4.5 Risk reduction measures in action: safer recruitment

Described image
Show description|Hide description

A group of four adults are sitting around an office table having a discussion. There are several sheets of printed paper in front of them on the table.

There are a number of actions an organisation can take to mitigate the risks identified in the previous section. We think one measure, safer recruitment, is worthy of particular attention.

What is meant by safer recruitment?

Sport relies on thousands of well-motivated staff and volunteers. Without them, many sports organisations, activities, and events would not exist.

In order to attract the right staff and volunteers, it is essential that organisations have effective recruitment and selection procedures.

Safer recruitment refers to processes that organisations can put into place to prevent or deter unsuitable individuals from taking up roles that provide access to potential victims. It is a way to make sure that people have the right skills, knowledge and attitude for the role(s) you are looking to recruit them for.

Safer recruitment is one of the core safeguarding building blocks – and protects the gateway to your organisation. The same procedures should be adopted whether staff are paid or unpaid, full time or part time.

Prevent people who wish to harm children from getting into your organisation.

It is much better – and easier – to use a safer recruitment process to prevent an unsuitable person getting into your organisation than it is to remove them once concerns arise.

What are the benefits of having a safer recruitment process?

Think about the benefits of safer recruitment to the following groups, then select each tile to reveal our thoughts.

Active content not displayed. This content requires JavaScript to be enabled.
Show description|Hide description

The front of tile one says. Parent. The back of tile one says. Parents understand that the organisation takes safeguarding their children seriously and are assured that measures have been taken to recruit only suitable people. The front of tile two says. Children and vulnerable adults. The back of tile two says. Children and vulnerable adults are less likely to come into contact with dangerous adults and are therefore less likely to experience poor practice, abuse or other harm. The front of tile three says. Staff and volunteers. The back of tile three says. Staff and volunteers understand when joining the organisation that safeguarding is prioritised, that they will have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and that an appropriate culture is supported. The front of tile four says. The organisation. The back of tile four says. The organisation, by meeting its moral and legal safeguarding obligations, will be required to manage fewer safeguarding cases and will reduce the potential risks to its reputation.

Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

4.4 Starting to identify activity level safeguarding risks

4.6 What are the minimum requirements for safer recruitment?