Home / Safeguarding policy

Safeguarding policy

Everyone who encounters our charity — volunteers, community members, donors, staff of our partner organisations — has the right to be safe, respected and heard.

Policy version: 4.0 · Adopted by Trustees: January 2025 · Next review: January 2026

1. Our commitment

The Forrester Foundation Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society is committed to safeguarding all people who come into contact with our work — including UK and international volunteers, children and young people, vulnerable adults, community members in the Sri Lankan villages we operate alongside, and staff of our field partners. This policy is adopted by our Trustees and applies to every trustee, volunteer, contractor and partner representative acting in our name.

We take the position that safeguarding is not only a legal obligation but a core operational value. A charity that cannot protect the people who encounter it cannot, in our view, be doing conservation well either.

2. Scope

This policy covers:

  • All volunteers on our Ruhuna ranger placements and Rekawa turtle programmes.
  • All trustees and UK-based volunteers.
  • All representatives of our Sri Lankan field-partner organisations while they are delivering Foundation-funded work.
  • Any member of the public who attends a Foundation event, fundraiser or outreach visit.

3. Types of abuse and harm we recognise

We recognise the full range of abuse types identified under the UK Care Act 2014, the Children Act 1989 and related international frameworks, including: physical abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, financial or material abuse, discriminatory abuse, organisational abuse, modern slavery and trafficking, and online or digital abuse. We also recognise the specific risks associated with power imbalance in international development settings, and take those risks seriously.

4. Named safeguarding lead

Our Trustee-level safeguarding lead is James Thornley. James is a retired headteacher with substantial experience of child and adult safeguarding in UK schools. Safeguarding reports should be directed to:

safeguarding@forresterfoundation.org

In the event that the concern involves the safeguarding lead or another trustee, reports can be directed to the Chair of Trustees at chair@forresterfoundation.org or to the UK Charity Commission as a Serious Incident.

5. Reporting procedures

  1. Immediate safety first. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services (in the UK, dial 999; in Sri Lanka, dial 119 for police or 110 for the Suwa Sariya ambulance service).
  2. Report as soon as reasonably possible. Concerns should be raised within 24 hours of becoming aware of them, by email to the safeguarding lead.
  3. Triage and acknowledgement. The safeguarding lead will acknowledge receipt within 48 hours and triage the concern into: (a) immediate external referral (police, social services, equivalent Sri Lankan authorities), (b) internal investigation, or (c) both.
  4. Investigation. Internal investigations are conducted by at least two trustees not directly involved in the concern, in line with procedural fairness and confidentiality.
  5. Outcome and reporting. Serious incidents are reported to the Charity Commission for England and Wales under its Serious Incident Reporting regime. Criminal matters are reported to the appropriate police authority.

6. Volunteer screening

Every UK-based volunteer working in any capacity involving children, young people or vulnerable adults is required to hold a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. All field-placement volunteers are required to:

  • Complete a written application including two referees.
  • Undergo a structured interview with at least two trustees.
  • Sign the Foundation's Code of Conduct before travel.
  • Complete safeguarding induction, including specific modules on power, consent and cultural context in Sri Lanka.

Equivalent screening requirements are applied to Sri Lankan field-partner staff through our partner agreements, with contextually appropriate mechanisms.

7. Code of conduct

Our Code of Conduct sets out clear expectations for behaviour during Foundation work, including: treating every community member with dignity; not entering into financial, sexual or exploitative relationships with community members or partner staff; respecting local laws, customs and language; reporting concerns promptly; and accepting the authority of Sri Lankan partner leads in the field. Breach of the Code of Conduct is grounds for immediate removal from Foundation activities.

8. Confidentiality and whistleblowing

We treat safeguarding reports with the highest level of confidentiality consistent with effective safeguarding. Information is shared only with those who need it to act. We also operate a whistleblowing policy that protects individuals who raise concerns in good faith from any form of retaliation.

9. Review

This policy is reviewed by the Trustees at least annually and immediately following any Serious Incident or material change in our operations. The current policy supersedes all previous versions.

10. Raising a concern

If you have a safeguarding concern at any time, please write to safeguarding@forresterfoundation.org, or use our contact form with the subject "Safeguarding concern". You will be taken seriously, and you will receive a response.