Safeguarding

We’ll help you look after your people, beneficiaries and local community.

If your organisation works with children or vulnerable adults, it naturally strives to protect these people. But in the wake of the “Me Too” movement and recent press coverage on exploitation and breaches of proper conduct, media and regulatory focus has also landed on the duty of care organisations have to their employees and volunteers, beneficiaries and the local community.

Regulators and the public are rightly paying even more attention to policies, processes and codes of conduct. And they’re doing more to make sure those standards never slip.

If you’re dealing with an issue, we’ll work quickly, sensitively, practically and, above all discreetly to deal with the matter. We’ll develop policies and processes to help you protect people and enable you to more easily manage these matters should they happen again.

How we help

If you’re affected by a safeguarding issue, no matter how contentious, we’ll advise you on your next steps. Whether you’re a service provider or purely a funder, working internationally or locally, not-for-profit or otherwise, we can help you review all the relevant policies and processes – especially those related to whistleblowing, harassment, disciplinaries and keeping staff and volunteers safe.

We’re specialists in national and international charity regulation, employment law, information law, human rights, equalities, education, health and social care and inquests and inquiries (in fact several team members are leaders in those fields).  We also help businesses rethink their ways of working.

Relevant work:

Shaping policy, DfID/Bond working group on Safeguarding Governance

A member of our team was invited to join the steering committee following the DfID |International Safeguarding Summits in 2018 and contributed to the production of Bond’s new good governance guide for safeguarding.

High-profile allegations, major international charity 

We offered in-depth advice in response to safeguarding concerns covered in the national press. We also looked at fundraising and governance policies and procedures, and engagement with the regulator.

Keeping up to speed with the latest regulations, a charity focused on vulnerable service users

We advised senior management on regulatory requirements, including the conduct of reviews, Serious Incident Reporting to the Charity Commission and reporting to local authorities and other regulators.

DBS advice, a Royal College

We advised them on DBS checks: when a new one is needed, what roles fall within regulated activity, in the context of references and how to report to the DBS.

Crisis management, a young person’s charity

We advised a client on reporting and handling of a serious allegation. This included crisis management and ensuring the client had appropriate communications and public relations advice in place.

Historic allegations, a household-name children’s charity

We advised them on handling of allegations, including reporting to the Charity Commission, police in the UK and overseas and other regulators. We also advised on involvement with the IICSA.

Preventing future problems with training, an International Client 

Our client, which operates in a country with a less robust safeguarding regime, wanted training to improve practices. We ran a tailored training program on safeguarding and UK best practice.

Developing policies in line with recent guidance, an international charity

Updating our client’s suite of policies and procedures, including central policy, regional branches and related forms and policies, to reflect the recently evolved meaning of ‘safeguarding’ by the Charity Commission.

Explore

Safeguarding vulnerable service users and staff online | Our top tips for an effective Digital Safety Policy

In this article, we look at some of the ways organisations can protect themselves and others, including through having a …
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Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse publishes its final report | What does this mean for public bodies, charities and other organisations?

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (“the Inquiry”)’s final statutory report  sets out the Inquiry’s recommendations following a seven-year investigation …
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The Charity Commission published new guidance on online safety in its updated safeguarding guidance. What’s new?

As the Commission continues to look into safeguarding issues, this is a timely opportunity to ensure your charity is complying …
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A new Charity Governance Code

A new, refreshed Charity Governance Code has been launched today – with significant updates to the Diversity and Integrity principles …
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Meet our team