Guidance for creating a safeguarding policy

Why is safeguarding important?

Affiliated organisations are key to delivering training, racing, and water access. They are responsible for providing an environment in which thousands of enthusiasts can enjoy our sport. A significant proportion of the UK’s sailors and motor boaters regularly access their sport through the RYA’s network of 1,400 affiliates.

The RYA believes that creating a safe welcoming environment for all participants, is the foundation for building a successful organisation.
We recommend all affiliated organisations who have children, young people, and adults at risk within their community, have an appropriate safeguarding policy in place.

A safeguarding policy is part of a safe culture and is made up of three key areas:

Safeguarding Policy Statement

This should contain the following elements:

The purpose of the policy
Who the policy is about e.g. children or adults at risk or both
Who the policy applies to and their responsibilities (including the safeguarding policy owner, staff, trustees, and volunteers etc)
Breaches of the policy, what do you do if the policy has not been followed
Date adopted by the committee and the review date (every three years or earlier if any changes are made).

Safeguarding Guidance

How your organisation implements its policy and ensures it is embedded in your culture:

Provide details of the welfare officer (if applicable) and how to raise a concern
List safeguarding terms which may be found throughout the document
Specify the legislation which affiliated organisations are required to follow.

Identify underlying principles:

How to deal with a safeguarding disclosure
Safe recruitment
Information sharing & confidentiality
How the policy links to others (complaints handling processes, equality policy, disciplinary policy, and codes of conduct etc).

Note: Organisations should check their constitutional documents for provisions around how such policies should be approved and adopted by the club management.

Safeguarding Procedures

Who will be responsible for looking into the concerns?
Details of local authorities related to safeguarding
Who else internally may need to be contacted
A time frame for responding and linking any outcomes to the appropriate next steps.

Once you’ve created and signed off your policy, it should be made accessible to anyone within your organisation who wishes to view it.

Questions to ask

Do you need have a policy?
Does your policy cover all activities and membership groups?
Does your organisation have a system in place to receive non safeguarding feedback?
What do you need to have in place to meet the commitments outlined in the policy statement?
Is your policy easy for everyone to understand?
What policies does your organisation need to have in place to support the implementation of the safeguarding policy?
How do your members, participants, staff, or volunteers know what behaviours are expected within your organisation?
Does the organisation have the power to impose appropriate sanctions?
Do you have easy to access methods of reporting safeguarding concerns, such as a confidential email address or online form?
Do you have methods in place to avoid conflicts of interest when dealing with safeguarding concerns?
How does your organisation make decisions around safeguarding concerns?
Do those responsible for welfare understand their role and what training and support is available to them?