1. Introduction
1.1 The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers (registered charity
number 291389), known as ‘The RMS’ recognises that each individual has the right to be treated equitably and without prejudice. Every individual has a responsibility to respect and uphold that right. This means that all members of the RMS, volunteers and any other stakeholders have the right to feel comfortable and to be safe and secure in a welcoming and inclusive environment and in particular when attending events or engaging in activities organised by the RMS.
1.2 The RMS encourages all its members to be mindful of the Charity Commission’s guidance on its website (which may be found at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charities-how-to-protect-vulnerable-groups-including-children), to make safeguarding a key priority and to recognise its duty of care to all those who attend its events.
1.3 This policy applies to all members of the Council (as defined in 2. below) and any other persons volunteering or working within the RMS and this policy should therefore be provided promptly to all such persons when they begin their involvement or work (whether paid or unpaid) with the RMS.
1.4 This policy should be reviewed annually by the Council.
1.5 The purpose of this policy is:
1.5.1to protect all those who are vulnerable who come to events organised by the RMS [or are involved in any way with the services or activities it provides]; and
1.5.2 to provide the Council and any volunteers with the overarching principles and practical information which guides the RMS’s approach to safeguarding.
2 The Council of The RMS
The Council is the group of persons which is [appointed/elected] on such terms as the RMS shall determine in order to administer and govern the RMS in accordance with its constitution.
3 Definition of Safeguarding
3.1 ‘Safeguarding’ is a term used to describe how we protect individuals from abuse or neglect. It is about protecting certain people who may be in vulnerable circumstances. These people may be at risk of abuse or neglect due to the action (or lack of action) of another person. The RMS recognises that individuals may feel vulnerable for a variety of reasons which may include:
- Age
- Gender
- Disability
- Sexual orientation
- Religious beliefs
- Race
- Ill health (physical and/or mental)
3.2 A vulnerable person should never experience abuse of any kind. The Council has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all such people who are involved in the work or activities of the RMS and to keep them safe.
3.3 Those who raise safeguarding concerns should be treated with understanding and respect, as should the person(s), if any, against whom a complaint is made.
4 Upholding of Principles
4.1 To ensure the principles outlined in clause 3 are upheld, the Council or lead responsible person nominated by the Council from time to time will adhere to the following procedures:
4.1.1 Where a safeguarding concern exists, any member or other person may raise it directly either with any member of the Council or the lead responsible person, and all members of the Council shall then be notified by [the lead responsible person], on a strictly confidential basis, of such concern without delay subject to 4.1.2;
4.1.2 If the complaint relates to a Council member, the other members (or Exec secretary/lead responsible person) of the Council may inform such Council member that a complaint has been made but such Council member must then be absented from any part of any Council meeting at which the complaint is discussed and strict confidentiality should be observed at all times in the interests of a fair investigation of such complaint;
4.1.3 In the event of a complaint being made to a member of the Council, there is a responsibility on that Council member to draw the Council’s attention to the fact that a safeguarding concern has arisen and to explain how that was resolved. If the matter has not been resolved, the Council will consider at the earliest opportunity how to resolve the matter appropriately.
4.1.4 If the Council does not feel it has the necessary knowledge or skills appropriately to deal with the concern then they should contact immediately a helpline, such as The Ann Craft Trust for advice,
4.1.5 The complainant will be supported (unless they choose to decline such support) throughout the investigation of the complaint by a designated Council member.
5 Action
5.1 Action relating to a safeguarding concern could include:
5.1.1 informal resolution of complaints between the parties
5.1.2 formal warning from the Council as to the conduct of the individual
5.1.3 a request for the individual to resign their membership from The RMS
5.1.4 such other action as may be agreed between the parties
5.2 If a crime is suspected either to have been or be likely to be committed then the matter must be reported to the police without delay.
5.3 The Council must report the safeguarding incident, to the local council, as soon as reasonably practicable to enable the RMS to fulfil its duty to report serious incidents (which include safeguarding incidents and reports) to the Charity Commission.
6 Sharing information
6.1 The Council acknowledges that it may from time to time handle sensitive personal information about people including personal identity information and information about health and financial issues.
6.2 All members of the Council and any volunteers must work together to ensure that there is no unauthorised access, loss, misuse, amendment or disclosure of this information.
6.3 When safeguarding individuals at risk, the Council may be required to share personal or sensitive information with someone from another organisation. The Council will only do this where the law requires it, or where sharing the information is in the complainant’s best interests, including where it might prevent a crime taking place, subject always to the need to comply with all applicable data protection legislation.
6.4 Where a person’s ‘vital interests’ (that is, a question of life or death) are involved, the Council acknowledges that finding out facts through sharing information is of overriding importance.
6.5 Subject to 6.6, if the Council (or any person or organisation to which it may delegate this role from time to time) intends to share personal or sensitive information, they will do it (wherever possible) with that person’s agreement.
6.6 The Council will always share information which safeguards vulnerable adults or on a ‘need to know’ basis. The Council will take care to make sure any such shared information is correct.
7 Record Keeping and Confidentiality
7.1 All safeguarding complaints shall be treated as confidential, unless the Council resolves that it is in the best interests of the RMS, or it has a legal obligation to do otherwise, subject always to the need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and other relevant data protection legislation from time to time.
7.2 This policy document should be easily accessible whenever required. A copy of this document should be kept in The RMS Constitution and
online at https://royal-miniature-society.org.uk/
7.3 Any written records of safeguarding matters must be kept securely by the Council and destroyed securely when no longer required.
8 Further Information
Further information around safeguarding as available from the Charity Commission and is regularly updated https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategy–for–dealing–with–safeguarding–issues–incharities