The new measures follow a commission inquiry and the conviction earlier this year of Gary Hinds, who worked for the Horse Rangers Association and who assaulted eight girls, aged 11 to 15. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
As a result of this case the Charity Commission has produced the new guidelines, which it drew up after consultation with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Save the Children UK. The guidelines recommend that any child protection policy should establish four key principles -the welfare of the child is paramount; all children without exception have the right to protection from abuse; all suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately; and the charity's trus-tees, staff and volunteers have a responsibility to report concerns.
The guidelines state, 'The Charity Commission is particularly concerned to stress the importance of proper safeguards within charities for the protection of children. This applies both to charities working in the UK and other countries where children may face different or additional risks of child abuse or exploitation.'
The guidelines say that safeguards should include 'rigorous' recruitment and selection processes involving checks on the suitability of all trustees, staff and volunteers who work with or come into contact with children.
The Commission stressed that although it does not administer child protection legislation, its inspectors always ask organisations working with children for the policies and procedures they have for keeping children safe.
The guidelines also say that a charity's child protection policy should be linked to procedures that make clear what is good practice among all personnel, how all charity personnel are recruited and selected ensures their suitability for working with children, and that systems are in place to ensure that all staff working with children are routinely and regularly monitored.
A Charity Commission spokeswoman said it 'requires the trustees of all organisations applying to be registered charities to certify that to the best of their knowledge, checks have been made through the Criminal Records Bureau for every trustee and employee and that no information gave cause for concern'.
Furthermore, she added, 'when considering applications for registration, we always ask to see the child protection policy for all charities providing services to children'.
The guidelines are available on www.charitycommission.gov.uk.
