What are your responsibilities?
It’s sometimes said that village hall charities don’t have much responsibility for ensuring people using the venue are safe from harm, because that’s up to the organisers of all the different activities that take place in halls. Obviously it’s true that hirers have a key role in ensuring (as best they can) the safety and well-being of their participants, but the village hall committee has an important role too.
Guidance documents and information
ACRE, our national partner charity, revised their safeguarding guidance booklet and model policy in 2021 as part of a project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. This booklet is part of a library of resources available to community buildings in Hampshire. Please see our main community buildings web page for our contact details and to see the other information we have on a range of topics affecting community halls and centres.
Charity Commission guidance: Safeguarding duties for charity trustees via this link
Disclosure and Barring Service: guidance leaflets on DBS via this link
(particularly see ‘Working with adults in the charity sector’ and the parallel leaflet regarding children)
DBS eligibility checker tool: on the main DBS guidance page via this link
Training opportunities and local contacts
Introductory online training for charity trustees via this link
This session is ideal for charity trustees, especially if you are taking on the role to lead for the Hall’s management committee on safeguarding issues. It costs £25 per person and should take around 3 hours to complete.
NSPCC via this link – training and resources for those working with children (i.e. under-18s)
Hampshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership via this link – local training and information
Ann Craft Trust via this link – safeguarding adults courses
Hampshire Safeguarding Adults Board via this link – local training and information
Your local Council for Voluntary Service may also offer safeguarding training. Look up the CVS covering your area on the Hampshire CVS Network website via this link.
NHS Safeguarding app
This app has been developed to act as a comprehensive resource for healthcare professionals, carers, and citizens. It provides 24-hour, mobile access to legislation and guidance on safeguarding for people at all life stages.
The app also provides information on how to report a safeguarding concern and has a directory of safeguarding contacts for every local authority in England, searchable by region.
Full details are on the NHS England website via this link.
Reporting concerns
Hampshire organisations should report any concerns about the welfare of a child or adult to Hampshire County Council, available via this link, or to the Police by dialling 999 if someone is in imminent danger. Specific links for children and adults are below:
Report a concern about an adult by clicking this link (someone aged 18+)
Report a concern about a child by clicking this link (someone aged 17 or under)
