First of all, what is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means the actions taken to protect children, young people and adults and keep them safe from harm.
As a charity that supports bereaved young people, we know it’s our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure you feel safe and protected.
Child Bereavement UK believes that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and young people, through a commitment to practice which protects them.
We recognise that:
The welfare of the child/young person is paramount
All children, regardless of age, ability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
Working in partnership with children, young people, and parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.
We will seek to safeguard children and young people by:
Valuing them, listening to and respecting them
Adopting child protection guidelines through our procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers
Sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
Providing effective management to staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training
Ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of incidents/concerns of abuse and support provided to the individual/s who raise or disclose the concern
Ensure that confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns are maintained and securely stored
Prevent the employment/deployment of unsuitable individuals
Ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation.
Responsibilities
Every member of staff and volunteer working for Child Bereavement UK has a responsibility to safeguard children. Key members of staff take a lead in this area. We all have a duty to report concerns wherever they arise for instance through our work in support of families, at fundraising events, with regard to the behaviour or practice of staff, volunteers, other organisations or individuals.
Every member of staff and volunteer needs to have read and signed our full safeguarding policy and procedures.
Key areas covered in our policy include:
Importance of taking any concerns or allegations seriously and never keeping any concerns to yourself
Clearly detailing roles and responsibilities for safeguarding
Everyone understanding the need to discuss, report and record concerns as appropriate
An explanation of three levels of safeguarding risk: Immediate, Managed and Ongoing concern
Flowcharts which show how concerns should be progressed
Whistleblowing policies and procedures to deal with concerns about staff or volunteers
Notes on how to record concerns on the clinical database for family services and on the safeguarding incident form for all other staff and volunteers.
As part of our safeguarding policy, Child Bereavement UK will:
Promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
Ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people.
Monitoring and review
Our policy will be reviewed every two years or in response to changes in legislation and/or government guidance or significant internal changes.
A copy of our safeguarding policy is available on request. Please email enquiries@childbereavementuk.org for more information.
Policy last updated March 2026.
