The Boys’ Brigade is a Christian Youth Organisation and a registered charity. It provides opportunities for children and young people aged from 4 – 18 years, of all faiths and none, and any background, to learn, grow and discover in a safe, fun, and caring environment, which is rooted in the Christian Faith.
The Boys’ Brigade is committed to providing a safe environment for our young people, our volunteer leaders and our staff. This policy seeks to ensure that The Boys’ Brigade undertakes its responsibilities regarding the protection of adults at risk and will respond to any concerns appropriately. This policy establishes the framework to support volunteers and staff in their practice and outlines the organisation’s expectations. All staff and volunteers have a responsibility to follow the guidance and to pass on any safeguarding, safety or welfare concerns using the relevant procedures.
There is a range of Legislation in England, Wales, and Scotland that governs this policy.
The Safeguarding Panel will regularly review and update this policy in line with any Legislative changes.
Legislation and procedures in the Republic of Ireland are significantly different to those in England, Wales, and Scotland. See here for safeguarding in The Boys’ Brigade in the Republic of Ireland.
The Safeguarding Adults Legislation creates specific responsibilities for Local Authorities, Health and the police to provide additional protection from abuse and neglect to adults at risk. When a Local Authority has reason to believe there is an adult at risk, they have a responsibility to find out more about the situation and decide what action needs to be taken to support the adult.
An adult at risk is an individual aged 18 and over who:
An adult at risk is an individual aged 18 years and over who:
An adult at risk is an individual aged 16 years and over who:
This BB adults at risk of harm Policy also applies to young people over the age of 16 in Scotland in situations where the child protection procedures there may not apply.
An adult at risk of harm may include a person who: Has a learning disability, has a physical or sensory disability, has a mental illness, has a severe physical illness, is elderly and frail, or is homeless. They may be unable to take care of themselves (including self-neglect) or protect themselves from harm or exploitation.
Safeguarding adults at risk of harm is about embedding practices within The Boys’ Brigade to ensure the protection of vulnerable adults wherever possible. Adult protection is the activity, which is undertaken to protect specific adults who are, or are likely to be at risk of harm. Adults requiring protection may include Staff, Volunteers, and parents of Young People.
England, Wales and Scotland each have Principles of Adult Safeguarding embedded within their legislation and protective action
Empowerment – Adults should be supported and encouraged to express their views, make their own decisions, and give informed consent in all aspects of safeguarding processes.
Prevention – Safeguarding actions should focus on the prevention of future harm and not be restricted to considering whether or not harm has occurred. This will include providing adults with information and advice about what they can do to keep themselves safe and protect their well-being.
Proportionality – Any intervention should be proportionate, taking into consideration the level of risk and role and remit of The Boys’ Brigade. In many situations, the appropriate response will be to signpost individuals to appropriate sources of help and support.
Protection – Action will be taken to provide support and representation for those in greatest need. If there is a reasonable concern that statutory intervention may be appropriate, The Boys’ Brigade will refer the matter to the appropriate statutory agency.
Partnership – Where necessary, The Boys’ Brigade will work in partnership with professionals in community services. Any personal and sensitive information will be treated as confidential and only shared with consent or when necessary due to the level of risk to an individual.
Accountability – The Boys’ Brigade will be accountable and transparent in delivering safeguarding. When intervening in adult safeguarding matters, this will include recording actions taken and the reasons for taking them.
Responsibility – Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
Well-being – Any actions taken must safeguard the person’s well-being.
Person-centred approach – Understand what outcomes the adult wishes to achieve and what matters to them.
Voice and control – Expect people to know what is best for them and support them to be involved in decision-making about their lives.
Language – Make an active offer of use of the Welsh language and use professional interpreters where other languages are needed.
Prevention – It is better to take action before harm occurs.
The overarching principle underlying Part 1 of the Act is that any intervention in an individual’s affairs should provide benefit to the individual and should be the least restrictive option of those that are available, which will meet the purpose of the intervention.
This is supported by a set of guiding principles which, together with the overarching principle, must be taken into account when performing functions under Part 1 of the Act. These are:
The adult’s abilities, background and characteristics (including their age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, religious persuasion, racial origin, ethnic group and cultural and linguistic heritage).
Abuse experienced by adults can include self-neglect, modern slavery, domestic violence and abuse, discrimination, organisational, physical, sexual, neglect and acts of omission, emotional and financial. Like children in need of protection, adults can also suffer from bullying online (cyberbullying), forced marriage, hate crime and radicalisation. Abuse can be caused deliberately or unintentionally.
Self-neglect This covers a wide range of behaviour, neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings. It may include behaviour such as hoarding. It may impact other family members, and this could give rise to additional safeguarding concerns.
Modern Slavery This encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced labour, and domestic servitude.
Domestic Abuse This includes psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse perpetrated by anyone within a person’s family. It also includes so-called “honour” based violence, and withholding medical treatment, and access to professional services.
Discriminatory Abuse This is discrimination on grounds of race, gender and gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, or religion. It can include verbal abuse, inappropriate language, treatment, slurs, harassment and deliberate exclusion
Organisational This includes neglect and poor care practice within an institution or specific care setting, such as a hospital or care home, or in relation to care provided in one’s own home. Organisational abuse can range from one-off incidents to ongoing ill-treatment. It can be through neglect or poor professional practice because of the structure, policies, processes, and practices within an organisation.
Physical This includes hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, restraint, and misuse of medication. It can also include inappropriate sanctions.
Sexual This includes rape, indecent exposure, FGM, sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, sexual teasing or innuendo, sexual photography, subjection to pornography or witnessing sexual acts, indecent exposure and sexual assault, or sexual acts to which the adult has not consented, or was pressured into consenting.
Financial or Material This includes theft, fraud, internet scamming, and coercion in relation to an adult’s financial affairs or arrangements, including in connection with wills, property, inheritance, or financial transactions. It can also include the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions, or benefits.
Neglect and Acts of Omission This includes ignoring medical or physical care needs and failing to provide access to appropriate health and social care, or educational services. It also includes the withdrawal of the necessities of life, including medication, adequate nutrition, and heating.
Emotional or Psychological This includes threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, harassment, verbal abuse, isolation, or withdrawal from services or supportive networks.
Bullying Online (cyberbullying) This occurs when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online, or repeatedly picks on another person through emails or text messages. It can also involve using online forums with the intention of harming, damaging, humiliating, or isolating another person. It includes various types of bullying, including racist bullying, homophobic bullying, or bullying related to special education needs and disabilities. The main difference is that, instead of the perpetrator carrying out the bullying face-to-face, they use technology as a means to do it.
Forced Marriage This is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties are married without their consent or against their will. A forced marriage differs from an arranged marriage, in which both parties consent to the assistance of a third party in identifying a spouse. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes it a criminal offence to force someone to marry.
Mate Crime A “mate crime” is when “vulnerable people are befriended by members of the community who go on to exploit and take advantage of them” (Safety Network Project, ARC). It may not be an illegal act, but it still has a negative effect on the individual. In recent years, there have been a number of Serious Care Reviews relating to people with a learning disability who were seriously harmed, or even murdered, by people who purported to be their friends. “Cuckooing” is a specific type of mate crime where criminals take over the home of a vulnerable person and use the property as a base for county lines drug trafficking.
Radicalisation The aim of radicalisation is to inspire new recruits, embed extreme views and persuade vulnerable individuals of the legitimacy of a cause. This may be direct through a relationship, or through social media.
To find out more about the types of harm, see here
(Ann Craft Trust – A leading UK Authority on Safeguarding Adults and Young People at risk)
(NHS 2020)
An adult may confide in another volunteer or staff member that they are experiencing abuse inside or outside of the BB setting. Leaders may suspect this is the case because of something they have seen or heard.
There are many signs and indicators that may suggest someone is being abused or neglected. There may be other explanations, but they should not be ignored.
A leader’s concerns may have arisen out of something they have seen, been told, or heard.
In England, Wales and Scotland, the role of a BB leader within the “Adult at Risk Safeguarding Process” is similar to their role when a child is in need of protection. There are, however, a number of different considerations
In addition to recognising and understanding the types of abuse or harm an adult may be at risk of, it may feel harder to intervene because they are an adult. It is not a breach of confidentiality to seek safeguarding advice from “within the organisation” when a leader has a reasonable concern about someone’s welfare. Advice can be obtained from the BB Safeguarding Manager, safeguarding@boys-brigade.org.uk.
A leader should make a record of their concerns and outline the action they have taken, and who they have spoken to. This should include whether they had the consent of the adult at risk. This record should be completed as soon as practicable and should be signed, dated and kept in a secure place.
The BB Safeguarding Manager will review all reports of adults at risk of harm and determine what appropriate action should be taken. This could include:
Where a leader is worried their concern has not been followed up properly, they should discuss this in the first instance with the BBHQ Safeguarding Manager. If they still have concerns, they should put them in writing to the Director of Operations, who will review the circumstances.
Specific considerations are required regarding young leaders/adults who have previously been in the BB as young people. Where leaders have previously been in a position of trust with respect to any young leader/adult, there may be additional constraints on what assistance and/or support it would be appropriate to provide. Consequently, in these situations, guidance should be sought from the BB Safeguarding Manager to ensure appropriate boundaries are in place to protect both the young adult and the BB leaders supporting them.
Sharing information with the right people is central to good practice in safeguarding adults. It should only be shared with those who need to know. This does not automatically include the adult’s partner, spouse, paid or unpaid carer, child(ren) or any other family or friends. Information should only be shared with family/friends /carers where the adult consents. If the adult does not have the capacity to make that decision, it may be necessary to share information with relevant family/friends/carers to help keep the adult safe.
There may be circumstances where it is appropriate to share information outside of the organisation. Consent should be sought from the adult. It is important to understand why they might not want information about themselves to be shared. This could be because they fear repercussions from the person they are at risk of harm from, or they may worry about losing control of the situation to statutory agencies, or they may feel embarrassed about the circumstances. Their wishes should be respected unless there are overriding reasons for sharing, such as:
If any leader in BB has a concern that an adult may be at risk of harm, they should seek advice from the BB Safeguarding Manager or any other member of staff at BBHQ. It is not a breach of confidentiality to seek safeguarding advice from the organisation without the consent of the individual involved. The BB Safeguarding Manager will provide advice, including whether consent will or will not be required, before taking any further action.
UK legislation assumes that all people over the age of 16 have the ability to make their own decisions unless it is proved/evidenced that they cannot. An adult’s ability to make decisions may be affected by things such as learning disability, dementia, mental health needs, acquired brain injury and physical ill health. Most adults have the ability to make their own decisions given the right support; however, some adults with care and support needs have the experience of other people making decisions about them and for them. If someone has a disability, that means they need support to understand or make a decision, which must be provided. A small number of adults cannot make any decisions. Being unable to make a decision is called “lacking mental capacity”.
Mental capacity refers to the ability to make a decision at the time that decision is needed. A person’s mental capacity can change. If it is safe/possible to wait until they are able to be involved in decision-making or to make the decision themselves, this should be accommodated. for. Examples include
Mental Capacity is important for safeguarding for several reasons.
Not being allowed to make decisions one is capable of making is abusive. For example, a disabled adult may want to take part in an activity, but their carer won’t allow them to and will not provide the support they would need. Conversely, the adult may not seem to be benefiting from an activity that other people are insisting they do.
Another situation is where an adult is being abused, and they are scared of the consequences of going against the views of the person abusing them. This is recognised in law as coercion, and an adult can be seen not to have mental capacity because they cannot make ‘free and informed decisions.’
Mental Capacity must also be considered when we believe abuse or neglect might be taking place. It is important to make sure an ‘adult at risk’ has choices in the actions taken to safeguard them, including whether or not they want other people informed about what has happened; however, in some situations, the adult may not have the mental capacity to understand the choice or to tell you their views.
England, Wales and Scotland have legislation that describes when and how we can make decisions for adults who are unable to make decisions for themselves. The principles in each region are the same.
There may be times when an organisation needs to make decisions on behalf of an adult in an emergency. Decisions taken in order to safeguard an adult who cannot make the decision for themselves could include:
Remember to always record (document) any action taken, including anyone who has been informed, and whether this was done with or without consent.
As a youth organisation, The Boys’ Brigade has a primary responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people within the organisation. It is recognised that there may be circumstances where a BB leader might be considered either an adult at risk of harm or a vulnerable adult, and this might affect the leader’s ability to fulfil their responsibilities as a BB leader. In responding to any vulnerable adult or adult at risk of harm concern regarding a BB leader, the BBHQ Safeguarding Manager will consider whether the situation requires the leader to temporarily step back from BB activities and responsibilities to ensure the safety and well-being of children. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to undertake a risk assessment process prior to the leader returning to their BB role.
Leaders are able to contact BBHQ for advice and support if they have any concerns about a member who may be an adult at risk. There are also a range of organisations that provide support, information, and advice both to Adults at risk and those supporting them.
Leaders are able to contact BBHQ for advice and support if they have any concerns about a member who may be an adult at risk. There are also a range of organisations that provide support, information, and advice both to Adults at risk and those supporting them.
The sources of information and support were all verified in May 2025. Please inform BBHQ of any updates/amendments you become aware of.
Approved by trustees 10th June 2023
