5.2 Why does your organisation need a safeguarding policy and procedures?
Every sports organisation has a responsibility to do all it can to protect those involved in sport from abuse. A safeguarding policy is an organisation’s statement of intent – it describes, at a top level, what the organisation is committed to do to prevent and respond to abuse. It is usually ‘owned’ by senior leadership – and they are accountable for the policy.
Having a policy in place helps everyone to understand what is expected of them and others.
Is a safeguarding policy the same as safeguarding procedures?
a.
Yes
b.
No
The correct answer is b.
b.
The answer is ‘no’ They are different, and do different things. In order to safeguard those in sport, organisations need both.
Comment
It is important to note though, that while a policy and procedures do different things, for many organisations, they are brought together in the same document – which is often given the name ‘safeguarding policy’.
Let’s look at the policy and procedures in turn to find out how they are different.
5.1 Introduction
