Why Safeguarding Is a Core Governance Responsibility for Trustees and Board Members
Safeguarding is not an operational add-on or a task that can be delegated away. For Trustees and Board members, safeguarding is a fundamental governance responsibility and one that sits firmly alongside financial oversight, strategic direction, and organisational integrity.
Across the UK, serious case reviews, Charity Commission inquiries, and regulatory investigations consistently highlight the same issue: safeguarding failures often stem not from a lack of policy, but from weak governance oversight. When Boards are not curious, informed, and confident about safeguarding, risks increase for individuals, for organisations, and for Trustees personally.
The Legal and Regulatory Context
Trustees and Board members have a legal duty to act in the best interests of their organisation and the people it serves. This includes taking reasonable steps to protect beneficiaries, staff, volunteers, and others from harm.
Safeguarding is a collective Board responsibility, not something owned solely by a safeguarding lead or senior manager.
Regulators and businesses expect Trustees to be able to demonstrate:
Active oversight of safeguarding arrangements
Confidence that risks are understood and managed
Assurance that concerns are reported, responded to, and learned from
In short, safeguarding must be visible at Board level not just referenced, but understood.
“We Have a Policy” Is Not Enough
Many organisations can produce a safeguarding policy. Fewer can evidence that it is embedded, monitored, and effective.
Boards play a critical role in moving safeguarding from paper to practice. This means asking the right questions, such as:
How do we know our safeguarding culture is effective?
What safeguarding data do we receive, and what does it tell us?
Are people confident to raise concerns and do they trust the response?
How are we learning from incidents, complaints, or near misses?
Professional curiosity at Board level is essential. Trustees do not need to be safeguarding experts, but they do need to be curious, informed, and willing to challenge.
Safeguarding Is About People, Not Just Compliance
Safeguarding discussions can sometimes become overly procedural, focused on thresholds, reporting routes, and regulatory requirements. While these matter, safeguarding is ultimately about people’s lived experiences.
Boards set the tone for how safeguarding is viewed across an organisation. When safeguarding is treated as a compliance exercise, that message filters down. When it is treated as a core value, integral to ethical leadership and safe service delivery, it becomes part of the organisational culture.
Trustees should expect safeguarding to be considered when making strategic decisions, such as:
Expanding services or working with new groups
Partnering with other organisations
Recruiting senior leaders or Trustees
Managing financial pressures or restructuring
Every strategic decision has potential safeguarding implications.
Accountability and Personal Responsibility
It is important for Trustees and Board members to understand that safeguarding failures can have personal consequences. The Charity Commission has powers to investigate, issue warnings, and disqualify Trustees where safeguarding responsibilities are neglected.
More importantly, failures can result in real harm to children and adults at risk, a harm that could have been prevented through stronger oversight, clearer challenge, or earlier intervention.
Good governance does not mean never getting things wrong. It means being open to scrutiny, responding proportionately to concerns, and continuously improving.
What Good Safeguarding Governance Looks Like
Effective Boards typically demonstrate the following:
A clear safeguarding governance framework
Named Board-level safeguarding responsibility
Regular, meaningful safeguarding reporting
Ongoing and relevant Trustee safeguarding training
A culture of professional curiosity and respectful challenge
Confidence in escalation and external reporting processes
Safeguarding should be a standing agenda item, not just discussed after something has gone wrong.
Safeguarding Children
For organisations that work with or impact children, Trustees and Board members must understand that safeguarding responsibilities are underpinned by the Children Acts and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Board-level oversight should provide assurance that children are protected from harm through safe recruitment, appropriate training, clear reporting pathways, and a culture where concerns are taken seriously. Trustees should be professionally curious about how children experience services, how risks are identified and managed, and how learning from safeguarding concerns informs practice. Effective governance ensures that safeguarding children is not treated as a specialist issue, but as a shared responsibility embedded in strategic decision-making.
Safeguarding Adults
For organisations supporting adults with care and support needs, Trustees and Board members have a crucial role in ensuring effective safeguarding arrangements in line with the Care Act 2014. Board oversight should provide assurance that adults are protected from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, that staff and volunteers are trained and confident to raise concerns, and that clear reporting and escalation procedures are in place. Trustees should be professionally curious about organisational risks, patterns of safeguarding incidents, and how learning from concerns informs practice. Good governance ensures that safeguarding adults is embedded in culture and decision-making, not treated as a separate compliance exercise.
Final Thoughts and how we can help
Safeguarding is not someone else’s job. For Trustees and Board members, it is a core part of responsible leadership and ethical governance.
At RLB Safeguarding Ltd, we work with Boards to strengthen safeguarding understanding, confidence, and oversight supporting Trustees to ask better questions, recognise risk earlier, and lead safer organisations.
Because when safeguarding is done well at Board level, it protects not only those who rely on services but the integrity, reputation, and future of the organisation itself.
We are also proud to announce that our Safeguarding for Trustees and Board Members Training courses are now live! Enquire here to reserve your place.
If you require support for a consultant to offer Board level support and governance we are able to attend and contribute to meetings and work with your organisation to strive for safeguarding excellence ‘across the Board!’ Enquire here today for a a free consultation and quote.