Your Group will be working closely with a refugee family who have been prioritised for resettlement because of their vulnerability.

You will be helping them to achieve personal and intimate tasks, such as managing their finances and accessing healthcare. You will therefore be in a position of great power and responsibility, with the potential to both cause or prevent harm. This relationship will also place you in a unique position to be able to spot and respond to potential harm and abuse caused by others.

For these reasons, it is REALLY IMPORTANT that you develop a strong safeguarding framework, and that all key group members are familiar with your procedures.

We have developed a checklist to help you prepare.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

First, you will need to appoint a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who oversees all aspects of safeguarding. It is also good practice to appoint a Deputy DSL to help and to deputise in their absence.

Ideally the DSL should have up-to-date knowledge and experience of safeguarding. But don’t worry if you don't have someone with safeguarding experience on your team - there are lots of courses and trainings, such as Positive Learning or NSPCC. It would be reasonable to use group funds to pay for this training.

Start by reading our guide and watching our video below. You should also be familiar with these six key principles of safeguarding.

Watch our Webinar for DSLs below

Safeguarding Policy

This is an essential part of the application process.

Your first job as DSL will be to write a Safeguarding Policy. You should download and adapt our Template Safeguarding Policy, attached below.

If Citizens UK are your Lead Sponsor, you must use this template.

You should also send your Safeguarding Policy to the Local Authority Safeguarding Board to review. When you send your application to the Home Office, you should attach an email/letter to demonstrate that the LA have seen and approved it, or that they don't want to review it.

What Else Do I Need to Consider?

• Confidentiality

You will be privy to some very sensitive and private information about the family. It is important that as a group you have clear boundaries about what information or images you can disclose publicly about them. We have created a Confidentiality guidelines that you can adapt for your group. If we are your Lead Sponsor, we expect you to follow these guidelines.

• Recording and Storing Information

It is important to develop a safe process for recording and storing confidential information. The NSPCC have produced some helpful guidance about recording and storing information, which you can download here. We also cover this in our Guide for DSLs.

• Safe Recruitment and Training

It is very important that all volunteers follow safe recruitment practices (e.g. references, DBS checks), and attend Safeguarding Training. You should start this process once you have submitted your application.

We cover this in these sections: Training for Volunteers and Registering Key Volunteers.

Important Information

All volunteers who provide direct support to family should have a DBS check. Any volunteer who does not have a DBS check should always be accompanied by someone who does have a check.

Citizens UK will cover the costs of 5 Enhanced DBS checks. We will invoice the costs of any additional checks. Enhanced = £12 per person. Basic = £33 per person. (These are supplier costs; we do not make a profit)

We can accept existing DBS checks from another organisation if they are dated within 12 months of the family’s arrival date (or anytime if on the update service)·

• Safer Working Practices

It is also important to define some boundaries and develop safe spaces and working practices. We look at this in this module: Writing a Code of Conduct

• Family Safety

And when the family arrive, you will need to have a conversation with them to introduce yourself, explain your role, and help them to live safely in the UK. 

Additional Resources

We have also included some information about Safeguarding for Groups in Scotland, and a guide to reporting safeguarding concerns. And you can watch a recording of our training for Safeguarding Leads held in Summer 2020.