Safeguarding guidance for groups

At Point North, we want every organisation applying for funding to feel confident when making an application.

In recent months, we’ve seen an increase in applications where safeguarding policies do not meet our required standards. Most organisations care about safeguarding. The challenge is that policies are often out of date, missing key detail, or no longer aligned with current expectations.

We are sharing this updated guidance so all groups have the same information upfront. It will help reduce uncertainty, strengthen applications, and ensure decisions can be made fairly and efficiently.

Safeguarding is not an administrative exercise. It is a fundamental part of protecting children, young people and adults at risk. It also protects staff, volunteers and trustees, and gives confidence to the communities we all serve.

As a grantmaker, we also have a responsibility to our donors. They trust us to invest funds safely, responsibly and transparently. That means every organisation we fund must demonstrate strong governance, financial oversight and safeguarding practice.

Over the past few months, we’ve reviewed our application data to better understand where organisations need additional support during the funding process. As part of that work, we’ve identified an opportunity to provide clearer guidance on our safeguarding requirements, helping groups understand what we ask for, why we ask for it, and what a robust safeguarding policy should include to meet our minimum requirements.

We know funding applications take time. We also know that governance can sometimes feel like paperwork. That’s why we’re sharing this update now, so everyone has the same information before they apply.

Our aim isn’t to create extra barriers. It’s to help organisations strengthen their safeguarding practices and ultimately protect the people and communities we all exist to serve.

Why safeguarding is important

Safeguarding is never a tick-box exercise.

It is about creating safe environments where vulnerable people: children, young people and adults at risk are protected from harm, abuse and neglect. Having a safeguarding policy and procedure in place also protects volunteers, staff, trustees and organisations themselves.

Most importantly, safeguarding protects the people who place their trust in community organisations every day.

We also have a responsibility to our donors. They trust us to invest their money wisely, responsibly and safely. That means every grant we recommend must demonstrate appropriate governance, financial oversight and safeguarding arrangements.

Before any application is presented to one of our funding panels or a grant is awarded, our team carries out careful due diligence. This process helps ensure organisations have the appropriate governance, financial management and safeguarding arrangements in place.

This protects everyone involved:

• the people accessing services
• the organisations delivering them
• our donors
• Point North

Ultimately, we never want our funding to unintentionally enable harm. Good safeguarding helps ensure it doesn’t.

Learning from young people and reviewing our approach

Earlier this year, we held a youth workshop led by Rylie Sweeney, where young people shared their experiences and perspectives through a series of conversations and discussions.

Alongside those discussions, and following wider conversations around online safety and recent legislative discussions, we reviewed our own safeguarding requirements.

We wanted to ensure our expectations remain current, proportionate and reflect today’s safeguarding landscape.

We also analysed our application data to understand where organisations were most commonly falling short during due diligence.

As a result, we’ve updated this guidance to give groups clearer information before they apply. By sharing these expectations upfront, we hope to reduce unnecessary administration, avoid delays and help organisations submit stronger applications.

Safeguarding isn’t one size fits all

Every organisation is different.

A safeguarding policy should reflect the work you do, the people you support and the risks your organisation faces.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but they shouldn’t simply be downloaded and filed away. A good safeguarding policy should be a living document that staff, volunteers and trustees understand and use.

As an IVAR-accredited funder, we’re committed to being open, flexible and transparent with applicants wherever we can be.

However, flexibility cannot come at the expense of unintentionally harming vulnerable people.

Our safeguarding requirements represent the minimum standards organisations must meet before funding can be considered.

Some organisations will choose to go beyond these standards, and that’s something we welcome.

Exceeding our minimum requirements will not increase the likelihood of receiving funding. Instead, it demonstrates a commitment to continually improving safeguarding practice and helping set high standards across our communities.

Do you need a safeguarding policy?

If your organisation works with children, young people or adults at risk, the answer is yes.

Your safeguarding policy must:

• be in your organisation’s name
• be complete and relevant to the work you deliver
• be current and include the date it was last reviewed
• include a scheduled review date (annual reviews are considered best practice)
• identify a named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), including their role and up-to-date contact details (where a national organisation is delivering a local project, identify a safeguarding lead who is based locally)

You must also make sure:

• appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are carried out for paid staff and volunteers working with children or adults at risk
• your policy explains your safer recruitment procedures, including how and when DBS checks are undertaken
• Updated safeguarding requirements

Following our review, safeguarding policies submitted with funding applications must also include:

• Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): name, role and current contact details.
• Safer recruitment: your recruitment process for staff and volunteers, including DBS requirements and the frequency of checks.
• Policy review information: the date the policy was last reviewed and when it will next be reviewed.
• Online safety: guidance on promoting online safety and managing risks associated with digital platforms, social media, messaging services and internet use.

Online safety is an essential part of safeguarding

The safeguarding landscape continues to evolve.

The Online Safety Act has introduced new expectations around managing online risks. If your organisation provides online forums, messaging services or digital spaces where beneficiaries can communicate or share content, these requirements may apply to you.

Even where the legislation does not directly apply, organisations should consider how they protect children, young people and adults at risk when using social media, messaging platforms, websites and other digital services.

Your safeguarding policy should clearly explain how your organisation promotes online safety and manages digital risks.

What happens if your policy doesn’t meet these requirements?

If your safeguarding policy doesn’t meet our minimum requirements, we won’t be able to progress your funding application. For your application to be considered, you will need to submit a new application with the necessary changes.

For organisations with current applications, any future safeguarding policy submitted to Point North will need to include online safety guidance as outlined above.

We’re here to help

Our aim is not to catch organisations out.

We want to help build stronger, safer and more resilient organisations across County Durham, Tees Valley and the wider North East.

Good safeguarding protects people, strengthens communities and gives donors confidence that their investment is making a positive difference.

By sharing this guidance now, we hope organisations can review their policies before applying, reduce delays during assessment and ensure that together we’re creating safer opportunities for everyone.