Section 4B: Lay Volunteers

This Pathway contains additional and specific requirements and guidance for dealing with allegations against lay volunteers

Section 1: Triage and Referrals

Section 2: Initial Contact

Section 3: Safeguarding Case Management Group

Section 5: Risk Assessment

Section 6: Outcomes, Closure and Long-term risk management

Introduction and definitions

This section sets out the steps, requirements and guidance to be followed in response to safeguarding concerns and allegations where:

• it covers a recent or non-recent concern or allegation; and
• the respondent is alive;
• the respondent is a lay volunteer

As outlined in Section 4F of this Code, concerns of failure to follow safeguarding requirements may be managed under this pathway, but only in cases in which the circumstances in that section are met. A separate pathway for the management of posthumous safeguarding allegations is included in Section 4D.

Structure

This section is structured into a series of steps that need to be followed when managing allegations involving volunteers. Some steps and requirements may need to be followed in a different order to that presented in this Section, to reflect the specific circumstances of each case. This is only to be done on the advice of statutory services or a Regional Safeguarding Lead (on behalf of the NST).