Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding and protecting children and adults at risk

The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (the Foundation) works hand in hand with communities to build a better future. The Foundation is committed to ensuring the safeguarding of children, young people, and adults at risk. Children, young people, and adults at risk have the right to live their lives to the fullest potential, to be protected, to be able to participate in and enjoy activities and to be treated with dignity and respect. There is a considerable body of legislation, government guidance and standards designed to ensure that these groups are protected from harm. Everybody has a responsibility for the safety of children and adults at risk. All Children and Adults at Risk have a right to protection and freedom from abuse or exploitation, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, economic status or otherwise.

What we require from grantees

It is a requirement on all grantees to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all children and adults at risk who come into contact with your organisation, its premises, projects, staff, volunteers etc. When applying to the Foundation, grantees will be required to submit or confirm they have their own tailored policy for safeguarding children and adults at risk relevant to the work of the organisation and its activities, which has been approved by the organisations trustees/ governing body. This policy should be reviewed on a regular basis and appropriate training must be in place. Key aspects that should be included in your policy include, but are not limited to:

1. A named Designated Safeguarding Lead who has the knowledge and skills to promote safeguarding for children and adults at risk and who is able to respond to and deal with concerns raised with the organisation.
2. Organisational procedures for reporting concerns and disclosures that is readily available to members of your organisation, beneficiaries and their parents/ carers.
3. Processes for appropriate checks including AccessNI checks where required. For more information on when AccessNI checks are required please visit https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/types-accessni-checks
4. A commitment to ensure that any partners, delivery agents, or other third parties appointed to fulfil any aspect of the grant activity where working with children or adults at risk, have their own safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

Links to further information and support on developing or reviewing your safeguarding policies is available here: https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/charity-essentials/safeguarding-resources/

When you should report a concern or issue to the Foundation

As a grantee, if a concern or issue is reported to you, you should investigate this and address it in line with your own safeguarding policies and procedures. You should also ensure that you are acting in line with any requirements of your regulators and the law as it applies to your organisation. You should also raise this with your Community Foundation contact person as soon as possible and we reserve the right to request further information if we deem it appropriate. If the Foundation believe you have not complied with your obligations to safeguard and protect children and adults at risk, we may suspend or terminate your funding.

How to raise concerns related to the Foundation

If you have any concerns around the safeguarding of children or adults at risk related to the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland please contact the Foundation’s Designated Safeguarding Officer, Róisín wood, on rwood@communityfoundationni.org Once a concern has been raised, we will respect your anonymity, if requested. If you provide us information that suggests someone may be at risk, we may need to share this information with the PSNI or other relevant authorities. In these instances, we will still take steps where possible, to preserve your anonymity.

Further information and support

Further support and information on safeguarding and protecting children and adults at risk can be found on the Charity Commission for Northern Irelands website here https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/charity-essentials/safeguarding-resources/

Good practice guidance for working with children and young people is available via Volunteer Now’s website, please see: Keeping Children Safe: Our Duty to Care available at: https://www.volunteernow.co.uk/publications/keeping-children-safe-our-duty-to-care/.

Good practice guidance on working with adults at risk is available via Volunteer Now’s website, please see: Keeping Adults Safe: A shared responsibility at https://www.volunteernow.co.uk/publications/keeping-adults-safe-a-shared-responsibility/