1. Our commitment
The safety and wellbeing of everyone who takes part in our work comes first. We do not accept abuse, neglect or exploitation of anyone. We take every concern seriously and act on it quickly.
2. Who this policy covers
This policy applies to our directors and to every associate who delivers work for us. It covers:
- children and young people: anyone under 18
- adults at risk: anyone aged 18 or over who has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and cannot protect themselves from it as a result of those needs.
Most of our work is with adults, often staff and volunteers of the organisations we work for. Our projects may still involve young people, adults at risk, or data about them.
The law and local arrangements differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We follow the arrangements in the nation where the person lives. Where a client has its own safeguarding procedures, we follow those and this policy.
3. Who leads on safeguarding
- Designated safeguarding lead: Doug Belshaw
- Deputy: Tom Watson
Contact them at safeguarding@fieldstation.xyz. The lead and deputy receive concerns, decide what to do and, if needed, pass concerns on. At least one of them is available throughout every project.
4. Spotting a concern
Abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, financial or through neglect. It can happen in person or online. Signs may show up in what someone says, how they behave, or what they share in a session or chat.
5. If someone tells you something worrying
- Stay calm, listen and take it seriously.
- Do not promise to keep it secret. Explain that you may need to share it to keep them or others safe.
- Do not ask leading questions or try to investigate.
- Tell them what you will do next and who you will tell.
6. Reporting a concern
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
- Otherwise, tell the designated safeguarding lead as soon as you can, and within 24 hours. If the lead is not available, tell the deputy.
- Write down what you saw or heard, in the person's own words where possible. Record facts, not your interpretation.
- The lead decides what to do. This may mean reporting to the local council's safeguarding team, the police, the client or another suitable body. The lead writes down the decision and the reasons.
- Share information only with people who need to know.
7. Online sessions
Most of our work happens online, so we take these extra steps:
- We share meeting links only with invited participants and use waiting rooms where the platform allows.
- We record a session only if we tell everyone beforehand and they agree. Anyone can keep their camera off.
- Facilitators can see and join breakout rooms, and we set clear expectations about behaviour in chat.
- If someone shares something worrying in a session or in chat, the facilitator follows it up privately and sensitively, then follows the reporting steps above.
- We do not hold one-to-one online sessions with anyone under 18 without another responsible adult present or the client's written agreement.
- Facilitators do not contact participants under 18 through personal accounts or private messages.
8. Concerns about someone who works with us
If a concern is about a director or associate, tell the designated safeguarding lead. If it is about the lead, tell the deputy. You can report a safeguarding concern straight to the local council's safeguarding team or the police at any time. Where the concern involves someone working with children in England, we contact the local authority designated officer (LADO), or the equivalent in other nations. We tell the client where the concern relates to its project.
9. Checks on facilitators
For each project, we ask the client whether facilitators need a criminal record check. This could be a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in England and Wales, a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland. The answer depends on how much contact they will have with children or adults at risk. Where checks are not needed or not available, we avoid unsupervised one-to-one contact. We write a short risk assessment covering the setting, the type of contact and the steps we take to reduce risk.
10. Records
We keep safeguarding records secure and apart from general project files, and only people who need them can see them. We handle them under our data protection policy. We agree with the client, or the relevant safeguarding body, how long to keep each record, and we write that down.
11. Training
The designated safeguarding lead and deputy complete recognised safeguarding training and refresh it regularly. Associates who work directly with participants learn about this policy, and how to spot and report concerns, before they start. We refresh this briefing on longer projects.
12. Useful contacts
- Emergency: 999
- Police, non-emergency: 101
- NSPCC Helpline, for adults worried about a child: 0808 800 5000
- Childline, for children and young people: 0800 1111
- Adult or children's social care: the local council where the person lives
13. Reviewing this policy
We review this policy every year, and after any safeguarding incident or near miss. We use what we learn to improve the policy and how we brief associates.