of training) to protect people, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

For more information, read the FAQs above and Ask a lawyer if you have questions about safeguarding compliance.

Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer

In some circumstances, it’s good practice to Ask a lawyer for advice to ensure that you’re complying with the law and that you are well protected from risks. You should consider asking for advice if:
- you need a Safeguarding Policy that covers protecting your organisation’s own staff members (including volunteers)
- you need a Safeguarding Policy for an organisation operating in a highly regulated sector (eg health or social care or education)
- you need a Safeguarding Policy for an organisation that’s performing services for a public body
- you need a Safeguarding Policy that covers external (eg local authority) referrals in more depth
- this Safeguarding Policy doesn’t meet your needs
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Safeguarding Policy FAQs

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What is included in a Safeguarding Policy?
This Safeguarding Policy template covers:
- the purpose and scope of the Policy
- what safeguarding is
- the organisation’s safeguarding commitments
- staff members’ safeguarding responsibilities
- safeguarding training
- reporting and handling procedures for safeguarding concerns
- business and employment policies and other documents that support the Safeguarding Policy
Why do I need a Safeguarding Policy?
Having a Safeguarding Policy in place helps an organisation to operate conscientiously, by helping it set out and communicate how it will safeguard the people that it works with. Safeguarding Policies provide foundations for organisations’ safeguarding compliance, upon which they can develop comprehensive safeguarding practices to meet all safeguarding legal requirements and to protect people as well as possible.

Certain types of organisations should always have Safeguarding Policies in place, including:
- charities (especially those that work with children and/or adults at risk)
- childcare providers
- other organisations that work with children and/or adults at risk
What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding generally refers to work that’s aimed at preventing or responding to harm or risks of harm posed to certain individuals and to promoting these individuals’ general welfare. It is most important in the context of protecting children and/or adults who are at particular risk of harm.

Safeguarding usually covers the prevention and management of different types of abuse. For example, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, domestic violence, material and financial abuse, bullying, and online abuse.
What safeguarding legal requirements must organisations meet?
UK law imposes safeguarding obligations on multiple different types of organisations. Different types of organisations are subject to different safeguarding legal requirements, which reflect the types of activities they undertake and the types of people they work with. For example, health and care organisations are subject to particularly strong safeguarding obligations due to their routinely working with people in situations in which they are vulnerable.

Exactly what’s required of an organisation varies, but often includes:
- having safeguarding policies and procedures in place (eg a written Safeguarding Policy)
- facilitating reporting of safeguarding concerns (ie of someone’s knowledge or reasonable belief that a risk is being posed to someone’s safety or wellbeing)
- dealing fairly and adequately with safeguarding concerns once they’ve been reported
- providing staff members with appropriate training on safeguarding matters
- assigning a safeguarding officer or another person responsibility for safeguarding matters
- setting out how safeguarding will be considered during recruitment processes (eg by carrying out criminal record checks (eg Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks))
Using this Safeguarding Policy is a great way to start your organisation’s safeguarding compliance. However, you must usually make sure this is supported by various other policies and procedures and other documents. For example, it may be suitable for your organisation to set out:
- specific procedures for reporting and handling safeguarding concerns in various different situations
- what safeguarding training will be provided to staff members and the information that will be included
- specific recruitment policies and procedures relevant to safeguarding
- review requirements for your safeguarding practices
- risk assessments that have been undertaken to analyse safeguarding-related risks and how they are or will be mitigated
When is this Safeguarding Policy not suitable?
This Safeguarding Policy is specifically designed to be used by childcare providers, charities, or other organisations that work with children and/or adults at risk.

For safeguarding purposes, children are individuals under 18 years old. Adults at risk are individuals 18 years old or over (in England or Wales) or 16 years old or over (in Scotland) who have care and/or support needs and who are, due to these needs, unable to protect themselves from harm (eg due to illness or disability) at the relevant moment in time. An adult may be vulnerable at one time but not at another. If an individual in Scotland can be defined as a child or as an adult at risk, they can be covered by safeguarding policies and procedures applicable to both groups or by whichever are most appropriate in the given circumstances.

This Policy is designed to be used to safeguard the beneficiaries of an organisation’s activities. For example, the clients that it works with (and their children) or the users of a charity’s services. The Policy is not designed to be used to safeguard an organisation’s own staff members. Safeguarding Policies that cover this are important for some organisations, for example, organisations that have volunteers as members of staff, particularly if any of the volunteers are children. If you need a Safeguarding Policy for your organisation’s staff members, Ask a lawyer for assistance.

This Safeguarding Policy does cover safeguarding of an organisation’s beneficiaries from risks posed by both:
- the organisation’s own activities and personnel, and
- situations and people outside of the organisation’s control, of which the organisation’s personnel are or ought to be aware
What safeguarding obligations do charities have?
Charities that work with children and/or adults at risk should have Safeguarding Policies in place. They should usually meet the general safeguarding obligations set out above.

Charities must also meet other safeguarding-related requirements, for example:
- formally reporting any safeguarding incidents (eg via their annual return submitted to the Charity Commission)
- following relevant statutory guidance and similar, including requirements set out by the Charity Commission or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
For more information, read the various resources provided by the Government and other organisations, including:
Ask a lawyer if your charity needs help with its safeguarding compliance.
What safeguarding policies do childcare organisations have?
Childcare providers are organisations that look after children. Most childcare providers must register with the relevant regulatory body (ie Ofsted in England, the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) in Wales, or the Care Inspectorate in Scotland). Some childcare providers do not need to register. For example, in England, those providing sports coaching or providing care to children for less than 2 hours per day.

Regardless of whether they’re registered, organisations that work as childcare providers should meet their general safeguarding obligations (as above) and, in particular, should:
- follow safeguarding guidance issued by Ofsted or similar, where appropriate
- make sure they hold all necessary registrations (eg CIW, Ofsted, or Care Inspectorate registration)
- ensure that all staff members are safe to have working with children (eg by conducting DBS checks)
- uphold the ‘Prevent’ duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism (eg by providing training on recognising the signs of radicalisation)
Ask a lawyer if your organisation needs help with its childcare provision and safeguarding compliance.
How should staff members report safeguarding concerns?
It’s up to you how your organisation’s staff members should report any safeguarding concerns that they have (ie their knowledge or reasonable belief that a risk is being posed to someone’s safety or wellbeing). You should, however, make sure that your procedures are always fair, accessible, and clearly communicated. Your reporting procedure could, for example, involve:
- filling in an online form
- organising meetings for the reporter with a safeguarding officer or other person responsible for handling reported concerns
- setting out specific procedures for different types of issues
- emailing or calling a specific email address or phone number
- keeping reports confidential as far as is appropriate (ie not telling people outside of the official reporting procedure about concerns until it’s appropriate to do so)
You should make sure your reporting procedures follow any necessary laws, including data protection laws.
How should an organisation handle reported safeguarding concerns?
Exactly what happens after a safeguarding concern has been reported depends on the organisation and the concern in question. All organisations, however, should have clear processes that are to be followed. These should generally:
- clearly assign responsibility for handling concerns to an appropriate party, for example, a safeguarding officer or HR manager
- set out what will happen if one of the organisation’s staff members is implicated in a concern (eg fair investigations will be conducted and, if this person would usually be involved in conducting investigations, they will not be involved in this instance)
- explain what will happen if a staff member is found to have breached a safeguarding responsibility (eg they will be treated in line with the organisation’s Disciplinary policy or procedure)
- explain that staff members who report concerns will be kept up-to-date with their concern’s investigation as far as is appropriate (eg it may be inappropriate for them to be told certain things about a beneficiary’s private life, if such comes to light during an investigation)
- set out how the organisation will abide by data protection laws when handling concerns
- explain when external referrals may be made (eg to emergency services if there is a concern for someone’s immediate safety, or to local authorities if a concern falls within the scope of local authorities’ safeguarding obligations and the referral is appropriate)
You should set out detailed processes that are appropriate for your organisation. You can do this in this Safeguarding Policy or in a separate document or documents, to which your Policy will refer. Ask a lawyer if you need help establishing and/or communicating your processes.
What safeguarding training should organisations provide?
All organisations that have Safeguarding obligations should generally provide their staff members with safeguarding training that is appropriate to the organisation’s activities and sector and to each staff member’s role within the organisation.

This Safeguarding Policy will always set out that your organisation will provide training on certain essential areas of safeguarding. These are:
- understanding and identifying the signs of different types of abuse and threats to wellbeing (ie safeguarding concerns)
- how staff members should respond to safeguarding concerns or related issues disclosed to them by someone else (eg by other staff members or beneficiaries who are worried for their own safety or who have been abused)
- how to report safeguarding concerns
- how to access additional resources on safeguarding
Other types of training that may be appropriate for your specific organisation (either for all staff members or only for some) include training on:
- online safety
- health and safety
- whistleblowing
- child protection
- specific types of abuse that are particularly prevalent in your industry
- complying with reporting obligations specific to your industry
It’s important that you provide high-quality training to new and existing staff members when required, either using external training providers or internal training sessions. Some useful resources to help you develop your safeguarding training include:

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Check that your Safeguarding Policy is suitable

Read the Policy to make sure it meets your organisation’s needs. Remember that, if you have any questions, you can Ask a lawyer for advice.
Publish your Policy

Make the Safeguarding Policy available to staff members by, for example, sending it out by email and putting it on a staff intranet site.
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A copy of your Safeguarding Policy will be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’. You should also download and securely store a copy of your Policy for your records and keep records of any changes to the Policy.
Important details
- Comply with safeguarding law by, for example, having documents and procedures in place that are suitable for your unique organisation and its specific safeguarding obligations.
- Make sure to implement and follow your Safeguarding Policy and all related policies and procedures.
- The Safeguarding Policy is not a contract and it does not need to be signed or agreed to by your staff members. You can ask staff members to sign an acknowledgement to show that they’ve received it, but this is not legally required.
- Regularly review your Policy to ensure that it is still relevant. Update your Policy to reflect any changes, for example, if your organisation adjusts its safeguarding procedures to apply to new activities.
- If you amend your Policy, keep a copy of each version that has been in force and records of how and when each version was made available to staff members.
- Staff members should keep a copy of the Policy or have easy access to it (eg via your staff intranet).

What we'll cover

What is a Safeguarding Policy?

When should I use a Safeguarding Policy?

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

Statement of Purpose

Scope of this Safeguarding Policy

Defining Safeguarding

Key Measures that is Committed to Implementing and Maintaining to Safeguard its Beneficiaries

Staff Members’ Responsibilities

Procedures: Reporting

Procedures: Investigation and Response

Supporting Documents and Other Protections

Attribution

About Safeguarding Policies

Learn more about making your Safeguarding Policy

How to make a Safeguarding Policy

Common terms in a Safeguarding Policy

Legal tips for organisations

Safeguarding Policy FAQs

What is included in a Safeguarding Policy?

Why do I need a Safeguarding Policy?

What is safeguarding?

What safeguarding legal requirements must organisations meet?

When is this Safeguarding Policy not suitable?

What safeguarding obligations do charities have?

What safeguarding policies do childcare organisations have?

How should staff members report safeguarding concerns?

How should an organisation handle reported safeguarding concerns?

What safeguarding training should organisations provide?

Our quality guarantee

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Safeguarding Policy checklist

Complete your Safeguarding Policy with our Make it Legal™ checklist

Make your document

Check that your Safeguarding Policy is suitable

Publish your Policy

Store your document

Important details

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Related documents

Rocket Lawyer members who started a Safeguarding Policy also made:

Whistleblowing Policy

Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy

Disciplinary Procedure

Employee Handbook

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Legal sources

This Safeguarding Policy is governed by the laws of England, Wales, and Scotland. Find some of the key sources and laws relevant to your Safeguarding Policy below: