This safeguarding risk assessment supports your organization to assess strengths and risk in relation to safeguarding, including policies, procedures, personnel and programs. The assessment tool is an excel spreadsheet – starting with an overview and directions for use on tab 1. The risk assessment should take between 1.5 to 3 hours to complete, assuming that the people completing the risk assessment are familiar with the operational and programmatic aspects of the organization. Ideally, the information is completed by the person named designated safeguarding lead with support from other staff such as a senior manager, board members and human resource staff. A consultative process with children, families and/or vulnerable adults will enrich the findings of the self-audit.
The information collected in the risk assessment can be used as a baseline for monitoring progress towards best practice safeguarding. The responses can be used for organizational planning and monitoring purposes and to work towards improvements, if and where these are needed. The risk assessment covers the following areas:
a) Policy: Assessing how the safeguarding policy is committed to preventing and responding appropriately to, harm to children;
b) People: Assessing the safeguarding responsibilities and expectations on the organization's representatives* and how they are supported to understand and act in line with these;
c) Procedures: Assessing the safeguarding procedures that are applied across the organization;
d) Accountability: Assessing how the organization monitors and reviews its safeguarding measures; and
e) Programming: A set of questions that map out the services / program interventions in order to have a clear picture of the programmatic context, potential safeguarding risks faced by children and young people, and vulnerable adults, and how best to integrate safeguards throughout program design and delivery.
A stop light system helps the organization to see areas of strength and areas for improvement.
