Introduction/background

Although Stewardship does not work directly with children and adults at risk, it is committed to proactively safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the ultimate communities being supported, staff, trustees and associates and to taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety and protection of those who come into contact with Stewardship.

This policy relates to Stewardship’s commitments to safeguarding and protecting the communities it is serving, as well as Stewardship staff, trustees and associates. Where any suspected wrongdoing is in relation to staff, the procedure set out in the Whistleblowing Policy should be followed, as appropriate.

We acknowledge the increased recognition of the way in which vulnerable people can be at risk of harm from organisations and institutions that are supposed to help them, either as a result of abuse and exploitation by individuals in positions of trust, or via programme activities in general.

Consequently, there has been a heightened increase in the efforts made by organisations to continually ensure that no harm comes to beneficiaries or target communities they are serving, from contact with their staff and associates or as a result of any of the organisation’s activities.

This duty of care extends beyond statutory safeguarding requirements. Stewardship does not engage in any activity with children or adults at risk that is regulated by domestic safeguarding legislation, but it does take seriously its obligations to operate in a way that ensures, so far as is possible, that its work does no harm to anyone with whom it engages.

Given these values, and in light of widely recognised risks, Stewardship has developed this policy to promote protection for all those people it comes into contact with, as well as staff and volunteers within Stewardship itself.

Should it come into contact with vulnerable groups (including children), Stewardship will take responsibility to ensure it is doing all it can to protect such groups from all forms of harm, including abuse, neglect and exploitation and to ensure appropriate action is taken if such harm occurs.

 

 

Understanding the risks

Vulnerable persons can be harmed, or put at risk of harm, by organisations and institutions, and abuse of vulnerable groups (including children) can happen in all types of organisations. Such harm may result from unintentional acts or deliberate actions.

Unintentional acts may lead to harm due to a lack of ‘due diligence’ or competence or through organisational negligence, such as inadequate care and supervision, lack of policies, procedures and guidance to inform programming and practice, or lack of staff compliance with legal requirements. Also, deliberate actions may be taken by people with intent to abuse vulnerable people.

Many of Stewardship’s grant partners are churches or Christian charities and Stewardship staff, trustees and associates require an understanding that ultimate beneficiaries could be subjected to Spiritual Abuse. Spiritual Abuse is a form of emotional and psychological abuse which is characterised by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour in a religious context. It is a misuse of positions of power and authority in places where people feel involved or invested in a community and fear being separated from it. It can have a deeply damaging impact on those who experience it.

 

 

Scope of this policy

1. For Stewardship staff

Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all Stewardship staff. For the purpose of this policy ‘staff’ is defined as anyone who works for, or is engaged by Stewardship, either in a paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time capacity. This includes directly employed staff, , , volunteers, interns and equivalents.

2. For Trustees and associates

Trustee and associates must act, at all times, in the best interests of Stewardship and the ultimate communities being served. They are expected to comply with this policy. This expectation is made clear to trustees through the Trustee Handbook.. 

3. For recipients of Stewardship grants (partners)

For organisations (partners) and Christian Workers to whom Stewardship makes grant payments, it is expected that they have appropriate safeguarding principles in place aligned to their activities. This expectation is made clear in our terms and conditions and is assessed during our due diligence processing when onboarding new partners, making substantial grants, carrying out periodic eligibility partner reviews and when Stewardship is alerted to issues from credible public sources.. 

 

Statement of commitment

Stewardship commits to taking all reasonable measures to ensure that vulnerable groups (including children) impacted by Stewardship’s staff, trustees, associates and grant partners are protected as far as possible from harm, including exploitation, neglect and abuse of all kinds  

Stewardship commits to:

 

1. Developing a zero tolerance ‘safety culture’ within Stewardship that creates and maintains protective environments.
2. Placing safeguarding at the heart of recruitment practices by requesting three written references, undertaking basic Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS) and checking qualifications and certifications, where appropriate.
3. Ensuring Stewardship staff, trsutees and associates are fully cognisant of safeguarding issues.
4. Increasing understanding and raising the awareness of staff within the organisation of risks relating to safeguarding, ensuring that appropriate guidance is provided for those with a greater exposure, for example those;
   1. visiting donors/clients
   2. undertaking training, conferences, events (and similar) both in person and on-line
   3. dealing with potential vulnerable donors, whether physically or via communication channels such as telephone or email
   4. with oversight of Stewardship's website and social media accounts
   5. arranging work experience
5. Taking appropriate and proportionate action if this policy is not complied with.
6. Developing procedures so that staff understand what constitute non-compliance with this policy.
7. Carrying out appropriate due diligence in respect of new grant partners, when conducting periodic partner reviews and when making significant grants. In addition, Stewardship will communicate safeguarding responsibilities to partners within accessible terms and conditions, which will request that they have appropriate controls and safeguarding measures in place, together with integrated safeguarding and onward reporting requirements.
8. Making sure safeguarding considerations are integrated into relevant activities of the Stewardship, for example during face-to-face training events and conferences.
9. Ensuring that all staff are aware of their responsibilities to report concerns and the steps to take/who to go to in order to report such concerns
10. Ensuring that safeguarding concerns are addressed promptly and through the appropriate channels.
11. Reporting safeguarding incidents, allegations or concerns to external authorities, regulators and auditors, as appropriate, and in accordance with best practice. Stewardship will fully assess such reporting to ensure that submitting a report is unlikely to cause further harm to the individual(s) to whom harm has already been caused
12. Ensuring that its Data Privacy Policy is regularly reviewed and aligned with its legal obligations under data protection and safeguarding legislation. In accordance with its zero-tolerance approach to misconduct, Stewardship will report any wrongdoing by trustees, staff or associates to the appropriate authorities. This may include the lawful sharing of relevant information necessary to protect individuals from harm. Stewardship may also provide fair, accurate, and appropriately detailed references that reflect its experience and interactions with trustees and staff, while ensuring compliance with applicable legal and regulatory standards

 

Embedding organisational commitment

To make its policy commitments a practical reality, Stewardship will instigate or strengthen measures to ensure the policy and associated procedures are in place, and that people are supported to understand and work within the policy's terms. This policy will be fully integrated into all activities and subject to ongoing monitoring and review.

Stewardship staff will receive regular training/briefing on their responsibilities and obligations under this policy, and it will form part of the induction for new staff and trustees.

Staff and trustees will be expected to acknowledge and accept their responsibilities under this policy. Breaches of the policy by staff will be treated seriously and will be treated as a potential cause for disciplinary action.

 

Reporting and responding to concerns

tewardship staff are required to immediately report any concerns or suspicions of possible or actual harm to staff or the communities they are serving. This includes abuse, exploitation, neglect and policy non-compliance, or risk of such, resulting from action or inaction by anyone covered by this policy. It also includes any suspected historic abuse. In the first instance, any such concerns or suspicions should be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Officer.

The person making the report should otherwise keep the matter strictly confidential and not seek to investigate the incident or suspicion themselves.

The Safeguarding Lead Trustee who sits on Stewardship’s board, will have oversight of the safeguarding and welfare incidents that arise. The Safeguarding Lead Trustee will have a standing agenda item at trustee meetings to ensure that trustees are appropriately appraised of matters that arise.

The names of the Designated Safeguarding Officer and Safeguarding Lead Trustee can be found in the Contact Information section at the end of this policy.

We are committed to reporting all relevant incidents to the Charity Commission for England and Wales via a Serious Incident Report. We will also report incidents to other regulatory or funding bodies and government departments, where appropriate. Where there is evidence that criminal activity may have taken place, or concerns have been raised in relation to a child or vulnerable adult, we will report to the relevant police and/or safeguarding authorities as appropriate.

Decisions to report to external authorities will be fully assessed and anonymisation or pseudonymisation considered when necessary. Reporting will not be avoided on the basis that it may harm Stewardship’s reputation or give rise to litigation. Any concerns in relation to data protection will not act as a barrier to reporting, although will be carefully considered to ensure that the disclosure is made within the appropriate legal framework.

Stewardship will develop strategies and procedures to ensure effective implementation of this policy and to enable the Designated Safeguarding Officer, the Board and others to monitor its performance.

Existing systems for risk management, due diligence, monitoring and evaluation, audit and review, and other organisational performance measures, will be adapted to include indicators and processes by which implementation of the Safeguarding Policy can be measured.  These processes will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they remain effective and up to date in respect of best practice.

Stewardship will implement and maintain a Whistleblowing Policy and a Complaints Policy; both aimed at encouraging a culture of openness and accountability. These policies will make clear that staff and members of the public can be confident that any matter of genuine concern can be raised without fear of reprisal, in the knowledge that they will be taken seriously and that matters will be investigated appropriately, managed on a need-to-know basis and with appropriate remedial action taken.

 

Policy Review

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice regularly. This policy will be reviewed by the board of trustees at least annually, when there is a change in UK law and/or best practice, or when an incident occurs that highlights a need for change (whichever occurs first).

 

Other Relevant Policies

The following Stewardship policies relate to contexts in which serious incidents may arise

 

1. Whistleblowing Policy
2. Complaints Policy
3. Social Media Policy
4. Employee Handbook

 

Contact Information

1. Stewardship’s Designated Safeguarding Officer(s) are Andrew Cusdin and Nicola Johnson, the Deputy Safeguarding Officers is Andy Lee.
2. Stewardship’s Safeguarding Lead Trustee is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee currently Edward Mishambi.

These individuals have access to the email inbox for reporting concerns, which are

[email protected]

[email protected]

If you are not comfortable with submitting your report via email to that address, please call 020 8505 5600 and ask to speak with the relevant person.

 

 

Publishing this policy

Stewardship will ensure that this policy is at all times publicly accessible on its website

Date of original policy: November 2019

Last reviewed: 18th June 2025

Date of next review of the policy: June 2026

 

Glossary of terms used in this policy

Term	Definition
Abuse	There are various types of abuse; Physical abuse – actual or potential physical harm perpetrated by another person e.g. hitting, shaking, pushing. Emotional abuse - a harm that can affects your mental well-being. Although it doesn’t leave physical scars, it can have a huge impact on confidence and self-esteem. Emotional abuse comes in many forms e.g. intimidation, threats, criticism, undermining. Sexual abuse - is a general term for any type of sexual activity inflicted on a person by someone without willing, active, unimpaired consent e.g. unwanted sexual touch, sexual assault (rape).
Anonymisation	The removal of identifying particulars or details from a report.
Associates	Individuals who are connected with Stewardship in various capacities, including committee members, contractors and consultants.
Child	According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is anyone under the age of 18.
Disciplinary action	Action taken by Stewardship for dealing with staff who causes problems or do not adhere company policies e.g. suspending or removing them from their job.
Domestic safeguarding legislation	Relates to the legislation that covers specific industries e.g. The Care Act 2014.
Due Diligence	The reasonable care that Stewardship undertakes to avoid harm to the individuals and organisations that it supports and the charity.
Exploitation	Refers to the use of an individual for ones’ own benefit, gratification or satisfaction.
Harm	Refers to a negative impact on an individual’s physical, emotional, spiritual or behavioural health and well-being. Violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation often lead to an individual being harmed.
Neglect	Failure, either deliberate or through carelessness, to an act or series of actions or events which lead to harm.
Pseudonymisation	The replacement of the most identifying fields within a database with artificial identifiers, or pseudonyms e.g. a name is replaced with a unique number.
Risk assess	The action of investigating and evaluating risk.
Safeguarding	Describes the steps taken to protect people from harm, including partners (recipients), staff and volunteers, and other people who come into contact with Stewardship and/or its partners. While safeguarding principally refers to the prevention of harm, it also encompasses practices to handle incidents and/or complaints.
Safety culture	A definition of the way in which safety is managed in Stewardship. It is the combination of beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of employees toward the safety of colleagues and the overall safety of the work environment.
Spiritual Abuse	Spiritual abuse is a form of emotional and psychological abuse. It is characterised by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour in a religious context. Spiritual abuse can have a deeply damaging impact on those who experience it. However, holding a theological viewpoint is not inherently spiritually abusive, but misuse of scripture, applied theology and doctrine are often components of spiritually abusive behaviour.
Vulnerable People/Groups	Those that are at a heightened risk of harm, due to various circumstances e.g., age, frailty, ill health, disability.
Zero Tolerance	Appliance of rules or penalties to even minor infringements of a code in order to reinforce its overall importance.