Safeguarding resources

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility

Safeguarding can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially for new organisations, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve gathered together some useful resources to support colleagues in the sector working with children and adults to ensure service users, volunteers and paid staff are safe from harm.

Community First Yorkshire resources

Community First Yorkshire and ACRE resources to help promote good safeguarding practices for community and village halls.

Children’s safeguarding policy and procedure: we have compiled these documents which you may find useful when compiling safeguarding policies and procedures. Each document should be carefully reviewed and tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation.

Adults safeguarding procedure – We have compiled this safeguarding policy which should be used in conjunction with this Appendix; both documents should be carefully reviewed and tailored to meet your organisation.

Safeguarding resources for community buildings and village halls

We’ve been working with ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) to promote good safeguarding practice to village and community halls. We have a wide range of useful resources here.

Resources for safeguarding adults

North Yorkshire Council’s online forms for professionals to request involvement from adult social care.

North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board (NYSAB) – partners from across North Yorkshire work together to protect adults from abuse.

The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board Practice Guidance has been agreed as a framework for multi-agency working in safeguarding adults at risk across North Yorkshire.

Policies and procedures – North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board procedures for working with adults.

Guidance on the development of safeguarding adults policies and procedures – North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board has produced this guidance which provides recommended content and a suggested structure for a safeguarding policy and procedure. Each organisation will however be different and will need to use this guidance to create a policy and procedure that reflects the needs of their organisation and their service users.

Resources for safeguarding children

The resources below are provided by the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP).

Safeguarding resource – The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has released guidance for charities on how to handle safeguarding allegations.

Working together to safeguard children guide – NYSCP resource on partnership working (it’s worth looking at this, alongside this summary of changes).

NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk) – partners from across North Yorkshire work together to ensure children are effectively safeguarded.

Be Aware: series of North Yorkshire centric and appropriate national resources to provide information, raise awareness and develop knowledge across areas of Child Exploitation.

Policies, Procedures and One Minute Guides

Information for parents and carers

Information for children and young people: The NYSCP also hosts information specifically targeted at children and young people.

The resources below are provided by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

NSPCC Child protection guidance for voluntary and community groups – resources for those just starting out or reviewing existing safeguarding processes.

NSPCC Safeguarding concerns: practice example – hiring out space – examples of common safeguarding scenarios and practical advice about how to respond to help you keep children safe; includes an example specifically discussing the hiring out of space.

Resources to support children and young people's mental health in North Yorkshire

Together the NHS North Yorkshire CCG and North Yorkshire Council have launched a new pool of resources which have been developed with partners and young people to help children and young people and their parents, carers and professionals’ access mental health support in North Yorkshire.

The new suite of resources were launched during Safeguarding Awareness Week to ensure children and young people across North Yorkshire are aware of services available to support with their social and emotional mental health and include:

All of these documents can be accessed and downloaded via the above links and through the go-to website.

More resources on safeguarding people

Rural crime plan – The National Rural Crime Network has issued helpful resources for safeguarding rural communities.

Safeguarding for charities and trustees – the Charity Commission has published guidance for charity trustees on safeguarding staff, volunteers and beneficiaries.

Safeguarding adults and children – North Yorkshire Council information on how to minimise the risk of abuse, how to spot the signs of potential abuse and how to report any safeguarding concerns you may have.

Anna Craft Trust Safeguarding guidance for disabled children and adults at risk – resources to assist in achieving best practices in safeguarding disabled children and adults at risk.

GOV.UK guidance on reporting safeguarding concerns in a charity – This tool will help charities in England to handle the reporting of safeguarding allegations about the behaviour or actions of a person in their charity.

GOV.UK government statutory guidance, definitions, and responsibilities – every organisation that delivers charitable activities has a responsibility to safeguard people from harm or abuse, whether they are staff members, volunteers, or other people who come into contact with your charity through its work. This guidance provides a general overview of all aspects of safeguarding.

 

VCSE safeguarding assessment checklist

This checklist and resources guide has been produced to support colleagues in the sector working with children and adults to ensure service users, volunteers and paid staff are safe from harm.

This guidance will help an organisation create a policy and procedure that reflects the needs of their organisation and their service users.

Safeguarding training

North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP) training courses – NYCC Safeguarding Children Basic Awareness Online Learning. Once this link is open, please scroll down to the Online Learning section.

North Yorkshire Council’s online e-learning course Safeguarding Adults. Once this link is open, please scroll down to the Online Learning section to access Safeguarding Adults Under the Care Act. This free course is suitable for those who require an awareness of Safeguarding Adults but only have limited and infrequent contact with vulnerable adults. It is available all the time for people to work through on their own.

NSPCC Learning – Safeguarding training package for the voluntary and community sector

HSQE Ltd – Safeguarding Children Level 1 Online Course From £6.50+VAT

Parents against child exploitation (PACE) – Keep them safe: an interactive CSE learning tool.

NSPCC learning – safer recruitment training.

Policy templates

Guidance for writing safeguarding policies, along with templates can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

What to do if you are worried about a child or adult

If you’re worried about a child or adult, information about how to raise a concern is available on the following websites:

Safeguarding your organisation

NCVO Knowhow – safeguarding resources to help you understand what safeguarding means and take steps to make your organisation safer.

NCSC cyber security advice – Following the Ukraine crisis and heightened security risks for charities, the National Cyber Security Centre continues to call upon organisations to bolster their online defences.

Protect your charity from fraud and cybercrime  – Fraud Advisory Panel and Charity Commission for England and Wales, Understand the risks and get the tools to better protect your charity from fraud and cybercrime.

Cyber Security Essentials  – Lloyds Bank Foundation have developed a series of free resources and videos to help protect you and your organisation from the growing threat of cybercrime.

NCSC training to prevent cyber attacks – this online training guides small organisations through all the actions needed to be taken to reduce the likelihood of becoming victims of the most common cyber-attacks.

The Met Police’s Little Big Book of Scams  – this booklet highlights the most common frauds people are currently falling victim to and aims to protect yourself against fraud.

Fraud Advisory Pane Keeping your charity safe in the pandemic and beyond  – this is a new help sheet on ‘Keeping your charity safe in the pandemic and beyond’.

Charity Digital – 10 Point Checklist to Help Secure Your Data  – data security should be a priority for every charity. Make sure you have not missed out on any important security measures to keep your data out of the hands of hackers.

SCVO Digital  – digital safeguarding podcast.

Catalyst – DigiSafe: a step-by-step guide to digital safeguarding.

Charity Digital – 5 steps every charity should take to improve their cyber security  – The first webinar of this series focused on the threats charities face from cyber attacks and the effect this could have on their organisation.

Charity Digital & National Cyber Security Center – Cyber Security: setting up your charity’s risk management regime – NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) host their series of exclusive cyber security webinars for charities.

Charity Digital & National Cyber Security Centre – keeping your charity cyber secure  – A recent NetSquared London meetup outlined how to make your charity cyber secure.