ORGANISATIONS

Safeguarding

Safeguarding in the voluntary sector

Safeguarding is about looking out for the people you come into contact – whether that’s people who use your service, your volunteers, staff or trustees.

Everyone in your organisation needs to understand how they should respond to concerns – not knowing what to do risks leaving people more vulnerable.

Because we all have responsibility for safeguarding, whatever your role, you need to understand how you can help keep people safe.

For Trustees of registered charities (including CIOs) the Charity Commission fully expects you to manage safeguarding in your organisation in an informed, safe and consistent way.

A Safeguarding Policy

Your organisation should have a Safeguarding Policy. It shouldn’t be huge, overly-wordy or difficult to understand – rather, it should be clear, straightforward, and obvious about who has which responsibilities in keeping people safe.

The policy should include an easy-to-follow procedure for someone who has concerns.

We have templates that you are welcome to use, and we can even help you tailor them to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

Safer Recruitment

Safer Recruitment is a process your organisation has in place to help make sure your volunteers, staff and Trustees are suitable to be involved with the people who use your service… It means that the right people are involved with the organisation for the right reasons

And it’s not all about DBS checks… It’s about ID checks, references, interviews and more. It can include induction & training, supervision (of some kind) and probationary periods, it might mean having a Code of Conduct and ongoing training – whatever it looks like, the process doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated but the better your recruitment process, the safer your organisation.

How the VSI Alliance Can Support

We can help your organisation with

Calderdale Safeguarding Learning & Development

There are a wide range of training opportunities delivered by Calderdale’s Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children’s Partnership. These courses are free and mostly online (so can be done from the comfort of your own home!)

Topics include courses such as Domestic Abuse, Mental Capacity, Self Neglect and Modern Slavery. Click the button below to view more details.

For more information on how we can support your organisation with safeguarding, please email info@vsialliance.org.uk

Other Resources and Factsheets

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.