Safeguarding Policy

LAST UPDATED: September 2021

Digital Xtra Fund’s Safeguarding Policy concerns the personal safety and wellbeing of children participating in initiatives supported by the Charity.

Child Protection

Children have the right to be protected from harm. While Digital Xtra Fund does not work with young people directly, we support a variety of schools, charities, companies, public bodies, and other organisations who do. As such, Digital Xtra Fund’s Safeguarding Policy communicates the expectations we hold for each of our grant recipients to: 1) keep children safe and 2) how to respond to child protection concerns.

Grant recipients must ensure all people doing ‘regulated work’ with children are subject to relevant checks. More information can be found at:

• Disclosure Scotland: Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership scheme (mandatory in Scotland)
• OSCR: Interim Safeguarding Guidance: Keeping vulnerable beneficiaries safe
• NSPCC: ‘A step-by-step guide for the voluntary and community sector’ 2019 UK Edition (and many other useful tools and guidance)
• Catalyst: ‘Digisafe: A step-by-step guide to digital safeguarding’
• Girlguiding UK: Excellent example of a Digital Safeguarding Policy

Grant recipients must have an organisational Child Protection Policy which includes clear steps in the event of an incident or disclosure by a child, including who to inform and how to contact them.

Grant recipients must provide child protection training to staff and/or volunteers who have unrestricted face-to-face contact with children and young people – this training must be appropriate to the nature of the work, cover the organisation’s policies and procedures, and be refreshed regularly. Ideally, the management committee or board should also have appropriate safeguarding awareness training as a group.

Equality

In addition, the Equality Act 2010 protects children, young people and adults against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation in relation to housing, education, clubs, the provision of services and work. Discrimination is broadly unfair treatment related to:

Digital Xtra Fund expects all grant recipients to take active steps to eliminate discrimination and to implement positive measures to promote equality. We also expect all grant recipients ensure any policies or procedures in place do not unlawfully discriminate within the meaning and scope of the Equality Act 2010 or any statutory modifications or re-enactments thereof relating to discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

Digital Xtra Fund reserves the right to immediately withdraw funding at any point from successful applicants found to not have appropriate policies in place as relates to the above.