Safeguarding policy

Policy last updated 14 January 2026.

See change log for recent updates to this webpage.

Find out what's changed and why in the most recent updates to this policy.

Safeguarding is what we do to promote the welfare of girls, young women and adults, and to protect them from harm.

This policy explains our commitment to safeguarding, our expectations, and how Girlguiding HQ will respond to concerns.

It applies to all adult volunteers, adult members (all referred to as volunteers in policies), and staff in Girlguiding.

This policy also applies to all Girlguiding activities at any level which take place online, including:

• Any activities that take place over internet Girlguiding provides.
• Any Girlguiding activities that take place on non-Girlguiding affiliated digital platforms (like Zoom), social media (like Facebook), or devices, (like mobile phones or computers).

The Guide Association works in close partnership with other Girlguiding employers to respond to safeguarding matters where it includes country and region or local staff.

Volunteers should read this policy alongside the safeguarding procedure and communicating with young members procedure. Girlguiding employees should use the staff procedure on the intranet.

How to contact the HQ safeguarding team

If you have a safeguarding concern, report it. If it’s an emergency and there’s an immediate risk of harm, you must call the emergency services first, and then report to the HQ safeguarding team.

Get in touch during office hours on +44(0)207 834 6242 ext. 3037 or email [email protected].

For out of hours emergencies, call +44(0)7508 032997 (5-10pm Monday to Friday; 9am-10pm Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays).

If we don’t answer your call straight away or it’s outside our office hours, please send us an email explaining your concern, or call us once our lines are open again. Please don’t text the out-of-hours number as we can’t see these messages.

Definitions used in this policy

Our glossary lays out a few definitions of key terms that are used across our policies - take a look.

• Statutory agencies – includes the police, children’s social care, and designated officers (including Local Authority Designated Officers) and multi-agency safeguarding hubs.

Girlguiding’s commitment to safeguarding

We’re committed to safeguarding all adults and children, offline and online. Everyone has a right to live free from abuse, exploitation, harm and fear, and to be safe and well.

By following this policy you’ll help to create a safe space where all our members can have a great guiding experience.

Whilst harm can take place offline, online, and sometimes both, we know that some types of harm can happen only, or mostly online. We follow the same safeguarding principles for Girlguiding’s activities offline and online.

We respond to all types of safeguarding concerns, recent and non-recent, offline and online. These include but aren’t limited to:

• Abuse – such as physical, emotional, sexual, domestic, and child on child abuse, as well as neglect.
• Exploitation – such as child sexual exploitation, and child criminal exploitation.
• Harm – such as bullying and harassment, as well as grooming – both of which can take place offline and online, as well as self-harm and tradition-based practices (like female genital mutilation or forced marriage).
• Online specific harms – such as the promotion of self-harm, suicide and eating disorders, the sharing of illegal and inappropriate imagery, and cyberstalking.
• Specialist areas – such as mental wellbeing or mental capacity and radicalisation.

Our HQ safeguarding team will respond to all concerns and emails within 5 working days. In the event of an emergency or urgent report they’ll take action promptly. You can also contact your commissioner for support.

Expectations  

All adult volunteers, adult members, and staff must:

• Report all concerns, allegations and disclosures within 24 hours (or sooner if it’s an emergency) to the HQ safeguarding team. You don’t need to be certain about a concern before you report it. And never assume someone else has reported a concern.
• Work with the HQ safeguarding team and your commissioner to act when there’s a concern.
• Avoid 1-to-1 contact with a girl or young member, whether in person or online.
• Never contact a young member under 14 without permission from their parent or carer, unless it’s an emergency. This applies even if they contacted you first. If you receive an enquiry from a young external volunteer aged under 14, you may not have their parent or carer’s contact details. In this case, copy in another volunteer to your reply, asking for their parent or carer’s contact details.
• Avoid physical contact with a girl or young member. There are instances where it’s necessary, for example to demonstrate a skill, or for reasons of health and safety. But you should ask for consent first unless it’s an emergency and such contact should remain impersonal so there’s no risk of it being misinterpreted.
• Take care about what’s being said and the way it’s being said. Avoid anything which could be interpreted as aggressive, suggestive, or containing an innuendo.
• Consider inclusion and accessibility when you’re dealing with safeguarding issues.
• Make sure you do everything possible to stop access to illegal or inappropriate content on Girlguiding devices or devices used for Girlguiding activities. For example, using parental controls.
• Complete and continue to renew the mandatory safer guiding training relevant to your role. We’ll send you a reminder when you must renew your training.
• Report any ongoing or past safeguarding investigation involving you or someone you’ve had a significant relationship with. For example, investigations by statutory organisations, employers, or another organisation you volunteer for. A significant relationship includes, but isn’t limited to, family members, partners, and members of the same household.
• Members in British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies must abide by local legislation when applying this policy, where relevant.

How Girlguiding safeguards children and adults

• We take all concerns seriously. Our safeguarding team is on hand to support you with any concerns you might have.
• We help to safeguard children and adults by having mandatory safer guiding training for all volunteers, and have a robust volunteer and staff safeguarding structure in place.
• We recruit volunteers using our recruitment and vetting policy.
• We use our safeguarding procedure to manage allegations against volunteers.
• We have safeguarding volunteer leads at country and region level who support HQ and volunteers involved in handling safeguarding concerns.
• We share concerns and information with statutory agencies when appropriate.
• We ensure safeguarding concerns are shared with parents or carers where appropriate, unless doing so could place their child at increased risk.
• We have guidance around joint events, external visitors at unit meetings, and involving parents in Girlguiding activities.
• We aim to ensure that safeguards are in place in all our activities offline and online.
• We aim to incorporate best practice in online safeguarding in everything we do, and take action in line with best practice when a safeguarding incident happens.
• We help our volunteers to support members in being effective online, and support and train volunteers and staff in online safeguarding.
• Breaches of this policy by adult volunteers will be managed under the managing concerns about adult volunteers policy and procedure.
• Staff breaches will be managed in line with the relevant HR policy and/or procedure.

The board of trustees of the Guide Association have ultimate responsibility for safeguarding.