SILVER COMPANION CIC

SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Version 1.0 — July 2026

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1. Purpose
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Silver Companion CIC is committed to safeguarding the welfare of all adults
who use our services. This policy sets out our approach to recognising,
responding to and reporting safeguarding concerns, and reflects our duties
under the Care Act 2014 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act
2014.

2. Scope
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This policy applies to all staff, volunteers, trustees and anyone acting on
behalf of Silver Companion CIC. It covers all activities carried out as part
of our befriending service, including telephone calls and letter writing.

3. Our commitments
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We are committed to: treating all adults with dignity and respect, creating a
safe environment free from abuse, neglect and exploitation, ensuring all
volunteers are appropriately vetted (including DBS checks), providing
safeguarding training to all volunteers and staff, responding promptly and
appropriately to any safeguarding concern, and working in partnership with
statutory agencies where required.

4. Types of abuse
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Abuse can take many forms, including: physical abuse, emotional or
psychological abuse, financial or material abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and
acts of omission, discriminatory abuse, and organisational abuse. All
volunteers and staff are trained to recognise the signs of abuse and know how
to respond.

5. Reporting concerns
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Anyone who has a safeguarding concern about a person we support should report
it immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). If there is an
immediate risk of harm, contact the emergency services (999) first. Concerns
should never be ignored or handled alone. All concerns will be recorded and,
where appropriate, referred to the relevant statutory authority.

6. Confidentiality
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Safeguarding concerns are not subject to normal confidentiality rules. Where
there is a risk of harm to an individual, information will be shared with the
appropriate agencies regardless of whether consent has been given. We will
always aim to inform the individual concerned unless doing so would put them
or others at greater risk.

7. Review
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This policy will be reviewed annually or following any significant
safeguarding incident. All staff and volunteers will be made aware of any
updates.

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Silver Companion CIC | hello@silvercompanion.org.uk | Swansea, Wales