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Safeguarding Policy

Last updated: 3 September 2026

1. Our commitment

A New Beginning Cat and Kitten Rescue is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone who comes into contact with our work — including children, young people, and adults at risk — as well as the welfare of the animals in our care. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility: every trustee, volunteer, and anyone acting on our behalf is expected to uphold this policy.

This policy applies to all trustees, volunteers, fosterers, and anyone representing A New Beginning Cat and Kitten Rescue at events, home visits, or online.

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2. Scope

This policy covers:

  • Children and young people (under 18) who may attend our events, accompany adopters, or interact with us online

  • Adults at risk — anyone who, because of their situation or circumstances, may be unable to protect themselves from harm or exploitation, including some people we support through adoption/fostering processes or fundraising

  • Animal welfare safeguarding — protecting the cats in our care from harm, neglect, or unsuitable placement

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3. Our safeguarding principles

We are committed to:

  • Valuing and respecting all individuals we work with

  • Ensuring appropriate recruitment and vetting of trustees and volunteers, including DBS checks where a role involves regular contact with children or adults at risk

  • Providing safeguarding awareness to all volunteers and trustees on induction

  • Never asking a volunteer to work alone with a child

  • Ensuring at least two adults are present at events involving children where practicable

  • Taking every concern, allegation, or disclosure seriously and acting promptly

  • Never promising confidentiality when a safeguarding concern is raised — we will always act in the best interests of the person at risk

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4. Recruitment and vetting

  • All trustees and volunteers complete an application and, where the role involves direct or regular contact with children, vulnerable adults, or unsupervised home visits, a DBS check at the appropriate level

  • References are sought for roles involving home visits or regular contact with the public

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5. Home visits and fostering assessments

Because our work involves visiting adopters' and fosterers' homes, we take particular care to:

  • Ensure home visits are conducted by trained/approved volunteers

  • Conduct visits in pairs where possible, particularly on first contact with a new household

  • Have a clear process for volunteers to raise concerns about anything observed during a visit (e.g. signs of a child or adult at risk, animal welfare concerns beyond the cat being assessed)

  • Record and act on any concerns raised, escalating to the Safeguarding Lead

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6. Recognising and responding to a concern

Any trustee, volunteer, or member of the public who has a safeguarding concern about a child, adult at risk, or animal should:

  1. Not investigate the concern themselves

  2. Report it as soon as possible to the police

  3. If someone is in immediate danger, contact emergency services on 999 

  4. If the concern relates to animal welfare/cruelty specifically, it may also be reported to the RSPCA (0300 1234 999) alongside our internal process

All concerns are recorded confidentially and handled in line with this policy and relevant law, including referral to statutory services (children's/adult social care, police) where appropriate.

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7. Online safeguarding

  • We do not publish identifiable images of children on our website or social media without explicit parental/guardian consent

  • Volunteers and trustees representing A New Beginning Cat and Kitten Rescue online are expected to behave professionally and in line with this policy

  • Our website's contact and enquiry forms are monitored, and any safeguarding-relevant disclosure received through them is escalated to the Safeguarding Lead immediately

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8. Confidentiality

Information about a safeguarding concern is shared only with those who need to know, in line with data protection law (see our Privacy Policy) and safeguarding best practice — confidentiality is never used as a reason to withhold information from statutory agencies where there is a risk of harm.

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9. Training and review

  • All trustees and volunteers receive a safeguarding briefing appropriate to their role on induction

  • The Safeguarding Lead reviews this policy at least annually, or sooner following any incident, change in legislation, or Charity Commission guidance update

  • This policy will be reviewed against Charity Commission requirements once A New Beginning Cat and Kitten Rescue completes registration

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10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.

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