Safeguarding Policy

The following principles underpin the Foundation’s approach to safeguarding: 

• Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. 
• The welfare, protection and safeguarding of children and adults at risk must always be paramount and should be based on prevention and best practice.  
• Everyone has the right to live their lives free from all forms of abuse, irrespective of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or socio-economic background. 
• Allegations of abuse will be treated sensitively and seriously, and be responded to swiftly and appropriately.  
• Confidentiality will be appropriately maintained, but the safety and welfare of the individual/s will be the overriding consideration when making decisions on whether to share information. 

Trustees have ultimate responsibility for the management of safeguarding across the Foundation. All trustees should assure themselves that there are mechanisms in place to check that the same actions are in place for the grant holders and others receiving support from the Foundation.  

The Director will provide strategic leadership for managing safeguarding risks and building a positive safeguarding culture. They will: 

• Appoint a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and ensure they have the capacity, capability and support to fulfil their functions. 
• Maintain an organisation-wide risk register which includes safeguarding as relevant.
• Embed safeguarding across the Foundation.
• Identify and respond to learning about the Foundation’s approach to safeguarding. 

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) has overall accountability for the operational implementation of our safeguarding work and communicating with the Director and the Board on all aspects of safeguarding. They will: 

• Oversee all safeguarding activity in the Foundation. 
• Ensure cohesion between different grant programmes, embedding safeguarding across all the Foundation’s work. 
• Work with the Director to Identify and respond to learning about the Foundation’s approach to safeguarding. 
• Advise the Foundation on the legal requirements and guidance relating to safeguarding in the UK.
• Ensure  safeguarding  is  included  in  induction processes  for  all  new employees and trustees. 
• Ensure all employees receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
• Support and advise Foundation employees who are dealing with safeguarding concerns. 
• Maintain  a  safeguarding  log  and  record  any  safeguarding  concerns  and  incidents  raised internally or through external work. 
• Review and update the organisation’s policy and procedures for safeguarding every year, or more frequently if revisions are necessary. 
• Monitor safeguarding activities within the organisation and provide data that can help improve future services. 
• Keep abreast of changes and developments in safeguarding across the UK, including legal and best practice guidance. 

All individuals acting on behalf of the Samworth Foundation should seek to protect those that are at risk of being harmed. They must recognise and accept their responsibilities in relation to good practice for the recognition and reporting on behalf of those at risk of experiencing harm, including identifying suspected poor practice and allegations. example when visiting grant holders. They should: 

• Read and be familiar with this Policy. 
• Know how to respond to concerns and where to go for advice and assistance. 
• Know about different types of abuse and neglect and the risks relevant in their work. 
• Undertake safeguarding training in line with their level of responsibility. 
• Respond appropriately to emergency situations. 
• Take any safeguarding concerns and allegations seriously. 
• Promptly report any suspected abuse or neglect to the DSL and share with them an accurate record of any safeguarding activity.
• Support people to keep themselves safe. 
• Support people to think about risk when exercising choice and control. 
• Be familiar with and comply with the Foundation’s Whistleblowing Policy. 
• Be familiar with and comply with the Foundation’s Code of Conduct. 

Through proportionate and reasonable due diligence, the Foundation seeks to ensure that all grant holders take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and have robust measures in place to protect from harm people who come into contact with them.  

To be considered for a grant, all organisations must have policies and procedures that: 

1. Commit to protecting people from harm, face to face, digitally and online 
2. Ensure everyone in the organisation is aware of safeguarding. 
3. Are publicly available, regularly reviewed and put into practice. 
4. Enable people to raise safeguarding concerns. 
5. Set out how to handle allegations and incidents, and report to relevant authorities.

For organisations working directly with children and/or adults at risk, there also needs to be a safeguarding lead, evidence of regular safeguarding training and appropriate checks on Trustees, staff and volunteers in eligible roles. 

A safeguarding concern may arise in several ways. For example:  

• A Trustee or staff member may witness abuse taking place, or may notice behaviour or circumstances which gives rise to a suspicion that a child or adult at risk has been harmed or is at risk of harm. 
• A child or adult at risk may tell a Foundation representative that they have suffered harm. 

It is essential that Trustees and/or staff immediately report any concerns, suspicions, allegations and incidents that indicate actual or potential abuse or issues regarding the safety or welfare of a child or adult at risk to the Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO). 

We require organisations to report safeguarding concerns to us if: 

• They involve allegations of harm, abuse, or exploitation in relation to their Directors/Trustees, staff (inc. consultants), volunteers, and/or senior leaders/managers, and/or their operations. 
• They have referred the case(s) to the Charity Commission (or equivalent) as a serious incident. 
• The incident(s) have been or will be reported in the media, inc. social media.

This requirement is included in our Grant Terms and Conditions. Through this reporting, our aim is to work with our grantholders to ensure lessons are learned and practice is improved. 

It is the responsibility of the grantholder to respond to the safeguarding concern, including where necessary notifying relevant authorities, such as the local authority safeguarding team, the local authority designated officer (LADO), Disclosure and Barring Scheme, and the Charity Commission, where appropriate, and to manage the safeguarding process in line with their own safeguarding procedures. 

If we have reason to believe that an issue has not been dealt with appropriately and/or if the investigation uncovers serious issues relating to the governance or management of the organisation, the Samworth Foundation may cease its funding to that organisation. Please note that funding would only be removed as a very last resort. 

All documentation relating to safeguarding incidents or allegations will be kept and treated confidentially and in accordance with UK GDPR the Data Protection Act 2018. Only those who need to know about the incident will be informed.  

In order to keep people safe, information may need to be shared with others, both within the Foundation and with external agencies. Where appropriate, we will seek consent to share such information (which may include special category personal data or other personal data, as defined under applicable data protection legislation). However, if we need to share this information and it is not possible to get consent; requesting such consent would put the individual at risk at further risk; or it would not be considered reasonable for us to seek consent in the circumstances, we may share this information without the consent of the individual concerned. 

Grant Terms and Conditions.

This policy will be reviewed by our Trustees every 12-months, or following any relevant legislative change, whichever comes first.