Safeguarding statement
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Charity for Civil Servants has a duty of care to safeguard people we help, people who support us and volunteer with us, staff and Trustees. We have a responsibility to safeguard children (under the age of 18) and vulnerable adults. Vulnerable can refer to the situation someone is in, or refer to a lack of mental capacity, mental or physical frailty, for example an inability to communicate, dementia or mobility impairment.
A safeguarding issue can arise in any setting and can be immediate concern or an allegation about something happening now, in the past or in the future. It can be one incident or a series of incidents.
Procedures
We have a policy, procedures, information and training so that all staff and volunteers can identify and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns, reporting to relevant agencies such as the police or local authority safeguarding bodies. The policy also refers to other policies, for example whistleblowing.
Accountability
The Board delegates a Safeguarding Trustee Lead. The other Safeguarding Leads at the Charity are the Director of HAS, the Head of HAS Operations and the Chair of the Safeguarding Group. The Safeguarding Leads respond to the incident reports. The Safeguarding Group reviews policy, best practice and procedures. This group consists of the Safeguarding Leads and representatives from the Charity at all levels.
An annual update and report is submitted to the Board of Trustees. All serious incidents are reported to the Board of Trustees as they occur and we notify The Charity Commission of any serious incident.
Scope
The scope of safeguarding covers the types of abuse as defined in The Care Act 2014, that is:
- physical abuse
- domestic violence
- sexual abuse
- psychological abuse
- financial or material abuse
- modern slavery
- discriminatory abuse
- organisational abuse
- neglect and acts of omission
- self-neglect
Policy last reviewed: 20 March 2024