Comhlámh is pleased to introduce the Safer Culture Toolkit, developed by Angie Bamgbose, with the support of the Comhlámh Safeguarding Working Group. This resource is designed to help Volunteer Sending Agencies (VSAs) reflect on and strengthen their organisational safeguarding culture, aligning with Principle 6 of Comhlámh’s Code of Good Practice for Volunteer Sending Agencies.
It contains creative and participatory tools to promote reflection on safeguarding in general, and safer cultures in particular. Emerging views can consolidate into a vision for a safer culture and actions for change.
PRINCIPLE 6: Our organisational culture centres on the protection of all people, including staff, volunteers, partners, programme participants and community members. We recognise that in certain situations, children and some adults may be more vulnerable to abuses of power and may require additional protections. We actively prevent harm and implement safe programmes. We respond appropriately when things go wrong, we reflect, learn, and hold ourselves to account against safeguarding standards.
Why This Toolkit?
A strong safeguarding culture is essential for protecting all individuals connected to an organisation, including staff, volunteers, partners, programme participants, and community members. This toolkit offers practical guidance and participatory, creative tools to help organisations assess and develop their Safer Organisational Culture, as outlined in Indicator 6.1 of the Code of Good Practice for Volunteer Sending Agencies.
What’s Inside?
The Safer Culture Toolkit is structured into five key sections:
- Understanding Safeguarding – enabling you to define safeguarding for your organisation.
- Safeguarding and Power – supporting you to explore the relationship between power in organisations and safeguarding.
- Organisational Culture – offering a model for a safer organisational culture, steps along the journey, and the organisational change process.
The steps include:
3.1. Organisational values which analyse power, address power imbalances, embrace diversity and challenge inequality;
3.2. Leadership behaviours which promote responsive safeguarding practices, encourage change, solidarity, create spaces for questions,
and accountability;
3.3. Organisational behaviours which live our values, promote safeguarding, and challenge unacceptable behaviours; and
3.4. Change agents from across the organisation who are supported and empowered to disrupt. - Vision for Change – helping you to consolidate a vision of a safer organisational culture.
- Priorities for Action – identifying and planning steps to realising the vision.
How to Use the Toolkit
This resource includes interactive tools that can be used in team meetings, workshops, and strategy sessions. These tools can be adapted to better suit your operational and programmatic needs and working environment. The toolkit is most effective when used by a diverse cross-section of staff, board members, and volunteers, who can provide a variety of perspectives on the culture of each organisation. Partners can also contribute valuable external perspectives.
We invite organisations to complete one or as many tools as will be helpful for their safeguarding journey. We recommend completing at least one activity from each section and using the findings to inform their annual Code assessment with Comhlámh, as well as internal learning and sector-wide reflection.
By engaging with the Safer Culture Toolkit, VSAs can take meaningful steps toward fostering an environment where safeguarding is embedded in everyday practice.
Download the Toolkit
For more information and to access the toolkit, click the image below or visit the Code of Good Practice page.
