1.4 What is culture?

Culture can be thought of as all the assumptions, values, and behaviours that are common in an organisation or between a group of people. It is often thought of as: ‘the way we do things around here’.

In the Safeguarding Essentials course, you considered the impact of life experiences, beliefs, and values on people’s approach to safeguarding. Culture works in the same way. The culture of an organisation has an impact on how people in the organisation behave. This in turn will have an impact on how safeguarding is practised.

The diagram below shows how many elements influence our attitudes, including organisational culture.

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A centre circle with four satellite circles around it. The centre circle says. Our attitudes and behaviour towards safeguarding. The outer circles say. Life experiences. Leadership. National culture. Organisational culture.

Everyone has a role to play

Just as safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility – we all have a role to play in developing a positive safeguarding culture in our organisations.