3.2.5. Institutional Context
Safeguarding happens within the culture of an institution. Whereas it is not easy to measure organizational culture, there is agreement that defining safeguarding processes and procedures will be most effective where the organization embeds safeguarding practices and values in its culture.
What is culture?
Culture refers to the values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the actions of people in an organization. From a safeguarding perspective, it means integrating safeguarding into everything that we do to create a safe environment for learners and for the people that work with them. A healthy safeguarding culture is one where everyone understands, respects, and integrates safeguarding in their actions while providing a safe space for people to raise concerns and give feedback.
Effective safeguarding is more than having robust safeguarding mechanisms and systems. It also calls for the creation of a healthy safeguarding culture within learning institutions.
A healthy safeguarding culture is about
establishing and maintaining an organisational culture that understands,
respects, and integrates safeguarding in everything that the institution does.
A good organisation culture provides a place where people feel safe to raise concerns and give feedback without
fear of reprisals.
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