Safeguarding in Voluntary Agencies

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We have many voluntary organisations and faith groups in Southwark where parents and children can get together and enjoy themselves and, in doing so, build our community. Like any organisation these groups need to be vigilant and keep children safe from harm.

You may also find our safe organisations page useful.

How harm could happen

• Through an accident
• Through bullying by other users
• Through misguided actions by staff
• Very rarely, staff, volunteers or young people may deliberately use the group to make contact with young people in order to abuse them

Government guidance, issued under section 11 of the Children Act 2004, says that every organisation working with children or parents that receives grant funding must show it is run safely.

Our advice 

Every organisation should have

• A child protection policy and procedure, which describes what everyone must do to keep children safe
• One person whose role is to make sure that the child protection procedures happen
• Proper selection and vetting of staff and volunteers
• A simple training and information plan for everyone

Supporting voluntary agencies in this role

We have a number of documents which may be helpful to voluntary agencies and faith groups.  They can be downloaded below or email sscb@southwark.gov.uk if you would like copies.  

• Local information on who to contact if you have concerns that a child is being harmed
• See our child protection policy and procedure templates below, which you can adapt for your own use
• Download our quick guide to criminal records bureau checks (pdf 28kb) including details of local agencies that can process your checks
• Safe organisation checklist (pdf 47kb) - contact us for copies in A4 and A3
• List of relevant books (Word 305kb), many of which are available in the three main libraries in Southwark
• The new Human Resources guidance will be available soon.  The documents 'Safeguarding Standards in Human Resource Management' and 'Safer Disciplinary Decisions' provide advice on safer recruitment, selection and workforce management for paid staff and volunteers. 

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

The NSPCC has launched a staying safe commitment scheme to support small organisations in their child protection responsibilities. For further details contact commitment@nspcc.org.uk or visit the NSPCC website.

Sample child protection policy and procedure

To help organisations develop a child protection policy and procedure, we have created some templates and guidance

• Sample policy and procedure for organisations (Word 413kb)
• Training requirements and suggestions for content (pdf 79kb) 
• Sample template for the role of the designated person (Word 141kb)
• Recruitment advice (Word 198kb), including Criminal Records Bureau factsheet, template application form and letter to referee
• Guidance for workers (Word 154kb), including code of conduct and activity log
• Guidance for parents (Word 148kb), including activity registration form
• Sample complaints procedure (Word 141kb)
• Bibliography and useful links (pdf 34kb)
• Useful information (pdf 62kb), including indicators of abuse and action to take
  

National websites

• The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
• The National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations has a safeguarding children project
• The Churches' Child Protection Service offers advice to all voluntary and faith organisations
• The Child Protection in Sport Unit  has information and a sample policy for parents and young people
• The Arts Council publishes Keeping Arts Safe, advice on safeguarding for arts groups and a directory of safeguarding advisors
• The NSPCC publishes First Check and Sports Check, guides to running a safe organisation
• The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services provides advice from their Sound Systems Project
• Child Protection in Faith Based Environments (pdf 205kb), a report from the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, includes contributions from representatives from the Jewish and Christian communities
• Muslim Aid provides advice, including guidance on a child protection policy (Word 168kb)
• Safe children, Sound Learning - Guidance for Madrassahs, is a comprehensive guide to keeping children safe in Islamic supplementary schools. Contact Kirklees community education service to order a copy, email shakeel.hafez@kirklees.gov.uk 
• Every Child Matters information on services for children
  

Training events for the voluntary and independent sector

Our training page has information on the courses available to workers and volunteers in Southwark.  Most courses are free.

Every Child Matters Training, including Information Sharing and the Common Assessment Framework is provided by Young Southwark. 

Contact

Jane Bowden
Training officer for safeguarding children
Tel: 020 7525 3913
jane.bowden@southwark.gov.uk

Kusam Bedi
Training officer for the voluntary sector
Tel: 020 7525 3688
kusam.bedi@southwark.gov.uk


Southwark safeguarding children board (SSCB)
Tel: 020 7525 3306
sscb@southwark.gov.uk
Children's services
Mabel Goldwin House
49 Grange Walk
London
SE1 3DY

Last updated April 11 2008