Safeguarding – who cares?
Following a combined £1.2 million DCMS and National Lottery Community Fund investment, a new portal has been launched to strengthen the support to charities handling safeguarding concerns or allegations. The portal will be promoted by NAVCA and five other organisations across England. We have been appointed to champion the importance of good safeguarding and locally available sources of advice and support.
The portal, at safeguarding.culture.gov.uk, offers a step by step guide to help charities correctly manage their concerns, identify the right people to contact if needed and access helpful resources and advice.
When we talk about safeguarding, we often think in stereotypes: a young child being physically abused, a teenager with mental health issues being sexually exploited, or an elderly person having their pension taken by a carer.
So, should safeguarding only be a matter for VCSE organisations working with specific categories of ‘at risk’ people?
At NAVCA, we think safeguarding goes far wider than this. We believe that everyone has a role to play in making our sector safer, and that every conversation is an opportunity to help achieve this. We are working to embed an ethos of ‘Every Person, Every Conversation’ across our network.
Our aim is to break the safeguarding silo and embed a safer culture across our whole network, raising the awareness and importance of safeguarding for charities and volunteer-led organisations at all levels. We hope you'll join us!