This guide from our Sustainable Volunteering Officer will help you review your safeguarding policy and ensure safe working procedures are in place when working with young volunteers in your museum.
Working with young volunteers: your safeguarding policy and safe working procedures
You need to have a safeguarding policy and safe working procedures in place
If you already have these you should review them if any of the following apply:
- your museum is expanding its work with young people, for example welcoming younger volunteers such as 16 to 18 year olds
- your museum is expanding its work with children and/or vulnerable adults
- to take account of any changes in regulations, such as DBS
Where to start?
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) website is a good place to start. It contains a lot of useful information on safeguarding and how you can better protect children and young people
It includes:
- guidance on how to write your safeguarding policy
- tips on what to include
- an example policy you can tailor to your needs.
- a section on ‘Safer Recruitment’ including information on DBS checks.
About your safeguarding policy
Your policy needs to be read and understood by all staff and volunteers, not simply sit on the shelf. You need to make sure this happens.
You should:
- include it in inductions and at pre-season meetings.
- circulate by email
- highlight any changes to policy and practice at a training session
- keep a short summary of your policy and procedures on the front desk and in a volunteer space/staff area.
This is particularly important for education volunteers and other volunteers who are regularly in contact with children and/or vulnerable adults. It is vital for the person who is going to be the ‘named contact’ for young volunteers to be familiar with your safeguarding policy.
Download the guide below (PDF):
