Mandatory requirements
All applicants to The London Community Foundation (LCF) must have a safeguarding policy that is dated and is reviewed annually. Inline with Charity Commission guidance, Safeguarding Policies and Procedures should be "reviewed as necessary, always following a serious incident and at least once a year." Your safeguarding policy should therefore clearly state the date of the last review (within the last 12 months), that it is reviewed at least annually and the date of the next review. This applies to all organisations, even second tier organisations who may not be delivering directly to children or vulnerable adults.
The safeguarding policy MUST include:
- A recruitment procedure
- Reference to when a DBS search disclosure/check is required for representatives of the organisation
- A named designated safeguarding officer for the organisation (with their contact details)
- An outline of reporting/disclosure policies and escalation (including managing allegations against staff and volunteers)
If any of these minimum requirements are not in place, a condition will be added to any grant awarded by LCF and no funding can be paid by LCF until this condition has been met.
Best practice
Your safeguarding policy should be able to be easily understood by anyone, either within your organisation or outside of your organisation. Even a quick review of this policy should be sufficient for the reader to be clear what actions need to be taken if there is a safeguarding issue.
To be able to understand what needs to be done in the event of a safeguarding issue, safeguarding policies should include:
- Purpose – outlines the organisation, its purpose and function and sets out the organisation's overarching commitment to keeping children safe
- Scope of the policy – outlines who the policy applies to and a definition of this group – e.g. vulnerable adults and/or children below 18
- Context – a brief statement of the main legislation and guidance that supports the policy statement. If dealing with children, The Children's Act should be referenced as a minimum.
- Policy statement – sets out the organisation's beliefs about the importance of child protection and how the organisation will keep children safe
- Supporting policies/procedures – aligned policies and procedures which outline what will happen if a safeguarding incident is raised
- Contact details – designated safeguarding lead as a minimum, but a deputy safeguarding lead or lead trustee board member for good practice – and should outline their roles and responsibilities
Supporting policies/procedures
These supporting policies/procedures should be included as subsections, or referenced within SG policies:
- Recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers’ process
- Legislative definitions
- Key organisations for support
- Induction training, supervision and support
- Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), or equal opportunity policy (EOP) linked to recruitment and selection, and managing concerns
- Record retention and storage in line with the Data Protection Act
- Policies linked to safeguarding: health and safety, whistleblowing, complaints, anti-bullying, online safety
- Sharing information and good practice with children & young people and adults through website, leaflets, etc.
Specifically for children and young people
- Photography and image sharing guidance
- Online safety
- Behaviour codes for children and young people
- Adult to children supervision ratios
For guidance on developing a safeguarding policy and procedures for working with children and young people, please refer to the NSPCC website.