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members of your own institute may well be vulnerable adults and you therefore need to be aware of their vulnerability.
All institutes have a nominated safeguarding of cer who will be responsible for safeguarding matters and most institutes will be aligned with a diocesan safeguarding commission. You should always refer any safeguarding issues or concerns to your safeguarding of cer and follow their guidance and advice.
The national procedures are set out in the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service’s (CSAS) manual which can be found at www.csasprocedures.uk.net. The information below is intended to provide supplementary guidance from the point of view of a charity and should always be considered alongside the guidance from CSAS and your own safeguarding of cer.
WHY DO CHARITY TRUSTEES NEED TO WORRY ABOUT SAFEGUARDING?
Everyone has the right to be safe regardless of who they are and their individual circumstances. Organisations working with children and vulnerable adults have a responsibility for their safety and welfare and must ensure that they are doing all they can to protect them. Trustees have various legal duties, including:
Ÿ A duty of care to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
Ÿ A duty to protect the reputation and assets of the charity – a failure to protect the reputation and assets of the charity could be construed as misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of a charity which can lead to regulatory action being taken by the Charity Commission
As well as the important reasons set out above, it is crucial that well intentioned volunteers and staff know what is expected of them and what is considered appropriate when working with vulnerable groups, in order to avoid nding themselves in tricky situations where their actions or intentions could be misconstrued.
While The Commission has issued broad guidance in the area of safeguarding, it has always been clear that this area is regulated by other agencies. However, in their duty to safeguarding children, The Commission has refreshed its safeguarding strategy and as a result has expanded its advisory group and is communicating safeguarding lessons to other charities where safeguarding arises as an issue during its regulatory interventions.
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