Safeguarding in Partnerships

Core Standards Toolkit

April 2019
Version control

This verison has been publish on: 18 April 2019

For any question please reach out to: Albert den Boogert
To check if you have the right version, please visit: Safeguarding in Partnerships landing page

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The approach is developed in cross-functional cooperation

Core team
• Kimberley Ducimo - Sr. Director of Child Safeguarding SC US
• Shamila Janzs - Head of Partnerships
• Mubarak Maman - CS Director MEEE
• Susan Grant - CS Director Centre & Safer Programming and Safe Recruiting
• Cat Carter - CS Director of Humanitarian

With input from, and in cooperation with:

• Legal
• Regional HR Directors
• PPM/PRIME
• Awards
• Supply chain
• Field trip Country Offices: Turkey, NW-Syria & Egypt
• 25 Field trip partners and project managers

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3 pillars of Safeguarding Partnerships
This document covers pillar 1: Core Standards

Safeguarding Partnerships

Core Robust Local

Standards Tools network

• 12 universal requirements for • Global messaging • FP/ Project Manager1 Reporting

each partner project • Uniform onboarding and monitoring on each program.
• Measurable and objective • Best in class training materials • Safeguarding Lead1 Reporting
• Clearly communicated • Best practices for CSG and capacity building in each CO
consequences • Field materials ready to • Regional HRDs and Regional
• Output based implement CS Directors for expertise and
oversight
• Leverage global expertise • Peer network for knowledge
• Set partners up for success sharing
• Reduce training cost through • Ownership on the ground
• Tailor support and create trust
• Create clarity and transparency cascading
• Cascaded expertise & control
• Monitor success and risk • Control messaging and shared • Validate monitoring with human
• Focus and prioritise work understanding interaction
1. National Child Safeguarding functional lead and Focal Point roles already exist, but capacity
Scope of this document is still being build up globally, and is not sufficient yet 3
Pillar 1: Safeguarding Core Standards apply for every
partnership project as minimum requirements
Core Standards for all SCI projects ran with partner organisations1, 2 Primary actor
Each partner passed the Partner Assessment (PAT), or has a clear Capacity Strengthening Plan (CSP), included in the
Sub-Award agreement, if the PAT identified capacity gaps. PAT includes assessing if: PAT: SCI
1. Partner has SCI or equivalent safeguarding policies in place and has an Code of conduct and related procedures
1
2. Sufficient awareness and training on child, adult and staff safeguarding and internal partner Code of Conduct
Deliver CSP:
3. Appropriate process for reporting and responding, incl. Child Friendly Reporting, whistle blowing, Safeguarding FP
Jointly
4. Appropriate arrangements to monitor compliance internally within the partner organisation
Prevent 2 Each project has an allocated Safeguarding budget, incl. activity plan SCI

3 Safeguarding is included in project design: actions, reporting, awareness, risk mgmt., investigation and response SCI

4 All new staff & volunteers on SCI projects are assessed on suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults Partner

5 Safeguarding risk is systematically assessed and mitigated as part of existing periodic field monitoring SCI/Partner

6 Each partner office and operational location has child & adult friendly safeguarding information displayed Partner

7 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects received and signed safeguarding policies (SCI policies or partner equivalent) Partner
Awareness
8 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects are trained to identify, report and prevent safeguarding concerns Partner

9 Partner leadership meets annually with SCI to review reports, and discuss progress, challenges, risks and mitigations SCI/Partner

Report 10 Every concern within the project is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs after incident is known Partner

11 SCI and Partner make

agree aonjoint
need to investigate
decision on needa to
concern, the investigation
investigate, process
the investigation and the
process andinvestigation
investigationteam
team SCI/Partner
Respond
12 Partner takes adequate action in response to concerns and incidents, including disciplinary actions where needed Partner

SCI action Partner action Shared action

1. Please see detailed scoping slide for more information on which partners are included and which are excluded
2. Please note, that all core standards only explicitly apply to partner led programs, therefore it also only applies to staff and volunteers on partner led
programs, and not SCI staff or SCI volunteers 4
How to read the document
Each Core Standards has multiple back-up slides to explain This number refers to how many pages
the standards in detail. Each title refers directly to the Core there are for this standard The top bar refers
Standards that the slide relates to
to the primary
actor for the action.
The colour coding:
Red = SCI
Blue = Partner
Maroon = Both
Grey boxes indicate
that links to
OneNet for
supporting
documents or tools. A reference to
Please CTRL-Click another Core
to follow link. Standards (CS) is
referenced like:
Unfortunately only “(See: CS X)”
SCI members can
follow the link.
Please send the
relevant document Word, Excel or
to your partner PDF logo’s indicate
counterpart embedded
documents. These
can be retrieved by
anyone by double
If an action is not required but recommended it is Reference documents (links or embedded), are
clicking on the logo
indicated by ‘Good practice:’ or ‘Recommended to’ indicated by these outlines

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Colour coding refers to who the primary actor is to deliver the
Core Standard

SCI
Actions are primarily taken by SCI,
=
support of Partner may be needed
Primary actor

Partner
Actions are primarily taken by Partner. Potential support required of
=
SCI can be discuss during project design phase or with PM
Primary actor

Actions are taking by SCI and Partner:

SCI and Partner
• E.g. join decisions
=
• E.g. Case by case decision who investigates
Joint actors
• E.g. SCI runs PAT, Partner delivers on Development Plan

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 Each partner passed the Partner Assessment (PAT), or has a
1
1
clear Capacity Strengthening Plan (CSP) I/2

Each Partner in scope needs to be assessed using the PAT before a project can start SCI runs PAT
The Partner Assessment Tool (PAT) is a tool from SCI to assess prospective partners. As part of the PAT, the Organisational Capacity assessment
tests whether the partner organisation has all the essential building blocks for effective safeguarding. If the Organisational Capacity is (partly) sub-
standard, a Capacity Strengthening Plan is developed to fix the gaps. There are 4 versions of the tool available.

Small / Very small Standard sub-award Government MoU Humanitarian

For non-gov. partners receiving For non-gov. partners receiving For governmental organisations, If rapid execution is required for
less than $25k via a sub-award, more than $25k via a sub-award, complete the Governmental rapid onset emergency response,
complete Small Awards complete Standard Partnership Organisation Consultation Tool only tab 1,3 and 9 of PAT are
Partnership Assessment Tool Assessment Tool1 required1

Small Award Standard Governmental Standard

Partnership Partnership Organisation Partnership
Assessment Assessment Consultation Assessment
Tool Tool (PAT) Tool Tool (PAT)

If a capacity gap is identified, a Capacity Strengthening Plan (CSP) need to be agreed and executed SCI creates CSP
• Capacity Strengthening is aimed to build the required capacity to be able to deliver safeguarding up to standard
• If Capacity Strengthening activities are substantial, it will need to be considered to include them in the budget (See: CS2)
• It is part of the Core Standards to be on track in delivering Additional ref. materials
the Capacity Strengthening Plan Partnership checklist and risk assessment
Supplementary tool for determining a Partner’s risk level against SCI child
safeguarding standards. Assessment can help to guide SCI and the Partner in
See next page for more detail
developing an action plan to ensure compliance during the project period.

1. If circumstances require rapid execution of a partner agreement, e.g. in order for the partner to play a role in a rapid onset
emergency response or to meet a competitive proposal deadline, you can proceed to the partner agreement once you have
Page 1 out of 2
completed the Qualification, SOW and Recommendation tabs (1, 3 and 9). However, you will need SMT approval Continues on
(documented in AMS Partner Agreement tab), and you should specify in the partner sub-award agreement (Section 8) when next page 7
the remaining assessment tabs will be completed.
 Each partner passed the Partner Assessment (PAT), or has a
1
1
clear Capacity Strengthening Plan (CSP) 2/2

Core Standard: if there are gaps, a CSP needs to be developed. Delivery of a CSP needs to be on track.
Best practices: Create a Capacity Strengthening Plan that is both specific and realistic.
SCI conducts PAT and creates CSP Partner and SCI jointly deliver CSP

Be specific. A more Recommended Always add a specific

Create a list with specific specific description to always add to deadline. Actions
actions for each area that will help you to plan agreement without deadlines
requires strengthening in child the activities and risk being de-
and adult safeguarding. This ensure that there is prioritised and
list should match up. Fill all sufficient postponed and
columns for each single item. budget/support cannot be tracked
The risk assessment on
previous page can help as extra
guidance. In case of doubt or
need of support, please reach It is essential that the partner has ownership of the plan. The plan
out to CSG / HR network. needs to be made in close cooperation to ensure buy-in and to
align on who can take what action and which support is required

! Safeguarding capabilities as outlined in the PAT are crucial

minimum standards. Failure to address gaps in these standards
will jeopardise the safety of the project and puts the well-
being of children and adults at risk.
Page 2 out of 2

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 Each project has an allocated Safeguarding budget, incl. activity
2
plan
Each project requires a dedicated budget for Safeguarding SCI creates budget
• The size of the budget depends on the activity plan, and the activity plan depends on the project specifics and risk profile (see below and CS3)
• Typically, Safeguarding activities are believed to take about 0.25-1% of the total budget, depending of size of the award and actions required (see below)

The Safeguarding budget needs to be specified with a detailed Safeguarding activity plan SCI creates activity plan
• Create a specific plan that is tailored to the project specifics (see below and CS3). E.g. if you estimate 20 new staff per month, that requires 20h per month: 5h training +10h
of staff assessment + 5h of policy signing (in normal circumstances). However, if (e.g.) the staff is spread across a large county, the cost goes up
• Think about who will do the activities, (e.g.) is the SCI PM going to deliver the training, or do you need time from Country Safeguarding Functional lead? Please note that the
cost depends on who delivers the activity, and especially external support is typically more costly.
• Below are guidelines for what are frequently occurring activities, and how much time these activities typically take
• Try to be as specific and realistic as possible: underestimation of time will create capacity shortage, and overestimation makes Safeguarding too expensive

Ongoing Safeguarding management activities Capacity Strengthening activities

Type of activities are typically similar for each project, but the specific actions and time/spend per • Activities are based on the needs of the partner organisation and
activity depend on project specifics such as: the PAT
• Number of staff and volunteers on the project • Please note that these activities are typically one-off, as they are
• How often staff changes/new staff joins completed once the capabilities are in place and fully embedded.
• Number of beneficiaries Please take into account that embedding new processes takes time.
• Local context/social fabric (including power and gender inequalities; legal/protection systems/due • Typical activities:
process) – Training staff and management; Time/spend: ~2-6hs for training 20
• Risk assessment people
Core ongoing Safeguarding activities – Tailor training to local environment; Time/spend: 12hs/1.5d
• Onboarding new staff: recruitment & selection, policy signing and training (see=CS4;CS7;CS8) – Tailor/develop policies; Time/spend: 24hs/3d
– Conduct recruitment/selection, new staff assessment, store evidence; Time/spend: 0.5hs/person – Tailor/develop visual information; Time/spend: 12hs/1.5d
– Ensure signing of policy and store evidence; Time/spend: 0.25hs/person – Develop local processes; Time/spend: varies, but expect it to be
– Conduct training and store evidence; Time/spend ~2-6hs for training 20 staff significant
• Reporting concerns: Reporting and follow-up (see= CS10)
Time/spend depends on how high the risk is, but expect 6hs per concern with approx. 4-6
concerns a year. Please be clear about who will do the activities during the
• Management reporting (Done by SCI PM each month using the Survey Monkey tool); Time/spend: project. Normally this would be the partner, but the
max 30 min a month partner might have insufficient capacity or capabilities
and require support from SCI

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 Safeguarding is included in project design: actions, reporting,
3
awareness, risk mgmt., investigation and response 1/3

Create safe implementation plan to prevent incidents where possible SCI leads design

Introduction Schedule Safeguarding activities

A safe implementation plan is essential to Please find specific information under CS2
running a safe project. Prevention is
always better than responding, and the Conduct Safeguarding Risk Assessment (as part of Risk Management Plan)
design phase is an essential step to Each project has its own specific set of risks. Risks are often linked to the type of work, type of
prevent incidents from taking place. beneficiaries or the operational context, and can therefore to a large extent be identified up
front. The Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment Tool (attached in ‘Ref documents’), is a good
A safe implementation plan includes at starting point to assess the Child Safeguarding Risks.
least these four sections
1. Activity plan Identified risks need to be specified and mitigated. For each risk please define the following:
2. Risk assessment • Possible victims
3. Reporting mechanism • Probability
4. Investigation and response • Impact
• Action to mitigate (i.e. minimize) risk
Ref. documents • Owner of the risk (i.e. who is responsible for it)
• Budget required (if required)
Child Safeguarding Risk
Save the Children has developed Child Safeguarding risk guides for 7 specific focus areas (see
Assessment next page)
(Double click icon) Please note: for more information on operational risk management: please see CS 5)

Recommended: Design process for investigation and response up front

Child Safe Programming guidelines
If a concern comes in and an investigation is required, the response needs to be started within
7x Programme specific Child Safeguarding 3 days. As CS 11 explains, there are a few options in how the investigation can be managed
risk guidance between SCI and Partner. It is recommended to reach a decision on these options up front, to
(see next page for links)
ensure readiness and good cooperation between both parties.
• Decide on: Investigation team setup and process (see: SC 11)
• Decide on: Process on response to concerns Page 1 out of 3
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 Safeguarding is included in project design: actions, reporting,
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awareness, risk mgmt., investigation and response 2/3

Create safe programming plan to prevent incidents where possible SCI leads design

Save the Children has developed these practical guidance for Child Safeguarding tailored to 7 specific programmes

Ref. documents

Education in
WASH Cash Nutrition Health Supply Chain Safety and Security
Emergencies
(link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link)
(link)

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 Safeguarding is included in project design: actions, reporting,
3
awareness, risk mgmt., investigation and response 3/3

Assess/establish Reporting Mechanism SCI leads design Partner establishes mechanism

Sound child and adult friendly reporting channels are essential to any safeguarding approach. Every project should at least have 2 types of channels: a direct contact
channel via focal points, and a channel for anonymous reporting. Contact information for channels need to be included in all communications. The reporting mechanism
should be strong, fit to context and clearly and often communicated.

Please note: Every concern needs to be reported to SCI within 24 hours – irrespective of what original channel was used. SCI will log the concern in Datix.
Please note: All adults have a duty to report any safeguarding concern (a concern that someone may be harmed or could get harmed). Lack of proof or certainty can
never be a reason not to report.

Best practices: Provide more than 2 channels to serve the different preferences and circumstances of the parties that report. Think about the needs and context of
the people that might report. What are the barriers to reporting and how do you overcome them? E.g. are people literate? E.g. can they access internet? Are they old
enough to write or even talk? To lower the barrier to reporting it is recommended to do trial reporting sessions with beneficiaries, such as a mock phone call to the
hotline. It is key to thoroughly communicate which channels are available, and repetition will make it stick.

Standards for direct contact reporting channel

• Standard is to have at least 1 Focal Point per location / camp or site.
• Please note that depending on our type of work, context and associated risks you might need more FPs.
• Focal Points need to be trained to handle concerns.
• It is good practice to create safe spaces and opportunities for adults in affected populations to discuss and report concerns/suspicions/risks.
• For very young children it is recommended to conduct pro-active outreach with (e.g.) focal group drawing exercises.
• Please ensure a good gender mix, involving both women and men. It is acknowledged that survivors and victims of abuse can feel more comfortable reporting to a
woman, thus it is important to have women FPs. It is also important to have people who demonstrate good behaviour, conduct, integrity and values, and have earned
the trust of their colleagues and community they are working in.

Standards for anonymous reporting channel

Anonymous channels are key to receive all concerns that children an adults are unwilling or unable to report in person. There are various options for anonymous
reporting, which can be selected based on the preferences and available resources. E.g.:
• What’s app number
• Phone number (hotline)
• Email address
• As exception: complaint box (only if the above tools are not available and if the complaints box is checked every day)

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 All new staff & volunteers on SCI projects are assessed on suitability to
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work with children and vulnerable adults 1/9

Safe recruiting is at the heart of our safeguarding approach. In terms of safeguarding, our staff and volunteers are our biggest
asset and our biggest risk.
• Staff and volunteers are our biggest asset as they are our most effective way to prevent and stop abuse. Our staff and volunteers work tirelessly
to prevent harm and to safeguard our children, adults and staff.
• However, staff and volunteers are also our biggest risk, as a large proportion of incidents are caused by staff and volunteers (rather than by
processes and premises).

Thorough assessments of candidates before employment are a good way to reduce the risk of harm and increase our ability to
actively prevent harm. In order to do this, we need to assess the suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults. The
primary indicators for fit are:
• Right attitudes (e.g. respecting child rights);
• Right skills and experience (e.g. understanding positive discipline); and
• A safe track record (e.g. no previous offences).

As a minimum, we cannot risk engaging candidates that don’t share the right attitude towards safeguarding, or have previously
offended. As an aspiration, we should only work with staff and volunteers that have excellent safeguarding skills and experience.

Please note: Sound assessment has its limitations and should be supplemented with strong policies and processes during employment
• E.g. short term staff and volunteers should never be alone with children, and should always be accompanied by a trained full time employee
• E.g. staff or volunteers should only by high exception be allowed to be alone with a child
• E.g. staff or volunteers cannot share a sleeping room together with a unrelated beneficiary

Please note: Assessing candidates will cost time and money, but this can never be a reason not to do it. The costs could be a reason to assess the
hiring policy. As assessment only needs to be done once for each employee/volunteer, cost will go down if fewer employees and volunteers stay for
a longer period. Simultaneously, cost will go up if many different people are engaged for shorter periods.

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 All new staff & volunteers on SCI projects are assessed on suitability to
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Assessment table specifies what level of assessment is required for each type of staff / representative Partner conducts assessments
Type of assessment
Former employer Relevant ‘local’
1 Brief interview 2 Focussed interview 3 reference 4 Legal/police check 5 checks
Type of staff

Field
based
Regular staff and volunteers
   
Short term staff and
volunteers   
Office
based
Regular staff and volunteers
   
Short term staff and
volunteers  
Trustees
  
Ambassadors
 
External site/programme visitors

 Non-negotiable requirement (minimum requirement)
 If effective and practical (minimum requirement)
 Relevant ‘local’ checks to check on context specific risks, such as child marriage (good practice)
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Detailed information on all types of staff, suppliers, or representatives that are subject to training

Duration of engagement Example role Note

Field • Field based staff either have direct contact with
based Regular staff and volunteers >2 weeks MEAL officer, Teacher beneficiaries or beneficiary data, or work on
sites where beneficiaries are present.
• Contact includes digital contact.
• Includes consultants, freelancers etc.
Short term staff and volunteers <2 weeks Volunteer handing out supply packages

Office • Office based staff includes all that do not have

based Regular staff and volunteers >2 weeks Finance coordinator directly contact with beneficiaries or
beneficiary data, and do not work on sites
where beneficiaries are present. Typically this
staff works in the office, but it could also be
(e.g.) in logistical warehouses, etc.
Short term staff and volunteers <2 weeks IT consultant • Contact includes digital contact.
• Includes consultants, freelancers etc.

Trustees are assigned to the board, and jointly form the board of trustees. Trustees are an appointed or elected group of individuals that
Trustees have overall responsibility for the management of an organization. The board of trustees is typically the governing body of an organization
and seeks to ensure the best interest of stakeholders in all types of management decisions.

Ambassador, better known as a "goodwill ambassador" is a person who advocates for a specific cause (e.g. a country or an organization)
Ambassadors on the basis of their notability. Within Save the Children, our ambassadors are typically actors/actresses, singers, football (soccer) players,
and other famous persons.

External site/programme visitors Any Sponsors, donors, Media, etc.

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 All new staff & volunteers on SCI projects are assessed on suitability to
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1 Basic interview questions Interview conducted by partner

Questions to consider of all candidates (select a few). At least 1 of these questions needs to be added to a regular interview.
1. Why do you want to work/volunteer for Save the Children (or partner)?
2. What is your understanding of Child Safeguarding? How do you think Child Safeguarding applies to [position for which candidate is applying]?
3. Tell us your thoughts on Child Rights focused work. What does it mean to you? How do you see yourself ensuring that the rights of children are upheld through this work?
4. As [position for which candidate is applying], what would you do to ensure Child Safeguarding is embedded into your work?
5. Safeguarding children is core to the identity of Save the Children. How would you contribute to making Save the Children safe for children?
6. Tell me about your thoughts on safeguarding children. How has your understanding about safeguarding developed over time?
7. You learn that a colleague failed to use a procedure designed to keep children safe. Fortunately, no child is harmed or injured as a result. What is your response to this?
8. What are your thoughts about gender balance in the workplace? Tell us about your expectations for treatment of staff, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, religion, race, etc.
9. Tell us about a time when you feel that you could have done a better job responding to the needs of a child. What did you do? What would you have done differently?
10. How have you responded to children who have experienced trauma? What are some of the things that you might need to be aware of?
11. What does it mean to have a professional relationship with children? Can you provide an example of the types of boundaries that you have set with children?
12. What might some challenges be in serving a community that you are a part of? What Child Safeguarding standards might be challenging to the community? How will you
manage that?
13. What policies, procedures or practices are important to protect children from the risk of or actual harm? (This should specifically target the role for which the candidate is
interviewing.) Why?
14. Tell us about a time when you have had to challenge the views of someone more senior than yourself in relation to safeguarding concern.
15. Give examples of what you would consider to be appropriate and inappropriate behavior between or toward staff and children.
16. Describe the key aspects of the Child Safeguarding policy at Save the Children.
17. Give me an example of when you have had a child safeguarding concern. How did you respond? What happened? Ref. documents
18. [Adult/Staff Safeguarding] Tell us about your understanding of what is means to create a safe and equitable workplace?
19. What is your understanding about relationships between Save the Children representatives? Example
20. What is your understanding about relationships between Save the Children adult beneficiaries? interview grid
21. How can you best control a child who is misbehaving? E.g. disrespecting elders, or taking fruit from a market stall with 2
22. What would you do if you heard about or witnessed a concerning interaction between a colleague and a child? safeguarding
23. At what age is it acceptable for a child to get married? questions
24. Have you ever been the subject of disciplinary action? If so, why?
25. What is your motivation to work in an organization that serves children?
Please note: For each staff member and volunteer, it is required to keep a record of the interview in the HR dossier (for auditing purposes)

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2 Focussed interview questions Interview conducted by partner

The focused interview questions aim to get a deeper understanding of the attitudes and practices of the candidate. The focused interview should include at least 3 questions
on safeguarding, for which you can use inspiration from this page and the previous. The interview can be part of a regular interview or it could be beneficial to conduct it as a
separate safeguarding interview but this is not required.

Questions to consider for a focused interview (on top of all the basic questions from the previous page)
General
1. Tell me about a time when a child behaved in a way that challenged you or tested your patience. How did you manage the situation? What coping strategies have you
developed for these situations? Who else did you involve (if applicable)?
2. What motivates you to work with children? Give an example of a positive impact you have made on a child and/or how a child has benefited from interacting with you?
3. What is your understanding of Child Safeguarding? As a [position for which the candidate is applying]
1. Please share some examples of what your responsibilities would be for safeguarding children
2. Or: Give an example of a safeguarding procedure or practice you have found to be particularly successful.
4. What might prevent you from reporting a concern? (This will assess the person’s integrity for reporting, capacity in understanding what to report, etc.)
5. Tell me about your responsibility to protect children’s data.
6. What would you do if you heard about or witnessed a concerning interaction between a colleague and a child? If you have an example, please share how you responded
and what, if any, action you took.
7. Tell us about a time when you were challenged by a child, a child's attitude or behavior. How did you respond? Would you have done anything differently? If so, what?
8. Tell us about your thoughts on children's rights?

Specifically for candidates from refugee/displaced people community

1. How will you balance the expectations of this position and the needs of the community?
2. You may be tempted or asked to show favor to people within this community. How will you ensure that your actions do not violate the scope of your work or any policies
of Save the Children?
3. What type of support or help will you need to be a success as staff/volunteer?
4. What are the biggest challenges or worries that you have in assuming this role?
5. What do you see as the risks to children, in particular women and girls in the camp and what can you do to reduce the risk? What do you see as their responsibility as
being a member of the camp and when you volunteer/work on the project?
6. How will your role as staff/volunteer change your status and how you are treated in the camp? Is there any risks to you? What would you do if they had to report an
important person in their community who was sexually exploiting women or children?

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3 Guidelines for previous employer reference checks Partner runs reference checks
➢ Minimum standards for referencing
• At least 2 references per candidate (3 is best practice)
• If possible, references need to be from previous employers, where applicable from comparable jobs
• References should be maximum 5 years old
• If no former employers are available (e.g. if candidate has not been employed), Character References can be used
• A Character Reference cannot be given by a family member or friend
• If possible, at least 2 of the references need to be written references. If not possible, verbal references can be used (but need to be transcribed for the
records)
• Professional written references need to be provided using official company email addresses, and/or stamped and signed
• As a minimum, each reference must ask if the referee has any concerns about the applicant’s suitability to work with children, vulnerable adults and the
wider community

➢ On top of minimum standards, there are several good practices to improve the quality of the referencing
• It is recommended to only accept references by HR staff or the direct line manager.
• Sometimes people are reluctant to tell the truth, if the truth is negative. In these cases, referees can be tempted to write the reference in such a way that
they neither lie, nor tell the truth. It is therefore good practice to follow up on written references with a verbal conversation. This gives the opportunity to
ask questions that are more detailed, and go deeper on topics where the referee is unclear or displays reservations.
• If possible, at least one referee should have first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s work or experience with the community.
• You will probably get a more helpful reference if you explain the kind of work the volunteer will be doing and ask specific questions.
• It is good practice to use a thorough interview guide for references or a written template that the referee can fill (please see next page).

Please note: For each staff member and volunteer, it is required to keep a record of the references in the HR dossier (for auditing purposes).
Please note: Volunteers names and agreements must be recorded and tracked on a database (can be manual in a paper based register).
Please note: Volunteers need to be assessed, similar to employees. Line managers’/program managers of volunteers are required to work with HR teams in the
field to ensure that volunteers are properly assessed before they are approved and engaged as volunteer.

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3 Guidelines for previous employer reference checks Partner runs reference checks
Minimum requirement is to ask if the referee has any concerns about the applicant’s suitability to work with children, vulnerable adults and the wider community

On top, the further questions can be asked to get a better understanding from the referee:
1. Have there been any complaints made about the candidate’s professional practice? If so, what were the complaints? How were those resolved?
2. What type of training has the candidate received through your organization that would complement this position?
3. What is your understanding that the candidate is leaving/has left your organization?
4. What challenges did the candidate experience in their position? How did the candidate respond to feedback?
5. Is the candidate suitable for working with children and vulnerable adults? Why or why not?
6. Has there been any disciplinary action taken against the candidate? Please explain. (You will need to check on whether this question complies with legal standards in the
UK.)
7. Would you re-hire/re-employ the candidate?

It is best practice to ask for a thorough written reference, using a fixed template, please find below the example template the Save the Children uses.

Ref. documents:

Save the Children

reference request
(double click logo)

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 All new staff & volunteers on SCI projects are assessed on suitability to
4
work with children and vulnerable adults 8/9

4 Guidelines for legal background checks Partner conducts legal/police check

Legal background checks vary from country to country and are only one of many tools used to assess an individual’s fitness to work for or on behalf of Save the Children. Legal
background checks are a good way to get a thorough history of any recorded violation. However, it only shows whether a candidate has previously offended and has been
caught and registered. Which legal checks are useful, reliable and practical differs by country. Partner organisations should engage the most effective and practical means for
vetting within their locality, and should utilize available resources for conducting a rigorous background check process that meets the highest standard of due diligence.
Partner need to be able to explain their choices when asked during audits or investigations, and should take the guidance below into consideration.

Type of checks Privacy considerations

The type of checks that should be conducted depend on which checks are available, Please take privacy consideration into account when designing the legal check
reliable and take into account country specific risks. Example checks: approach. In the EU, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforces data
• Criminal Background check (typically a minimum requirement) protection and privacy for all individuals within the EU and the EEA. Since Save the
• Sexual Offender Background check (typically a minimum requirement) Children has European employees, the data protection rule applies, irrespective of
• … where the organization is located. Considering these and local rules, it is important to
ensure that the background check process considers how to manage the following:
At all time, individuals reviewing results must be knowledgeable about interpreting • How does Save the Children collect data for purposes of background checks?
results to understand if discrepancies may pose a risk even if a benign charge is listed • Does Save the Children disclose to the person the reason for acquiring Personal
(e.g., disturbing the peace may have been reduced from a charge of domestic assault). Identifiable Information (PII) and how it will be used? Is this done through written
consent?
• How long will the information be retained?
• How will information collected for purposes of the background check be shared if
the person requests it?
• How is information expunged?

Considerations for not conduction legal back ground checks

Legal background checks are not always reliable or practically accessible. Partners can choose not to engage legal checks, based on below considerations (not exhaustive)
• Legal checks are (temporarily) not available (e.g. due to armed conflict)
• Checks are not possible due privacy legislation
• Dysfunctional legal system and/or widespread corruption makes checks inconsistent and/or unreliable
• Candidate are immigrants / refugees from another jurisdiction, which prohibits access to the relevant legal system
• Legal checks are too expensive and/or take too long to acquire (only a acceptable reason in extreme cases, or in combination with other arguments)
• …
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work with children and vulnerable adults 9/9

5 Guidelines for relevant ‘local’ checks Partner conducts checks

Relevant ‘local’ checks form an important part of the assessment, as it gives the ability to tailor the checks to context specific risks and the best
information sources. For example, if child marriage is prevalent, it is recommend to ask for a wedding certificate as part of the background check.
Or, if it is common to inflate CVs, it can be recommendable to ask for school/university certificates. In other contexts, the community institutions
(e.g. village elders) can offer a trustworthy source whereas legal or state bodies are corrupt.

It is good practice for Partner and SCI to discuss and agree on which context specific local checks will be conducted.

Relevant ‘local’ checks are not a minimum requirement, but a it is recommended on top of the other assessments
Type of checks (e.g.) Privacy considerations
• Check school/ university certificates Please take privacy considerations into account, especially when
• Local defense unit check consulting local sources that are directly connected to the candidates.
• Reference from women’s group leaders/head of village/any relevant Especially in relation to personal documentation, such as marriage
local mechanism/bodies certificates, the legality under local law should be considered.
• Marriage certificates (e.g. to verify on child marriage)
• …

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 Safeguarding risk is systematically assessed and mitigated as part of
5
existing periodic field monitoring 1/2

Operational Risk Assessments are key to prevent incidents before they arise Joint meeting SCI PM… …and partner PM

Prevention is a core element of effective safeguarding. Prevention is included in our partner assessment (CS1), budgeting (CS2), project design (CS3) and safe
recruitment (CS4), but it also requires ongoing monitoring on an operational level. Our operational reality is ever changing, and we need to be alert to keep
adjusting to the changing realities. In order to be effective, we therefore need to be aware of any upcoming changes, assess the risk to our beneficiaries or staff
and determine how we can best mitigate the risks. The risk assessment is not a goal in itself, but a way to help us to be best prepared to prevent harm.

The operational risk assessment is held each month with the Project Managers from our partner and SCI. The time/spend depends on how much risks are
identified. If there are no changes or new risks, it could only take a couple of minutes to confirm this. However, if the project is about to scale up, or a big event
is scheduled it might take more time to talk it through. It is recommended to incorporate the risk assessment as part of existing periodic field monitoring visits.

Check-list questions Examples of operational risk scenarios

The core to the operational risk assessment is to assess if there are any upcoming changes and “With winter approaching, sundown will now start at 6pm, and
whether we are well prepared to deal with them. it will be dark when we drop the children at the public pick-up
point – are there any risks to this arrangement? Should we
The following questions could serve as a standard check-list to assess upcoming changes: change the timing of our activities to prevent this? What can we
• Will we have new staff or volunteers starting next month? put in place to mitigate/manage any risks?’’
o Do we have enough capacity to assess, onboard and train them?
• Are there new activities, a scale-up of activities or new project phases starting? “We have 4 new staff members joining next month, did we
• Are there big events coming up? organise the training for their first day?”
• Are there any visits with external visitors scheduled?
• Are there advocacy or press events scheduled? “There will be a big event to hand out toys, how many children
• When have we last spot checked our reporting mechanism? are we expecting? Is the venue suitable? Can we close it off if
• Have there been any changes to reporting mechanisms, including locations for suggestions there are too many children coming? Do we have a list of the
boxes, changes in hotline number or emails, newly assigned person responsible for volunteers and a system for them to sign in and out? Who will
receiving reports, etc.? give the volunteers who come to help their briefing? Have they
been sufficiently assessed up-front?”

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 Safeguarding risk is systematically assessed and mitigated as part of
5
existing periodic field monitoring 2/2

Guidance and tools for risk assessment

When assessing the risk of an activity it is recommend to take the following steps
• Identify whether the activity involves staff/volunteers/ contractor/supplier working or having contact with children or vulnerable adults in the project area, or deal with
the data of children and vulnerable adults
• If the activity does involve working/contact with children or vulnerable adults:
o Undertake a Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment during the design phase and planning of the activity (see below, and: CS 3)
o Identify if there are additional staff or volunteers required, and ensure that there is budget and time for upfront assessment and training
o Integrate Child Safeguarding into ongoing reporting, monitoring and evaluation processes of the activity
• Undertake regular periodic revaluation of the risks, preferably as part of ongoing monitoring of the project or when new risks become apparent
o Note: you may not always be aware of changes in a activity, so a regular re-assessment is recommended
• Funding submissions must incorporate resources and costs in budgets to implement Child Safeguarding practices including risk assessment and safe recruitment
• Log the risks in a Risk Register based on the below guidance
A Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment reviews an activity from a safeguarding perspective
• This involves identifying risk interventions appropriate to the level and nature of the risk using the following steps:
o STEP 1: Identifying risks
o STEP 2: The Likelihood of Risk Occurring (see below for a suggested scale)
o STEP 3: Potential impact (see below for a suggested scale)
o STEP 4: Strategies to Minimise Risk
o STEP 5: Risk Monitoring
• Risk assessment templates summarise the context, risk analysis, rating and risk responses as they relate to each program or planned project’s operations and projects
• The risk matrix should be reviewed as part of regular project review and planning alongside other aspects of project review and monitoring
• This process may identify certain activities that are high risk and would need additional or specific monitoring and reporting procedures.

Risk rating scale Consequences of risk

Rating Likelihood Description • (5) Severe
5 Almost certain Expected to occur in most circumstances • (4) Major
4 Likely Will probably occur in most circumstances
• (3) Moderate
3 Possible Could occur at some time
2 Unlikely Not expected to occur • (2) Minor
1 Rare May inly occur in exceptional circumstances • (1) Negligible

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 Each partner office and operational location has visual child &
6
adult friendly safeguarding information in place I/3

Communication materials are developed/adopted and displayed Partner develops and displays information1

Standards for communication materials (example for adults ) Requirements for communication materials
Minimum requirements
Example of a poster for
Include visuals to draw attention, Every operational space that is used by children and/or adult
adults (part of a set of 8
posters), that is used on but ensure that they are culturally beneficiaries needs to have a clearly visible Safeguarding
the SCI office in London appropriate. Please note that visual information. Please note that the information should
shocking images are never cover child, adult and staff safeguarding
appropriate, and will only increase
the barrier to report
Each communal staff space, e.g. meeting rooms, coffee
Use examples that your corners, needs to have a clearly visible Safeguarding poster
audience can relate to

Best practices
Conduct explanation and practice sessions with children to
Keep it simple. People explain the poster and what they need to do if they
need to be able to
see/experience something (see; CS3)
understand the message
directly
Supplement posters with books, leaflets, folders, clips or
exercises to beneficiaries and their guardians aware, either
at the start of the engagement or during the year (see page
3 for example materials)

Make it actionable. Embed the contact details

Create a set of different posters with different visuals and
Readers need to know of the reporting channels
what to do on each communication vary them throughout the premises. Variation in the visuals
and messages will help to keep audience engages and helps
to make the messages stick

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organisations. They can be supported by SCI in developing the materials, as SCI can provide best
practice and example materials. However, they will always need to be adopted to the partner context 24
 Each partner office and operational location has visual child &
6
adult friendly safeguarding information in place 2/3

Standards for communication materials (example for children) Partner develops and displays information1

Example of a posters and Make it actionable. Include visuals to draw attention, but ensure that they are
Keep it simple. Children need to be able
Readers need to know culturally appropriate. Please note that shocking images are
handouts for children, to understand the message directly
what to do never appropriate, and will increase the barrier to report
that is used by SCUK

Embed the contact Best practice: create hand-

Tip: fill local information (like name
details of the outs children can Use simple and child
focal point) with a pen, so you only
reporting channels on play/interact with, which friendly language
each communication helps to make it stick
need to design 1 poster Page 2
out of 3
1.Partner is primary responsible that the communication materials are displayed on their
organisations. They can be supported by SCI in developing the materials, as SCI can provide best
practice and example materials. However, they will always need to be adopted to the partner context 25
 Each partner office and operational location has visual child &
6
adult friendly safeguarding information in place 3/3

Reference and example materials Partner develops and displays information1

Child Safeguarding in emergencies clip Child Safeguarding Book Child friendly flyer
Child friendly flyer (English)
English, French, Arabic. Somali incl. activities (English , Arabic) (Link to Safeguarding landing page)

Set of posters on Child Safeguarding

Child Friendly Child Safeguarding Child Safeguarding in education Child Safeguarding policy material awareness for staff (Link to
Policy (English) materials (booklet) (English) (French, Spanish, Arabic) safeguarding landing page)

26
 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects received and signed safeguarding
7
policies 1/1

Partner manages that each of their staff and volunteers has signed the relevant safeguarding policies and that the evidence is stored

 
Code Signed
Child Adult Staff Of
Acceptance
Or
Safeguarding Safeguarding Safeguarding Form Policies
Conduct And CoC

   
Individual
Acceptance
Form Or Policies
And CoC

All staff and volunteers receive All staff and volunteers sign Evidence is stored
partner policies and their Code of partner policies and their Code of • Signed documents are stored in HR
Conduct1 Conduct files
• Provide SCI policies or the equivalent • Code of Conduct and policies can be
partner policies on: Child Safeguarding, signed individually
PSEA and Anti-Harassment • Or all can be signed using an
• Provide the Code of Conduct of the acceptance form
Partner organisation
• Engage staff to explain the documents Sample acceptance form (link)
and offer room for questions Sample form, to be adjusted
to partner specific context

On or before first day Within the first week of employment Up until end of employment

1. Please note that partners can adopt SCI policies, but need to have their own Code of Conduct and partner staff/volunteers cannot sign the SCI Code of
Conduct 27
 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects is trained to prevent safeguarding
8
risks and identify and report safeguarding concerns 1/5

Level of training required for each staff / representative (See 2/5 to 5/5 for more details) Partners deliver training to their staff1
Minimum required training
Total time
First 30 days At field each field visit Refresher (every 2yr)
Staff types training 1st year
Field based ✓ Introduction (60-90 min)
Staff
✓ Enhanced (60 min) ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) ✓ Enhanced training (60-90min) 3-4 hrs
volunteers
✓ Context specific (60-90 min)
Short term
(<2wks)
✓ Introduction (60-90 min) ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) 1-1.5 hrs

Office based
Staff and ✓ Introduction (60-90 min) ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) ✓ Enhanced training (60-90min)
volunteers ✓ Enhanced (60 min) 2-2.5 hrs

Short term
(<2wks)
✓ Basic introduction (15 min) ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) 15 min

Ambassadors and trustees

✓ Introduction (60-90 min) ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) 1-1.5 hrs

External site/project visitors ✓ Verbal on-site briefing (15 min) 10-15 min

Attendance to each training needs to be documented on a signed attendance form, with type of training, date, trainer, trainee names and signatures. Forms need
to be stored up to end of engagement in HR files, and should be able to be shown during audits or investigations.

1.Partner delivers training to their staff, SCI Supports in providing the training. If the
Partner requires support with delivering the training, e.g. through a training the trainers by Page 1 out of 5
SCI, this is best flagged up front so it can be budgeted for. Continues on next page
See CS8 2/5 for more information 28
8
All staff & volunteers on SCI projects is trained to prevent safeguarding
risks and identify and report safeguarding concerns 2/5

Training is developed centrally and delivered locally SCI support in developing training Partners deliver training to their staff

Regular training Specialist training

Training is developed by central team or Directors (HR of CSG) Training is developed by central
team or Directors (HR of CSG)
Directors provide specific training to national CSG leads and/or HRDs
Training is delivered by CSG Directors
National FPs / HRDs train the partner staff (trainers) who will deliver the or Regional HRDs to the relevant
SCI

training to their staff and volunteers: specialists

• Project Managers • Focal point training
• CSG Focal Points • Investigation training
• HR officers • Training trainers on training skills
• … other representatives

Trainers train staff and volunteers and document attendance Once trained, partner staff can
operate independently
Partner

Please note that the training requirements will differ by partner and project. For
example, if a partner has a lot of new staff starting each month, or hadn’t done
any training so far, it will require more training capacity. Please take this into
account in the project plan phase and budget for it accordingly (CS2 & CS3) Page 2 out of 5
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 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects is trained to prevent safeguarding
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Type of training (detailed description) Partners deliver training to their staff

Induction training Enhanced training Context-Specific training

Training covers: Training covers: Training covers:
• General awareness of risk • Recognizing abuse • Context specific information about the Child
• Policy norm and obligations • Abuse and offender types Safeguarding risks and specific vulnerabilities
• Reporting channels • How to make a report within the affected community
• Re-enforce: Policy norm & obligations • Prevention
Output: Attendees are introduced to basic • Re-enforce: Reporting channels o Safe recruiting
concepts, understand the size of the problem, o Safer programming
Description what is not acceptable and what to do when they • Responding and supporting survivors
see something that is not right. Output: Attendees are triggered and trained to
actively recognize abuse, through a better Output: trainees better understand their context,
For field based staff, training must be delivered understanding of signals and abuse and offender and have a basic training in how to prevent
prior to said contact with children types. Attendees can create their own report. incidents. Trainees know how to provide (basic)
Training used as refresher every 2yrs after-care
Training can be combined to into a ½ day session for new joiners

Policy scope Child, Adult and Staff safeguarding Child, Adult and Staff safeguarding Child, Adult and Staff safeguarding

Type In person In person (on-line if possible) In person

Delivery by On site Safeguarding Focal Point Online/On site Safeguarding Focal Point On site Safeguarding Focal Point

30 days from 1st day at work &

Timing Within 30 days from 1st day at work Within 14 days from start field work
before 1st contact with beneficiaries

Duration 60-90 minutes 60 minutes 60 – 90 hours

Time/spend
120 min per (max) 20 people - 120 min per (max) 20 people
By trainer

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 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects is trained to prevent safeguarding
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risks and identify and report safeguarding concerns 4/5

Type of training (detailed description) Partners deliver training to their staff

Verbal Briefing on site Basic introduction

At the onset of each site/program visit, all persons will receive a verbal Basic introduction to what Child and Adult Safeguarding is and how to
briefing to identify behaviors from which visitors are strictly prohibited. This report concerns (10-15 minutes)
includes field staff who are visiting a site/project where they are not
implementing themselves. Output: attendees are reminded about safeguarding obligations and
know who to reach out to if they see something that is not right
NOTE: Each program visit begins with a verbal briefing, even if an individual is
traveling to multiple programming sites in different regions or countries. Note: if of any reason the full induction training for field staff is delayed,
Exception: if the visit occurs on the same day or on contiguous days in the and cannot take place on the first day at work, at least the basic
Description
same community or region, the briefing is not needed on each site. introduction should be provided in the meantime.

Policy scope Child and Adult safeguarding Child, Adult and Staff safeguarding

Type Verbal briefing In person

Delivered by Safeguarding focal point? On site Safeguarding Focal Point / PM

For staff: At the onset of each site/program visit
Timing First day at work
For external visitors: prior to the visit
Duration 10-15 minutes 10-15 minutes

Trainer time/spend 30 min per (max) 20 people 30 min per (max) 20 people
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 All staff & volunteers on SCI projects is trained to prevent safeguarding
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risks and identify and report safeguarding concerns 5/5

Standard training materials

Induction training Enhanced training Context-Specific training Verbal Briefing on site Basic introduction

Template for
Verbal Briefing on Standard basic
Standard training pack site introduction pack
(Link for all 3 modules) (Double click logo) (Link)
Reference
materials Guide for training delivery
(incl. time schedule)

And guide to rebrand the

training with partner logo

(double click logo)

Template for post-training evaluation (link)

32
 Partner leadership meets annually with SCI to review reports,
9
and discuss progress, challenges, risks and mitigations 1/1

SCI and Partner leadership conduct joint annual safeguarding meeting

Required attendees Timing and frequency

This meeting is intended to ensure leadership involvement in safeguarding, to Every 12 months
trigger a strategic discussion and steer from the top

Required attendees
• 1 Representative of SCI SMT
• 1 Sr. representative of Partner
• SCI Project Manager
• SCI Child Safeguarding Functional Lead (or Focal Point if there is no national
lead)

Suggested discussion topics

• Review safeguarding component of capacity strengthening plan
• Review of all reported cases of past 12 months
• If there were no cases: discuss ways to increase transparency
• Progress vs. discussion/risks discussed in last year’s meeting
• Successes and challenges of the past 12 months
• Where Save the Children could help
• Share good practice and learning

33
 Every concern is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs
10
after incident is known 1/5

Partner Save the Children

Organization becomes Partner reports SCI logs concern in Datix SCI Directors review Within In needed:
aware of a concern concern to SCI and decide on actions 48hs after Members
• Child related by CS Directors reporting Informed
• Adult and staff by Regional HRD (who inform
Within Within
Directly 24hs after donor)
24 hours reporting

If needed:
Within
5d after
Charity
• Concern is flagged via • Concern reported to SCI • SCI representative who • Review report on qualityreporting Commission
reporting channels (e.g. within 24 hours received concern reviews if and completeness is informed
focal points, hotline, etc.) • It is recommended to all information is in place, • Decide on actions:
• Or, concern is spotted report the concern to and immediately reports it o Inform Member to
directly by leadership either SCI PM or SCI FP to Datix (see: CS10 2/4) report to donors If needed:
• Partner leadership takes by email, using the off-line • For adult & staff cases, o Inform Legal to Within
3d after
Partner and
all necessary actions to form. However, it can also concerns are temporarily report to Charity reporting SCI start
ensure all children, adults be reported by phone or reported using incident Commission (CS10 investigation
and staff are safe in person to any SCI report (off-line form) 3/4)
• Note: not only incidents representative o Investigation (CS11)
need to be reported, also • If for a concern could not Ref. documents
unconfirmed suspicion be reported within 24hs,
and risk of an incident partners needs to identify Child safeguarding Incident reporting on SharePoint (link)
the reason for delay (e.g. concern
Off-line form (link)
‘power outing’) Safeguarding Reporting Procedure (link)
• Note: please ensure that Adult
offline forms are safeguarding
Off-line form How to report a concern on Datix (link)
password protected

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 Every concern is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs
10
after incident is known 2/5

Information for Child Safeguarding Incident - to be uploaded in by SCI in DATIX within 24 hours must include:

➢ Violation of code of conduct (yes/no)

➢ Child safeguarding violation? (yes.no)
➢ Breach of local law (yes/no/uncertain)
➢ Reported to local authorities (if no, please include justification)
➢ Name of Subject of Concern( SOC)/ alleged perpetrator
➢ Nationality of SOC alleged perpetrator
➢ Date and time of alleged incident
➢ Program location
➢ Category of Incident
➢ Nature of incident
➢ Case summary including all facts known at this stage
➢ State if SCI staff, partner volunteer , supplier or contractor etc.
➢ Actions taken to ensure children are safe
➢ SC Member/SOF/Project name

Please note: if not all information is directly available: please

still submit the report within 24 hours, and add missing
information as soon as possible after filing

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 Every concern is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs
10
after incident is known 3/5

Information for Adult / Staff Safeguarding Incident - to be sent to HRD within 24 hours must include:

➢ Violation of code of conduct (yes/no)

➢ Child safeguarding violation? (yes.no)
➢ Breach of local law
➢ Reported to local authorities (if no, please include justification)
➢ Name of alleged perpetrator known (yes/no)
➢ Nationality of alleged perpetrator
➢ Date and time of alleged incident
➢ Program location
➢ Category of Incident
➢ Nature of incident
➢ State if SCI staff, partner volunteer , supplier or contractor etc.
➢ SC Member/SOF/Project name
➢ Case summary including all facts known at this stage
➢ Actions taken to ensure colleagues/beneficiaries are safe

Please note: if not all information is directly available: please

still submit the report within 24 hours, and add missing
information as soon as possible after filing

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 Every concern is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs
10
after incident is known 4/5

SCI is legally obliged to inform the Charity Commission and donors on all serious safeguarding incidents within SCI

Serious Safeguarding incidents as identified by Charity Commission

Our collective and individual responsibility to ensure

Includes sexual abuse & exploitation, physical abuse,
that all child beneficiaries are protected from the
emotional abuse, neglect and exploitation (general)
risk of alleged or actual harm by Save the Children
of any kind to children involved with Save the
Child staff, partners or representatives who come into
Children below the age of 18.
Safeguarding contact with children through humanitarian
responses and direct implementation & partner
programming.

Includes protecting people from harm generally,

Our collective and individual responsibility to ensure
including neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse,
that all colleagues/staff/volunteers, partners,
Safeguarding our exploitation, radicalization, harassment, sexual
adult beneficiaries and anyone who comes
employees, harassment, bullying, fatalities and the consequences
into contact with our organization are
partners and of the misuse of personal data of any kind to anyone
protected from the risk of alleged or actual harm by
involved with Save the Children including
adult beneficiaries Save the Children staff, partners or representatives beneficiaries, staff and volunteers above the age of
through humanitarian responses and direct
18.
implementation & partner programming.

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 Every concern is reported to Save the Children within 24hrs
10
after incident is known 5/5

What if I don’t have any concerns to report?

Abuse is unfortunately very common, so concerns should be very common. Especially as actual abuse cases occur
frequently (1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 6 boys experience abuse before their 18th), and risks of abuse, in particular sexual
exploitation and abuse, increases during times of emergency.

!
Save the Children expects to receive concerns.
A lack of reports is considered a red flag that there might be lack of transparency, not enough trust to report
and insufficiently safe mechanisms and opportunities for people to report concerns.

Steps to take to increase transparency and increase the amount of reports

There is no single way to get transparency, but below are good steps to follow to increase transparency

1. Increase awareness on safeguarding (e.g. via a communication campaign)

2. Increase communications on reporting channels
3. Analyse barriers to reporting and remove them
4. Increase the number of reporting channels, tailored to the needs of beneficiaries
5. Pro-actively reach out to beneficiaries to discuss concerns (with expert support)
- Organise focus groups with children to assess their attitudes towards staff
- Conduct drawing exercises to discover signs of abuse
- Note: local Child Protection or MEAL staff can help to design & facilitate sessions
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 1 SCI and Partner agree on need to investigate a concern, the
1 investigation process and the investigation team 1/3

SCI and Partner make a joint decision on need to investigate

When a concern is raised, both SCI and the Partner reserve the right to decide that
there is a need to conduct an investigation. It is good practice to make a joint decision Reference documents
on whether it is necessary, but if case of disagreement, an investigation will be started if Investigation
one of both parties sees the need to. Please find below guidance on: Investigation
Terms of
• Possible responses to a safeguarding concern report form
Reference form
• Considerations to determine need for investigation (click on logo)
(click on logo)
• Requirements for each investigation (irrespective of who conducts the training and
who decided on the need for investigation) Partner
Safeguarding Reporting guidance for
Please note: Only applies to concerns on projects related to SCI
Procedure (link) investigations
Please note: Any investigation needs to start latest 3 days after the concern has been
[draft]
raised and according to the guidelines on these pages.

Possible responses to a safeguarding concern

Within SCI, the Regional Safeguarding Director or Regional HR Director (depending on type of concern) determine which response they deem fit for the raised concern
Investigate See next pages for considerations and process
Administrative Inquiry • Mostly: in cases where there is exposure to risk, but no harm took place
• If most information is already available
• If it concerns a historic concern
• Potentially: if case is investigated under criminal law, in can be decided to only start an administrative inquiry (see next)
• If the harm cannot be attributed to a singular individual, but a process or procedure
No further investigation required Concern is confirmed as internal case, but no additional information is required
Reject and send to GSS (Safety and Security) Cases that pose an outside threat to our beneficiaries, staff or associates
Reject and send to Child Protection External cases (not the result of actions or inaction by SCI or associates) with immediate need for a survivor
Reject and send to other Department External risks (not the result of actions or inaction by SCI or associates) without direct support needed for a child, adult or
group of children or adults (for example to address driving policies)
Reject • If there is not enough information to do anything (e.g. old complaint from complaint box without any information)
• If there is no actual risk of harm or actual harm involved

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1 SCI and Partner agree on need to investigate a concern, the
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Considerations to determine need for investigation

SCI tests each concern against the following criteria to decide whether an investigation is required.
The following three conditions need to be met to justify an investigation:

To conduct an investigation the allegation must allege a breach of any of the SCI core policies or partner
1. Policy breach
equivalent policies, where more stringent

2. Need for information To conduct an investigation there must be a need for more information to reach a decision

To conduct an investigation the harm must be the result of actions or inactions by SCI or associates (‘internal
3. Cause of harm case’). Concerns and cases that have occurred in the community and those that have happened as a result of
external factors (‘external case’) are not investigated

Op top these criteria, the following considerations are taken into account.
If the concern is criminal by local law, SCI will report such occurrences immediately to the local police/
authorities, unless there is a demonstrable risk of harm to the survivor or other justifiable reason not to
report. Having done this, SCI still needs to handle the issue internally (e.g. suspend suspected perpetrator) and
Criminal by local law
follow up with the police / judiciary on the outcome of the case. SCI will conduct an inquiry to investigate
how the incident could take place – using the same principles of investigation, however without interfering
with the process undertaken by the local law.
When dealing with a Safeguarding concern, the best interest of the survivor will be our priority and we will
strive to ensure their safety, health and well- being including meeting their emotional, psychological and
Best interest of the survivor
physical needs. As such, the best interest of the survivor can shape the nature of the investigation and resulting
actions.

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1 SCI and Partner agree on need to investigate a concern, the
1 investigation process and the investigation team 3/3

Investigation requirements

Investigation is conducted by either a SCI investigation team, a shared team or a partner investigation team. Partner and SCI make a joint decision on which
model applies. Please note: each teaming model should adhere to the same standards (as summarised below and outlined in the procedure) and after
Investigation each investigation at minimum a summary is shared with both parties. In case of a joint investigation, one of the parties is appointed lead, and will appoint
lead the investigation manager. In case of disagreement, both parties reserve the right to run independent investigations.

Note: any information exchanged on investigations must be in compliance with relevant data protection law
• Investigation team consists of at least 3 qualified team members. The Investigation manager leads the investigation and is the link with the team and the
rest of the organisation. The investigation is run by at least 2 investigators (or 1 + 1 observer). At least 2 is important to maintain neutrality and lend
each other support.
• Minimum requirement for investigators:
Team – Exhibit sound judgement and professionalism
members – Responsible, trustworthy, and dependable, and hold themselves accountable for the decisions
– Should not have any interest in the outcome of the complaint and no personal or professional connection with the Source of Concern (SoC)
– Best practice: only use investigators that have undergone investigations training
– If the concern is relating to sexual abuse/ and or sexual exploitation, then it is mandatory that the person has undergone investigations training in
sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adults and should have the necessary experience in leading or co-leading investigations
• Investigation are run in line with any relevant SCI safeguarding investigations procedures, according to Investigation Terms of Reference (created by
Tools Investigation mgnr), and reported using the SCI Investigation Final Report that is logged in Datix at the end of the investigation.
• If partner only team runs the investigation, partners tools and procedures of similar standard and approach to SCI tools can be used.
• As a minimum requirement, a redacted summary of the investigation without personal data is shared with both parties at the conclusion of the
investigation. However, it is good practice to share the full investigation report with SCI to enable a joint review and logging in Datix
• As a minimum, the summary should include the following elements:
1. Allegations
Investigation
2. Findings/outcomes
report
3. Recommendations for actions, including disciplinary actions and operational interventions / lessons learned
4. Timeline for actions after the investigation is completed

Note: the aim is to start investigation within 3 days after concern is reported, write an interim update after 30 days, and to close it within 90 days

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Partner and SCI are responsible for taking adequate action, incl. disciplinary actions towards their own staff and volunteers
SCI and Partners share a joint goal to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, and aim to prevent each incident. In this spirit, it is of utmost importance that if a
concern does arise, it is responded to with adequate action. In a joint operation, SCI and the Partner will take a joint decision on what operational actions are
adequate. However, each organisation (whether SCI or Partner) has the sole responsibility and mandate to take disciplinary actions towards its own staff,
volunteers or representatives.

In the case of disciplinary actions by a partner organisation, SCI holds the responsibility and right to review whether the action is deemed adequate and in
accordance with our policies and the partnership agreement. If actions are considered inadequate to mitigate the risks, or are considered to be a breach of the
contract, this may ultimately result in the termination of the contract.

Process steps and owners to determine (disciplinary) actions

If an investigation is conducted: Investigation team files investigation report or summary (see CS 11), which states if the concern is
Investigation team (Partner, SCI, or shared) substantiated and what actions are recommended.

Partner and SCI Partner and SCI take a joint decision on which operational actions are required. If an investigation has
been conducted, the recommendations will be taken as starting point.

Partner leadership If required, Partner leadership takes decision on the need for disciplinary actions against its own staff,
volunteers or representatives. If an investigation has been conducted, the recommendations will be
taken as starting point. Partner informs SCI.
SCI CSG Director / Regional HR Director If required, SCI takes decision on the need for disciplinary actions against its own staff, volunteers or
representatives. If an investigation has been conducted, the recommendations will be taken as starting
point. SCI informs Partner.

SCI CSG Director / Regional HR Director review whether actions are considered to be adequate and in
accordance with the policies and partnership agreement.

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For investigation procedure: see documents
SCI Disciplinary procedure (link)
embedded in CS 11 Ref. documents
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1 Partner takes adequate action in response to concerns and
2 incidents, including disciplinary actions where needed

Guidance on type of disciplinary actions against policy breaches by staff or volunteers

Verbal If conduct or performance of an individual does not meet acceptable standards, the line manager will normally give a formal verbal warning. The employee
warning should be advised of the reason for the warning, that it is the first stage of the disciplinary procedure and of their right to appeal. A record will be kept of
the verbal warning and placed on the personnel file. The warning will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after six months, subject to satisfactory
conduct and performance

Written warning If the misconduct is a more serious one, or if a further offence or no improvement occurs within six months of the verbal warning, a written warning will be
given. This will give details of the complaint, the improvement required and timescale. It will state clearly that, if there is no satisfactory improvement,
further disciplinary action may be taken and of the right to appeal. A copy of this written warning will be placed on the personnel file but will be
disregarded for disciplinary purposes after nine months, subject to satisfactory conduct and performance.

Final written If there is still a failure to improve conduct or performance, or if the misconduct is sufficiently serious to warrant only one written warning, but insufficiently
warning serious to justify dismissal, a final written warning will normally be given. This will give details of the complaint, will warn that dismissal will result if there is a
further offence or no satisfactory improvement, and will advise of the right of appeal. A copy of this final written warning will be placed on the personnel file,
but will be disregarded for disciplinary purpose after 12 months subject to satisfactory conduct and performance. In exceptional cases the final written
warning may remain active on file for longer; the employee should be advised of this variation.

Dismissal If the matter is one of gross misconduct, or there is a further offence or conduct or performance is still unsatisfactory and the employee fails to reach the
prescribed standards, dismissal will normally result. Decision to terminate should typically be taken by a Director, but this may be delegated to another
appropriate senior manager. As soon as reasonably practicable, the employee will be provided with the written reasons for dismissal, the date on which
employment will terminate, (in accordance with the employee’s notice entitlement), and advise of the right of appeal.

Dismissal is always the expected action in case of gross misconduct related to safeguarding incidents, e.g. sextual exploitation and abuse, physical abuse, etc.
Suspension Staff can be suspended prior to the outcome of the investigation if required to reduce risk to child/adult/staff or the investigation process. Typically
suspension is not use as penalty after the investigation is completed

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Agenda

Glossary

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Acronyms

CSD – Child Safeguarding Director

CoC – Code of Conduct
CD – Country Director
CO – Country Office
CS – Core Standard
GSS – Global Safety and Security
CS – Child Safeguarding
CSP – Capacity Strengthening Plan
CSFP – Child Safeguarding Focal Point
FP – Focal Point
HRD – HR Director
MEAL – Monitoring Evaluation And Learning
MoU – Memorandum of Understanding
N-FP – National Focal Point / Child Safeguarding Coordinator / Child Safeguarding Functional Lead
PM – Project Manager
PAT – Partner Assessment Tool
PDQ – Programme Development & Quality
PSEA – Protection from Sexual Harassment and Abuse (typically refers to the PSEA policy)
RHRD – Regional HR Director
RD – Regional Director
SAA – Sub-Award Agreement
SCI – Save the Children International
SG – Safeguarding
SPA – Safeguarding in Partnerships Approach

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