Working with young people carries responsibility. Youth Futures Partnership is committed to building safeguarding, governance, data protection, information security and operational standards into our programmes from the beginning — not adding them later as a procurement exercise.
The exact requirements vary by programme, but these principles should underpin Youth Futures delivery.
Clear responsibilities, reporting routes, escalation procedures and programme-specific safeguarding arrangements.
Appropriate vetting, references, role assessment, training and DBS checks where the role is eligible.
Privacy by design, appropriate lawful bases, retention controls and proportionate handling of personal information.
Secure devices, identities, platforms, access controls and incident-management arrangements.
Risk assessment appropriate to vehicles, venues, equipment, practical activities and public-facing delivery.
Accessible, fair provision that considers barriers to participation and treats young people with dignity.
Clear ownership, documented processes, complaints routes, learning and proportionate oversight.
Appropriate organisational and activity-specific insurance, evidence and partner due diligence.
Youth Futures intends to design safeguarding into recruitment, partnerships, programme design, physical environments, digital services and day-to-day delivery.
Where delivery involves schools, councils, charities, employers or training providers, responsibilities should be agreed before delivery begins.
That includes who is supervising young people, who responds to safeguarding concerns, which organisation holds particular records and how concerns are escalated.
Youth Futures should never assume that another organisation's safeguarding arrangements automatically cover our responsibilities.
Ideas such as the Career Passport and Harm Intelligence Platform create opportunities, but they also increase our responsibility to minimise data and protect it properly.
Consider data protection before systems and programmes launch, including DPIAs where processing is likely to create higher risks.
Only authorised people should have access to information, with access appropriate to their role and reviewed over time.
Collect what is genuinely required rather than building a database simply because information might become useful later.
Define how long information is required, why it is retained and how it is securely disposed of when no longer needed.
Have clear routes for identifying, containing, investigating and appropriately reporting security or personal-data incidents.
Understand where third parties process data and ensure appropriate contractual, security and data-processing arrangements exist.
Youth Futures should only claim certifications it actually holds. The following is a sensible direction of travel, not a statement of current certification.
Get the fundamentals right before chasing badges.
A practical early external cyber-security standard, particularly relevant as Youth Futures develops digital services and works with larger organisations.
As the organisation and data footprint mature, independently certified management systems may provide stronger assurance.
This section is deliberately transparent. Planned credentials should not be presented as certifications already achieved.
Baseline externally recognised cyber-security assurance.
Future targetTechnical verification of Cyber Essentials controls.
Future targetQuality-management certification to consider as delivery scales.
Future considerationInformation-security management certification potentially relevant to mature digital services.
Future considerationAs the organisation becomes operational, we intend to maintain a controlled set of due-diligence information that can be shared appropriately with commissioners, schools, funders and delivery partners.
Depending on the relationship and programme, that pack could include:
Youth Futures Partnership is developing its operational assurance framework. This page describes the standards and controls we intend to build into the organisation and should not be interpreted as claiming certifications, registrations, insurance arrangements or accreditations that have not yet been formally confirmed. As these are achieved, this page can be updated with verified evidence.
If you are considering commissioning, funding or partnering with Youth Futures, talk to us about the assurance requirements relevant to your organisation and proposed programme.