People, place and program

Our practice

Our safeguarding framework explains how we work to keep people safe. It helps make sure our people, places, and programs are free from harm and abuse.

We have clear policies and processes that explain what good practice looks like and how we work to keep everyone safe.

Our Salvos quality framework focuses on ongoing improvement so our programs and services are safe, seamless, effective, and centred on the needs of people.

People

We have safeguarding requirements that show how serious The Salvation Army is about keeping people safe. These include a worker code of conduct.

We make sure paid staff and volunteer workers are suitable for their roles by using:

• The same onboarding process for everyone.
• Background and integrity checks.
• Interviews and referee checks.

All staff and volunteers are trained in:

• Safe behaviour.
• Spotting risks.
• Work health and safety.
• Safeguarding basics (and extra training for child-related roles).
• Leaders are trained to recognise grooming behaviour and know what to do.

This helps them understand risks and feel confident to speak up if something feels wrong.

If something does happen to go wrong or a complaint is raised, our people focus on understanding what happened by asking:

• Who was involved?
• What role did they have?
• What happened?
• Who was there at the time?

Our safeguarding specialists support site managers to respond properly to incidents and complaints.

Learning from incidents and complaints is important to us. We regularly ask how we can improve our practices to control any risk of harm by our people in the future.

Place

Our buildings and online spaces are designed and set up to be as safe as possible.

Site managers are supported to make spaces safer by thinking about:

• Good visibility and clear sight lines.
• Accessibility and inclusion for everyone.
• Our spaces are welcoming and inclusive, including for First Nations peoples and people from different cultures.
• Only approved websites and apps are used, and parents or carers are included in communication.
• We regularly check physical and online spaces to make sure they are safe.

Clear and detailed information about what happened helps us investigate incidents carefully. We look at:

• Where it happened.
• Whether anything about the environment made things unsafe.
• What can be changed to stop it from happening again.

We review whether anything about the location or the environment contributed to the incident. We focus on what can be changed to prevent it from happening again.

Program

We use national tools and resources to plan activities well:

• Activities are checked and approved before they take place.
• Everyone is encouraged to speak up if something doesn’t feel safe.
• Leaders clearly explain what behaviour is expected from participants.

We plan for safety, including work health and safety, in all activities:

• Activities are planned with safety in mind, considering age, equipment, location, and risk.
• Camps and overnight activities get extra safety planning.
• Risks are reviewed before activities begin.
• Parents or carers receive information about activities.
• After activities, we review what went well and what could be improved.

We help community members understand their rights, the expected behaviour of our workers, and how to make a complaint. When responding to an incident or complaint, we ask:

• Which activity or program was involved?
• Has it finished, or is it still going on?
• What safety rules were in place?
• How are risks being managed now?

We look at how risks are managed for each activity or program now and how we can improve in the future.

• We actively collect feedback and concerns from participants, community members, and workers to help improve our programs over time.