We take safeguarding seriously - the safeguarding of those people who maybe attending one of our events or on our mailing lists/facebook group and of our team of volunteers.  If you have any questions regarding safeguarding please talk to one of the team, named below.

1 Introduction

1.1 Wilder Hook (WH) is an organisation made up entirely of volunteers, engaging in activities associated with wildlife as detailed in its Constitution: no staff are employed by the group.

1.2 WH is committed to the principle that all children (people under 18) and adults have the right to protection from abuse regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

1.3 WH takes safeguarding of children and adults very seriously and has put in place policies and procedures to promote this insofar as is practical with regard to the activities in which WH engages and the resources at its disposal.

1.4 WH does not engage in Regulated Activities as defined in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, and therefore does not require its trustees and volunteers to be DBS checked.

1.5 This Policy was approved in October 2025 and will be reviewed every 2 years.

2 Statement of policy

2.1 No child or vulnerable adult can be admitted to a WH activity unless accompanied by an adult who accepts full responsibility for their care.

2.2 At no time are trustees, members or other volunteers permitted to take responsibility for the care of children or vulnerable adults.

2.3 WH will designate one or more Safeguarding Leads with appropriate training who will be responsible for managing safeguarding measures and incidents during activities.

2.4 If any incident is seen by or reported to a Safeguarding Lead they will take appropriate action to:

• Minimise as far as is practical any harm to the child or vulnerable adult
• Record details of the incident
• Report the matter to the appropriate authorities.

3 Safeguarding Leads

3.1 The Safeguarding Leads are:

• Amanda Whittaker
• Sharon Cripps
• Anna Shergold
• Pete West

or such other persons as shall be agreed by the WH Committee from time to time.

3.2 At least one Safeguarding Lead should be present at all WH activities involving volunteers or members of the public.

4 Training and Awareness

4.1 The Safeguarding Leads should ensure that all trustees and people in management roles at WH activities are aware of what to do in case of a safeguarding incident.

4.2 If any trustee or person in a management role is unsure about what constitutes a safeguarding incident or what to do in such circumstances they should consult a Safeguarding Lead.

5 Procedures

5.1 When a child or vulnerable person accompanied by an adult presents at a WH activity the activity manager or a Safeguarding Lead should explain to that adult, either individually or as part of a briefing to a group of attendees, that they are solely responsible for the care of the child or vulnerable person.

5.2 If an unaccompanied child or adult who appears vulnerable presents at a WH activity they should not be admitted to the activity, but a Safeguarding Lead should be informed; the Safeguarding Lead will then decide on the appropriate action, such as:

• If there appears to be no reasonable cause for concern, admitting the adult to the activity
• If that person has been delivered by an apparently responsible adult, contacting that adult and explain that WH cannot admit that person
• Suspending the activity.

5.3 If a safeguarding incident is reported to or observed by a Safeguarding Lead they should follow the process set out in the WH Safeguarding Procedures document.

6 Confidentiality and information sharing

6.1 All trustees, members and volunteers have a duty to maintain confidentiality at all times. In line with Data Protection law, any information obtained during a safeguarding incident should not be shared with other people or agencies unless there is sufficiently good reason to do so, such as to aid a criminal investigation.

6.2 However, information will be shared with authorities if a person is deemed to be at risk of immediate harm. Sharing the right information, at the right time, with the right people can make all the difference to preventing harm. For further guidance on information sharing and safeguarding see https://www.scie.org.uk/safeguarding/adults/practice/sharing-information.

 

 

V1.0 21/10/25 as approved by committee on 20/10/25