Policies / Safeguarding
A safeguarding framework for responsible Foundation activity.
This policy explains how HEADTURNED Foundation approaches safeguarding, welfare, duty of care, and protective practice where children, young people, adults at risk, visitors, volunteers, partners, or members of the public may come into contact with Foundation activity.
Purpose and scope
Safeguarding must be built into Foundation activity as it develops.
HEADTURNED Foundation may involve public engagement, education, volunteering, events, site visits, partnerships, media activity, animal welfare work, conservation activity, learning pathways, and other forms of participation as the ecosystem develops.
This policy sets out the Foundation’s safeguarding framework for protecting children, young people, adults at risk, and others who may be affected by Foundation activity, whether online, on-site, through partners, or through public-facing engagement.
It applies to trustees, staff, volunteers, contractors, advisers, partners, delivery providers, and anyone acting on behalf of the Foundation where safeguarding or welfare responsibilities may arise.
Related documents
Safeguarding sits alongside the wider trust, complaints, whistleblowing, and information governance framework.
Policies Overview
Brings together the trust, compliance, and governance policies that support the Foundation website.
Complaints
Explains how everyday concerns, complaints, and formal issues may be raised and handled.
Whistleblowing
Explains how serious concerns may be raised safely, responsibly, and in good faith.
Data Protection
Explains how personal information, confidentiality, and responsible information handling are approached.
Safeguarding principles
The welfare and dignity of people must be treated as a serious responsibility.
- the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk must be treated as a priority;
- safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility where someone is acting on behalf of the Foundation;
- concerns should be taken seriously, recorded proportionately, and escalated where necessary;
- decisions should be guided by safety, dignity, fairness, confidentiality, and lawful information sharing;
- appropriate boundaries should be maintained in all public, educational, online, volunteer, and site-based activity;
- the Foundation should work with relevant statutory, professional, or specialist bodies where required.
Definitions
This policy uses broad safeguarding definitions to support clear judgement.
- Child or young person: anyone under the age of 18.
- Adult at risk: an adult who, because of age, disability, illness, care needs, coercion, dependency, vulnerability, or other circumstances, may be unable to protect themselves from harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
- Safeguarding concern: information, behaviour, disclosure, incident, pattern, or risk that may indicate harm, abuse, neglect, exploitation, unsafe practice, or a failure of duty of care.
- Abuse or harm: may include physical, emotional, sexual, financial, discriminatory, coercive, organisational, online, neglectful, or exploitative behaviour.
Roles and responsibilities
Safeguarding responsibility should be clear before activity creates risk.
Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that safeguarding is approached seriously and proportionately. Day-to-day safeguarding leadership may be delegated to a designated safeguarding lead or appropriate safeguarding contact where activity requires it.
Anyone acting on behalf of the Foundation is expected to:
- follow this policy and any related procedures;
- maintain appropriate boundaries and professional conduct;
- be alert to signs of harm, abuse, neglect, exploitation, unsafe practice, or welfare concern;
- report concerns promptly through the appropriate route;
- avoid investigating concerns personally unless authorised and competent to do so; and
- treat safeguarding information carefully and confidentially.
Safer activity
Recruitment, conduct, and activity design should reduce avoidable safeguarding risk.
Where roles involve contact with children, young people, adults at risk, animals, visitors, public participants, or vulnerable groups, the Foundation will aim to apply proportionate safer recruitment, supervision, and conduct expectations.
- appropriate role descriptions and expectations before activity begins;
- references, identity checks, or criminal record checks where required by law or appropriate to the role;
- clear boundaries around one-to-one contact, online communication, photography, media activity, transport, site access, and unsupervised interaction;
- proportionate supervision for volunteers, contractors, visitors, and delivery partners; and
- guidance for events, site visits, education sessions, and activities involving the public.
Recognising and responding
Concerns should be escalated promptly and handled by appropriate people.
A concern may arise from something seen, heard, disclosed, reported, recorded, posted online, observed in behaviour, or identified through a partner, visitor, volunteer, or member of the public.
If someone is in immediate danger, emergency services or the relevant statutory authority should be contacted without delay. Otherwise, concerns should be passed promptly to the designated safeguarding lead, trustee, or appropriate safeguarding contact.
The response may include assessing:
- whether immediate protective action is required;
- whether statutory safeguarding authorities, law enforcement, or specialist bodies should be contacted;
- what information should be recorded and who needs to know;
- whether the concern also involves a complaint, whistleblowing matter, disciplinary issue, data protection issue, or partner responsibility; and
- what support, boundaries, or operational changes are required.
Partners and visitors
Safeguarding responsibilities should be clear when working with others.
Where the Foundation works with schools, colleges, universities, community groups, volunteers, sponsors, delivery partners, professionals, visitors, or other organisations, we will aim to clarify safeguarding roles and escalation routes.
In some cases, another organisation’s safeguarding policy may apply to its own staff, learners, service users, or delivery activity. The Foundation should still take reasonable steps to understand how safeguarding concerns will be managed and how risks will be escalated.
Visitors to Foundation sites, events, or activities may be given clear guidance on rules designed to protect people, animals, habitats, property, and operational safety.
Records and confidentiality
Safeguarding information should be recorded carefully and shared only where appropriate.
Safeguarding concerns should be recorded in a timely, accurate, factual, and secure way. Access should be limited to those who need the information to protect people, manage risk, comply with law, or support appropriate review.
Information should be shared on a need-to-know basis and in line with applicable law, safeguarding duties, and the Privacy Policy. Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where information must be shared to protect someone from harm, comply with law, or involve a relevant authority.
Training and awareness
Safeguarding awareness should match the role and level of risk.
People in roles involving contact with children, young people, adults at risk, visitors, volunteers, public participants, or sensitive welfare issues should receive appropriate safeguarding information, guidance, or training.
The level of training should be proportionate to the role, activity, level of contact, responsibility, supervision arrangements, and risk profile.
Review and updates
This policy will be reviewed as the Foundation’s activities develop.
This policy will be reviewed periodically and updated where necessary to reflect changes in law, guidance, safeguarding practice, Foundation structure, activity, partnerships, education work, site operations, or public engagement.
The version published on this page is the version currently in force.