What is the difference between annual reporting compliance and the Safe from Harm compliance?
Annual reporting compliance is linked to the information and/or documents each NSO must update or submit via the Members Portal. This includes the organisation’s contact details and appointees list, the past year census, activities report and financial statement, as well as four Safe from Harm elements: the National Safe from Harm Policy, the National Safeguarding Reporting Procedures, the Safe from Harm Coordinator’s contact and the date of completion of the NSO’s Safe from Harm self-assessment. Being compliant with the Annual Reporting means the NSO has submitted all the elements requested in the Annual Reporting.
As part of the annual reporting, each NSO must appoint a Safe from Harm Coordinator, and upload, the National Safe from Harm Policy and Safeguarding Reporting Procedure.
Find more information on the annual reporting cycle for 2024 activities here and all the details about the Safe from Harm requirements on the Data Portal here.
NSOs may refer to these guidelines to assist in completing the Safe from Harm self-assessment.
Safe from Harm compliance refers to the level of conformity an NSO has regarding the Major Non-Conformities listed in the self-assessment. Full compliance means an NSO would score a 2 or 3 on all 6 Major Non-Conformity Criteria. Criteria 1, 4, 10, 12, 13 and 20 are all the Major Non-Conformity Criteria.
To find out more about the criteria and its elements, you can find the details about these criteria in can refer to the Safe from Harm assessment tool.
How can I upload the documents required in the Annual Reporting?
The documents required as part of the Annual Reporting should be uploaded to the Data Portal.
To understand the steps you need to complete to update the Annual Reporting documents you can read the following article.
Further guidance on how to update and submit this information on the WOSM Members Portal can be accessed through the various support articles found in this section of support.scout.org.
Where can I take the Safe from Harm self-assessment? How can I get a link?
To take the Safe from Harm self-assessment, all NSOs have received a link to complete a self-assessment digitally. The official contacts (indicated with an asterisk in the directory) and the National Safe from Harm Coordinator from your NSO should have received the access to the self-assessment digital platform. If you do not have it or the link is not working properly, you can reach out to the Safe from Harm staff team member in your region or reach out to safefromharm@scout.org to receive further support.
If you would like to see the Safe from Harm assessment before completing it, you can find an offline version of the tool here.
If completing the digital tool is a challenge, you can request the support of your Safe from Harm regional staff member or you can request a Safe from Harm service.
Where can I upload all evidence documents to support the self-assessment of my NSO?
When completing the SfH self-assessment on the digital platform, you may include links to the folders or webpages with the relevant evidence documents of each criteria directly in the comment box.
How should I score my NSO in the self-assessment?
Your NSO should score each criteria from 0-3, using the scoring method outlined below:
For more details, please check the Safe from Harm assessment tool.
Can my NSO redo the self-assessment? and When can we do that?
NSOs can redo their self-assessment as often as they want. While it is mandatory to submit it once every three(3) years.
If your NSO addresses the prioritized elements based on the feedback and has new evidence to present, you may submit an updated self-assessment.
You can reach out to your Safe from Harm regional staff member if you would like to further reflect on your potential resubmission.
What if my NSO forgot to submit some documents?
All documents shared with the regional panel will contribute to support the review of the regional panel. Once you have submitted your self-assessment, the panel will do a quick first review. If during this review they identify they are missing key documents or information to review your self-assessment, they will reach out to your NSO via email and you will have two weeks to provide the evidences requested.
After these 2 weeks, the panel will initiate the full review of the NSO’s self-assessment with the new elements collected.
What is next after my NSO completed the self-assessment?
In the following four months after submitting the self-assessment, the Regional Panel will review your report and the document you submitted through the Annual Reporting. They will prepare a feedback document with comments and recommendations on further actions your NSO can take to fully comply and to continuously improve their Safe from Harm framework.
Here you can see an outline of the Safe from Harm self-assessment process.
Once you have received the review of your NSOs self-assessment from the Regional Panel, we encourange that you go through the feedback and recommendations provided and work on your implementation Action Plan in recommended timeline. The template of this Action Plan can be found at the back of your completed self-assessment report.
Why did I get low score on a criteria where my NSO meets standards in my opinion?
The review conducted by the regional panel is based on standardized guidelines that specify the scoring criteria and the types of evidence to be considered.
In the review document shared with your NSOs, there will be detailed explanations on scoring for Major Non-Conformity criteria. If you feel you would like further clarity, you can reach out to the Safe from Harm staff of your region and set a meeting with the co-leads of the regional panel to receive further details and explanations about the scoring.
To better understand the scoring of the assessment, you can have a look at the Safe from Harm assessment guidelines here.
What are the consequences of the review score of my NSO?
Each NSO will receive a review as part of the Safe from Harm self-assessment process. Once received, this review will support you in understanding the status of your NSO against WOSM’s safeguarding standards and the areas you can focus on to improve your Safe from Harm framework. The review is a step to get further support and we encourage you to follow the recommendations outlined in the review and keep building your capacity through a service request or through joining a capacity building module.
If your NSO is fully compliant, you will be able to review the recommendations and keep working on dimensions and criteria with a lower score. We also encourage you to connect with your regional coordinators network to share your story and encourage other NSOs.
If your NSO is partially compliant, have a look at the review and set a plan regarding the Major Non-Conformity that you have not met. Based on the recommendation, you can complete a service request or join a capacity building module.
If your NSO is non-compliant or partially compliant, have a look at the results received in the report. We encourage you to have a follow up conversation with your regional staff to work on an action plan prioritizing the next steps and set a calendar for compliance.
An Operational Framework project team appointed by the World Scout Committee has started working on developing an enforcement mechanism. This mechanism will further clarify any consequences and NSO could face if staying in a non-compliance status.