Safeguarding Policy

1. Purpose and Scope
This policy statement sets out our core commitments to protecting all individuals who are members of our charity from harm, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
This policy applies to all members of the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain (HRGB).

2. Definitions
This policy recognises vulnerable people as:

  • Children up to the age of 16 or young people aged 16-18.
  • Adults aged over 18 at risk as defined by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. This might include adults with a learning or physical disability, a physical or mental illness, chronic or otherwise, including an addiction to alcohol or drugs, or reduced physical or mental capacity. This policy also recognises risk is determined by the activity an adult is taking part in and not solely on the personal characteristics or circumstances of the adult, as such any adult can be at risk, and the risk can be temporary.

3. Our Core Beliefs

  • We believe that no child, young person or adult should ever experience abuse or harm of any kind.
  • We recognise that we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk.
  • We are committed to safeguarding the well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk we come into contact with and to protecting them from harm.
  • We will give equal priority to keeping everyone safe regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
  • We recognise that some individuals are additionally vulnerable due to the impact of discrimination, past trauma, communication needs, or levels of dependency.

4. How We Keep People Safe
We will seek to keep children and adults safe by:

  • Valuing and listening to them.
  • Appointing National and Regional Safeguarding Leads to handle concerns relating to children and adults.
  • Maintaining clear codes of conduct that outline expected behaviours for adults and children at our events.
  • Sharing information about safeguarding concerns appropriately with statutory agencies (such as local authority children's or adults' social care teams, and the police) while maintaining strict GDPR compliance.

5. Supporting Documents & Procedures

6. Contact Details

Review Date: This policy will be reviewed annually (or sooner if legislation changes) and formally approved by the HRGB National Executive Committee.
 

Last Reviewed: October 2026

Detailed Procedures

Procedures at Events - Summary

Consent forms

Working with Children DBS Guidance