What is safeguarding 

Safeguarding refers to measures designed to protect the health, wellbeing and human rights of individuals.  These measures allow adults and children to live free from abuse, harm and neglect.  

Abuse, harassment and harm can happen to anyone including people we work with, staff or volunteers. It’s not always visible and often not spoken about. 

 

Our commitment to safeguarding 

At the Ramblers we are committed to following good practice.  We take our responsibilities for safeguarding extremely seriously, recognising that we have a duty of care to our staff, members, volunteers, supporters and members of the public.   

The welfare of children and adults is paramount in all the work, events, activities and programmes we carry out, as well as the decisions we make.  It is important to value, listen to and respect all views and opinions.  All children and adults, regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, marital or gender status have the right to be protected from abuse and poor practice and to participate in an enjoyable and safe environment. 

We will seek to ensure that we are inclusive and make reasonable adjustments for any ability, disability or impairment, we will also commit to continuous development, monitoring and review.  The rights, dignity and worth of all children and adults will always be respected.  We recognise that ability and disability can change over time and that some children and adults may be additionally vulnerable to abuse, in particular those with care and support needs. 

We all have a shared responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all and will act appropriately and report concerns whether these concerns arise within the Ramblers or in the wider community.  All allegations will be taken seriously and responded to quickly in line with our Safeguarding policy and procedure documents.  The Ramblers recognises the role and responsibilities of the statutory agencies in safeguarding and is committed to complying with their procedures.  

 

Good practice, poor practice and abuse 

It can be difficult to distinguish poor practice from abuse, whether intentional or accidental.  It is not the responsibility of any individual involved to make judgements regarding whether or not abuse is taking place. Everyone is responsible for recognising and identifying poor practice and potential abuse, and to act on this if they have concerns. 

 

Training 

Everyone at the Ramblers will have access to the Safeguarding policy and Safeguarding procedure and is expected to help implement this across the charity.   

All staff and appropriate volunteers should undertake some form of safeguarding training that is relevant to their role.     

 

Accessibility and inclusion 

The Ramblers is built on the belief that everyone deserves the right to experience the joy of walking outdoors.  We strive to be diverse, inclusive and accessible in how we offer and promote our activities.  

 

Reporting a safeguarding concern 

If you have any concerns related to a safeguarding issue please complete a Safeguarding reporting form (DOCX, 16KB) and email it to safeguarding@ramblers.zendesk.com.   

 

Dealing with complaints 

We know that things don’t always go to plan. If get things do go wrong, it’s important we know so we can find out what happened, understand why, and prevent a reoccurrence.  

If you have a complaint, please email ramblers@ramblers.zendesk.com or telephone 020 3961 3232 

We will respond to you as quickly as possible and try to resolve the issue promptly.   Sometimes things may take a little longer if we need to ask our internal experts for advice and guidance.  We will always keep you updated on what is happening.  

 

Resolving your issue 

If we don’t resolve the matter to your satisfaction you can refer it to the relevant external regulator. 

Complaints relating to fundraising or membership: Fundraising Regulator  

Complaints relating to the use of personal data: Information Commissioner’s Office 

Complaints relating to our charitable work: Charity Commission