Managing safeguarding duties: five tips for charity trustees

Posted: 08/11/2024

Charity trustees are ultimately responsible for safeguarding within charities. Appropriate measures must be put in place to protect all of those who come into contact with the charity; it is apparent that the Charity Commission is continuing to monitor safeguarding cases closely and intervene when it perceives there to be unmanaged risks. There are several sources of guidance for trustees to ensure that the attendant risks are properly managed. The safeguarding duty is wide; so what do trustees need to know, and what do they need to do?

Trustees must ensure their charity fulfils its safeguarding duties, because even if they delegate operational compliance, they retain overall responsibility.  To do this, every trustee must ensure that their charity undertakes five actions:

Identify and manage risks

• These will depend upon who the charity works with, where it operates and what it does.

Have suitable policies and practices in place

• Robust, accessible safeguarding policies which everyone understands and uses, and which include details of how to identify and report a concern or incident, are essential.
• Policies and practices should be kept under review at least annually. 

Carry out necessary checks

• Trustees, volunteers and staff must be suitable to act in their roles and charities must carry out relevant checks eg DBS, checking gaps in work history. 

Protect your volunteers and staff

• Clear policies on bullying and harassment, and whistleblowing, are a key tool.
• Insurance cover should be regularly reviewed.

Handle and report incidents appropriately

• Policies and procedures for handling incidents or allegations of abuse must be strictly followed.
• Policies should include handling and recording in a secure and responsible way, and acting quickly, ensuring that the risk of further harm or damage is minimised.
• Consideration should always be given to whether reporting to relevant agencies (eg Ofsted, the police) is necessary. 

The Charity Commission can (and will) hold trustees to account if things go wrong, so it is important that trustees promote an open and positive culture, and ensure all involved feel able to report concerns, confident that they will be heard and responded to.  

Trustees should maintain a risk register which sets out identified risks and how they will be managed, and should not ignore harm or downplay failures, but instead seek to learn from them and put things right. It is vital to make protecting people from harm central to the charity’s culture.  

Remember that operating online also carries safeguarding risks connected to protecting people from abuse and protecting sensitive information. Charities are by law required to ensure that information provided on an education basis is accurate, evidence-based and balanced. If the charity publishes information online, trustees should ask the following questions prior to publication: 

• Is it safe and in line with the charity’s code of conduct?
• Is personal data protected and does it follow GDPR legislation?
• Has permission to display any images on websites and social media been obtained?
• Should individual and/or parental consent be required in order to access the information?
• Can users easily report online concerns?

It is clear that the Charity Commission will continue to act on concerns. Trustees are advised to review recent Charity Commission inquiry reports, which provide useful lessons for other charities. It also has a number of helpful resources available, and all trustees should make sure they are aware of their duties in this vital area of their charity’s work. 

This article was co-written by Caitlin Thomson, trainee solicitor in the employment team.

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