Good governance underpins everything we do at The Advocacy Project, including our work on safeguarding. Our policy documents like the Advocacy Handbook – which encompasses safeguarding – involve discussion and approval by our board of trustees. Our board members have professional experience of safeguarding policies, procedures and best practice from other organisations and our service user board members are able to bring their unique perspective to how adults at risk might experience our safeguarding practice. In its role of oversight, scrutiny and challenge, our board reviews information about safeguarding cases our advocates have been involved with on a quarterly basis. Trustees and members of the senior leadership team have nominated areas of responsibility including:
Safeguarding Lead (adults and children)
Child Sexual Exploitation Lead
Caldicott Guardian
Data Protection Officer
Counter Fraud Lead
Senior Risk Officer
We work with many different commissioners, so it’s important we’re able to flex our governance framework to align with those in the settings in which we work. We develop engagement protocols with each of our commissioners to make sure we clearly define the interaction between our staff and theirs in relation to safeguarding. This experience of safeguarding governance in different contexts means we’re always checking and adjusting our reporting structures to make sure we’re operating in the best way for the changing circumstances of the environments in which we work.