Safeguarding Policy

Last updated: 7 May 2026

1. Policy Statement and Purpose

Climate Transition 2100 CIC (“CT2100”) believes that no individual should ever experience abuse, harm, or exploitation under any circumstances, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnic origin. We acknowledge our absolute duty of care to implement comprehensive procedures that safeguard the physical, mental, and social well-being of all participants, beneficiaries, staff, and volunteers.

The purpose of this policy is to protect children and adults at risk who participate in our programmes from any harm and abuse that may arise from coming into contact with CT2100. This includes harm arising from:

The conduct of staff or representatives associated with CT2100.
The design or implementation of CT2100’s programmes and activities.

This policy lays out the commitments made by CT2100 and informs all personnel of their structural responsibilities. It does not cover general safeguarding concerns in the wider community that are entirely unrelated to the operations of CT2100.

2. Designated Roles & Accountability

To ensure clear, legally compliant lines of communication and accountability, the following individuals are responsible for safeguarding oversight within the organisation:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Rosita Swan (Board Director)
Email: safeguarding@climate-transition2100.org
Board Safeguarding Representative (Escalation Lead): Chan-Yau Chong (Board Chairman)
Email: accessibility@climate-transition2100.org

(Note: If a concern involves the Board Director, reports must be made directly to the Escalation Lead).

3. Policy Scope

This policy applies universally to all individuals representing or working under the auspices of CT2100, including:

Board Directors and staff members (permanent, temporary, fixed-term, or casual).
Associated personnel (advisors, volunteers, and interns).
External parties (project partners, contractors, consultants, and guest speakers).

4. Core Definitions

To ensure universal clarity across our operations and multicultural chapters, the following legal and operational definitions apply under UK law:

Child / Children : Any individual under the age of 18 years, regardless of their legal or social standing (Children Act 1989).
Youth Adult: Any individual between the ages of 18 and 24 years who may require transitional support.
Adult at Risk: Any individual aged 18 or over who has needs for care and support (whether temporary or permanent due to age, frailty, physical/mental illness, or disability) and, because of those support needs, is unable to protect themselves against the experience or risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation (Care Act 2014).
Harm & Abuse: Any form of physical, sexual, or emotional harm; neglect or negligent treatment; financial or material abuse; bullying or harassment (online or in person); cyber abuse; radicalisation; exploitation; or the abuse of a position of trust.
Safeguarding Incident: Any instance where a safeguarding concern, risk, or allegation is raised, witnessed, or disclosed. This encompasses confirmed issues, suspected risks, historical disclosures, or formal complaints.

5. Promoting a Culture of Safeguarding

CT2100 integrates safeguarding as an uncompromised priority through the following operational pillars:

Clear Governance: The Board formally appoints the DSL to oversee policy enforcement, maintain secure and confidential safeguarding risk logs, and coordinate all external statutory referrals.
Public Transparency: This policy statement, along with clear and accessible reporting pathways, shall be made openly available to participants and communities.
Partner Management: We encourage and require our external partners, contractors, and project affiliates to align with or implement equivalent safeguarding policies.

6. Code of Conduct

All Board Directors, staff members, and associated personnel must adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct. You must not:

Engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18 related to any CT2100 programme or activity.
Sexually abuse, exploit, or groom children or adults at risk.
Use profane language, swear, utter insults, unkindly tease, or speak and behave in ways that may frighten, demean, or shame children or adults at risk.
Use physical punishment, humiliation, fear, or threats in discipline or behaviour management.
Subject a child or adult at risk to physical, emotional, or psychological abuse, or neglect.

7. Prevention and Risk Management

To proactively manage risks during community services, CT2100 will:

Ensure all personnel have immediate access to, and receive training on, their responsibilities within this policy at a level commensurate with their role.
Design and undertake all programmes in a manner that minimises risk, including secure data-handling processes for information gathered from participants.
Implement stringent safer recruitment procedures when hiring staff and volunteers.
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are mandatory for any individual entering a "Regulated Activity".
Promptly follow up on all reports of safeguarding concerns according to strict due process.

8. Incident Reporting Pathway

CT2100 provides safe, appropriate, and accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns. Our reporting structure follows a pathway depending on the source of the report, aligned with our operational procedures:

This is a graph to show the communication flow of the reporting procedures. When there is a suspected or disclosure of safeguarding issues, CT2100 staff will report to the DSL. If the DSL is implicated, the staff should report to Board Chair (Escalation Lead) to conduct initial assessment. If associated personnel or external partners observe the safeguarding issues, they will notify their contact point at CT2100. If the contact point is implicated, they will contact DSL directly.

8.1 Whistleblower Protection & Confidentiality

The CT2100 Staff Handbook contains a comprehensive whistleblowing clause. If personnel raise a genuine, good-faith safeguarding concern, the organisation guarantees protection from reprisals, victimisation, or dismissal.

Information relating to safeguarding concerns will be treated with strict confidentiality. Identity will not be disclosed without explicit consent except on a strict, legal "need-to-know" basis. All documents and communications will be digitally recorded and securely stored for 7 years.

9. Response Framework

CT2100 implements the Four-Rs approach to handle all safeguarding concerns efficiently:

Step 1: Response

Immediate Danger: If an individual is in immediate physical danger or requires urgent medical care, call emergency services (999) immediately.
Take immediate, practical steps to stabilise the situation and ensure the physical safety of everyone present.
Listen reassuringly to disclosures without pressing or cross-examining the individual.

Step 2: Record

Record the details exactly as disclosed or observed using objective, factual, and non-judgmental language.
Do not attempt to investigate the allegation independently.
Forward a confidential written report to the DSL within 24 hours, detailing:

What happened (factual observations/statements).
When it happened (date and time).
What the context/environment was.
Who was present (victims, alleged perpetrators, and witnesses).

Step 3: Report

Submit the report directly to the DSL (or the Board Chair if the DSL is implicated).
The DSL or Board Chair will acknowledge the referral and initiate an internal log within 48 hours of receipt.

Step 4: Referral

The DSL will review the incident report and evaluate it against local authority thresholds.
Where thresholds are met, the DSL will coordinate external escalations to appropriate statutory stakeholders (e.g., Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), Children's or Adults' Social Care) or the Police.
CT2100 reserves the right to suspend or dismiss any staff member or associated personnel found in breach of this policy. Notifications will be shared responsibly with the Board and relevant funders as required by funding agreements.

10. Core Responsibilities of the DSL

The DSL is structurally responsible for:

Ensuring the Safeguarding Policy and procedures are reviewed annually and kept legally up to date.
Maintaining the secure, confidential, and restricted-access Safeguarding Risk Log.
Providing advice, casework support, and direct guidance to staff on active safeguarding issues.
Overseeing formal referrals to UK statutory authorities and contributing actively to multi-agency case reviews.
Ensuring appropriate safeguarding training updates are deployed across the organisation.

11. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors, or triggered earlier by significant organisational shifts, operational expansions, or changes to UK statutory safeguarding legislation.

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