Governance

Safeguarding Policy

Last updated: 1 May 2026 · Version 1.0
Our commitment: Safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk is a fundamental responsibility of every charity. FAIR’s work touches directly on the safeguarding of children online - through our policy programme on AI and child safety - and we hold ourselves to a clear, written safeguarding standard from day one.

1. Scope and purpose

This policy applies to everyone acting on behalf of FAIR - trustees, members, employees (when appointed), volunteers, contractors, partners, and event speakers - in any FAIR activity, online or in person, in the United Kingdom or abroad. Its purpose is to ensure that FAIR’s work does not put any child, young person, or adult at risk of harm; and that, where harm or risk of harm is identified, FAIR responds appropriately and lawfully.

2. Statutory framework

FAIR’s safeguarding approach reflects:

3. Definitions

For the purposes of this policy:

4. Our approach

  1. Avoid contact in the absence of safeguards. FAIR does not deliver direct services to children or adults at risk. Where our work brings us into contact with these groups - for example, school visits, parliamentary advocacy alongside young campaigners, or research interviews - we operate under written safeguards agreed with the relevant institutional partner (school, local authority, parent/guardian).
  2. No unsupervised contact. FAIR personnel do not have unsupervised one-to-one contact with children or adults at risk.
  3. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Anyone whose role with FAIR involves contact with children or adults at risk is required to hold an enhanced DBS certificate before that contact begins.
  4. Trustee declarations. Every trustee confirms in writing, on appointment and annually, that they are not disqualified from acting as a trustee under the Charities Act 2011 and have no convictions or findings that bear on safeguarding.
  5. Online safety. Where FAIR’s communications, events, or content involve children or amplify content concerning children, we apply the standards set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Online Safety Act 2023.

5. Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for FAIR is, on an interim basis, the Founder, Scott McCulloch. The DSL is the first point of contact for any safeguarding concern raised within or about FAIR. On appointment of the full Board of Trustees, a Trustee with relevant experience will be appointed as Lead Safeguarding Trustee, and the DSL role will be reviewed.

Contact the DSL: info@airights.org.uk (mark the email Safeguarding).

6. Reporting a concern

If you have a concern about the welfare or safety of a child or adult at risk arising from FAIR’s work, please act:

  1. If a child or adult is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.
  2. Otherwise, contact FAIR’s DSL at info@airights.org.uk.
  3. You may also report directly to the relevant statutory authority - the local authority Children’s Services or Adult Social Care - or to the NSPCC (0808 800 5000), or to the Internet Watch Foundation at report.iwf.org.uk for child sexual abuse imagery, or to the Charity Commission as a Serious Incident.

FAIR will always cooperate fully with the police, the local authority, and the Charity Commission in any safeguarding investigation. We will not take steps that obstruct or prejudice any such investigation.

7. Confidentiality and information-sharing

Safeguarding concerns are handled with appropriate confidentiality. Information is shared on a need-to-know basis with statutory agencies in line with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK GDPR, and the statutory Information Sharing guidance. Where there is a serious risk of harm, the duty to safeguard takes precedence over confidentiality obligations.

8. Training

Trustees and staff (when appointed) receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role on induction, and refresher training thereafter. The DSL maintains a record of training completion.

9. Recruitment and induction

FAIR follows the principles of safer recruitment for any role involving contact with children or adults at risk - including DBS checks, written references, and structured interview. Induction includes briefing on this policy and the procedures it references.

10. Review

This policy is reviewed annually by the Board of Trustees, and earlier if the law, statutory guidance, or FAIR’s activities change in a material way. The DSL reports annually to the Board on safeguarding incidents, near-misses, and lessons learned.

11. Related policies