Involving volunteers, safeguarding and inclusion

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) supports the voluntary and community sector providing guidance and resources which strengthen and enable an independent and flourishing civil society. With a membership of more than 14,000 voluntary organisations ranging from large national bodies to local level community groups, volunteer centres and development agencies we signpost to many of their best practice resources:

1. NCVO Knowhow: Free resources and information to help you develop your volunteer programme.
2. Good practice in volunteer management.
3. Safeguarding for all volunteers: Creating a safe and welcoming environment, where everyone is respected and valued, is at the heart of safeguarding.
4. Recruiting and managing volunteers.
5. Volunteers and your organisation.
6. Take a look at NCVO's report Time Well Spent to find out how to better engage potential volunteers.  Insight into what is important to volunteers will help you retain and engage your volunteers. The report is the result of a national survey carried out through YouGov's panel with over 10,000 respondents.

Always contact your local Volunteer Centre first, they will have valuable local support networks and may run workshops on all things volunteering. Volunteer Centres are situated in most London boroughs and promote volunteering best practice and volunteer management. 

• search for your nearest Volunteer Centre
• helpful resources from two Volunteer Centres:
  • One Westminster Volunteer Centre 
  • Voluntary Action Camden.

The Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) are charitable organisations who support and represent the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors and are located in each borough (at the time of writing they operate in 29 of the 33 London boroughs). They offer services to Civil Society organisations such as training and development, networking and forums, advocacy and advice.  

Find a list of centres 

Guidance on volunteering internships and how to avoid job substitution:

• volunteer internships
• avoiding job substitution.

• government advice can be found in the form of the guidance document Charities and Insurance (CC49).  In this guidance they state "For insurance purposes, charities are advised to treat volunteers in the same way as they do their employees and to ensure that they are covered by the usual types of insurance a charity might buy, such as employers’ liability or public liability cover." This guidance applies to voluntary and community groups
• NCVO offers this free-to-all guidance helping you to understand what insurance you should have in place to protect both your volunteers and your organisation.

If you work with children, young people (under 18) or vulnerable adults you must have additional safeguarding policies in place to protect them. 

You also need safeguarding in place for any volunteers that you engage, whatever age. 

1. NCVO's suite of free safeguarding resources help you make sure your volunteers are recognised and considered in your policies and procedures and that you understand the levels of risk involved in your activities.  
2. The differences between safeguarding children and adults.
3. Creating Safeguarding Policies: Find out everything you need to know about creating the right safeguarding policies, forming the foundation of excellent volunteering management and strategy.
4. NSPCC: An introductory guide to safeguarding and child protection for the voluntary and community sector.
5. NSPCC: Guide to writing a safeguarding policy statement for children (NSPCC Learning). 
6. Child Protection and Safeguarding from One Westminster Volunteer Centre.
7. ​​​​DBS (Disclose and Barring Service) checks:

   • standard or enhanced checks are free for volunteers of eligible organisations

   • Safeguarding, vulnerable clients and DBS (NCVO)

   • The Government's Disclosure and Barring Service

   • Proving your eligibility to request DBS checks.

Find out more about managing and retaining volunteers.

1. Advice
   • Health & Safety Executive (HSE) advice and guidance:
   • Making your workplace COVID-secure 
   • Talking with your workers (and volunteers) about preventing COVID-19.
   • NCVO Advice for your organisation during COVID-19
   • The National Youth Agency produced this guidance on how to continue vital work with young people during COVID-19: National Youth Agency: Readiness Toolkit.
2. Prevention and social distancing
   • Up to date government guidance on staying alert and safe to help control COVID-19.
   • Health & Safety Executive: Social distancing
   • Prevention and social distancing.
   • Returning to work safely.
3. Risk Assessments
   • Managing risk assessment during COVID-19
   • What to include in your COVID-19 risk assessment (PDF)
   • Risk assessment (NCVO).
4. Cleaning, hygiene, hand washing
   • Cleaning, hygiene and handwashing to make your workplace COVID-secure (HSE)
   • Cleaning, hygiene and handwashing (NCVO).
5. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings
   • Using PPE at work during COVID-19
   • Sources of advice for employers and workers in health and social care
   • Sources of advice for using PPE in non-healthcare work during the (COVID-19) pandemic.
   • Use of PPE and face coverings.
6. Remote working: protecting staff and volunteers to work from home
   • Protecting home workers
   • Supporting staff to work from home
   • Managing health and wellbeing while working from home
   • Advice from Zurich about working from home.
7. Protecting vulnerable workers
   • Protecting vulnerable workers
   • Supporting staff, volunteers and beneficiaries and keeping safe.
8. The Mayor of London's Coronavirus hub
   • coronavirus updates and guidance from the Mayor of London.

1. This interesting blog from NCVO offers links, thoughts, opinions and signposting on issues of diversity and inclusion in volunteering.
2. Equality Act 2010.