The Society has adopted the broad definition of safeguarding recommended by The Charity Commission:
‘The range of measures in place to protect people in a charity, or those it comes into contact with, from abuse and maltreatment of any kind.’
The Charity Commission, and UK-IS, considers that safeguarding comprises safeguarding by staff/partners, safeguarding of staff/partner staff and safeguarding from staff/partner’s staff.
Our policies and procedures will be regularly updated in line with up to date statutory guidance and best practice1; accessible and understood by all staff; and available to our members and the public.
We will:
ensure a respectful, dignified culture of working, free of abuse, and we won’t tolerate behaviour
that contravenes this in our workplace, on our website/social media, or at any UK-IS events, or
during any work undertaken by UK-IS.
ensure that any UK-IS staff, trustees, and our volunteers, partners/collaborators who may have
direct unsupervised contact with beneficiaries or staff have completed recent safeguarding
training (within the last five years), and have an enhanced DBS check issued no more than three
years previously.
include safeguarding as a standing Board item, and form part of our annual review of policies to
ensure they remain relevant and fit for purpose.
include a summary of any incidents, and their management, in our annual reports.
We have:
a standard operating (SOP) procedure to address any arising safeguarding situations, such as
incidents, allegations and concerns, including confidentiality considerations, sharing of
information on a need-to-know basis and protection of evidence. A copy is available on request.
appointed a named Trustee to hold Safeguarding responsibility. This is the person to whom
anyone can go with a UK-IS related safeguarding concern. They will refer to the SOP and follow
the agreed process and actions within the relevant timeframes, e.g. discussing with the Board,
discussing with or alerting safeguarding services, and ensure the Charity Commission is informed,
as appropriate/required by law. Our named Trustee is Thomas Jefford.
a separate policy regarding safe handling and storage of personal and/or sensitive data that may
be collected as part of our work, and abide by 2018 GDPR guidance.