8.2 The purpose of a safeguarding Action Plan

The overarching goal of safeguarding is ‘to create a safe environment for everyone’. This goal is usually underpinned by two main aims:

• Prevent abuse from happening.
• Respond effectively when concerns arise.

To achieve these aims, every organisation should have its own safeguarding Action Plan that identifies and prioritises the steps it needs to take.

For example, to:

• Establish procedures to cover safer staff recruitment.
• Provide appropriate safeguarding training to staff.
• Establish clear standards of behaviour for all stakeholders.
• Develop a process to receive and respond to safeguarding concerns.

This plan should include details about all the actions needed to achieve all these steps, who is responsible, and a timeline for completing them. Most steps will require a series of linked actions to be undertaken, often over an extended period of months or years.