Duty of Candour Policy

Part 1: Policy

1. Policy Statement

The Values of Scouts are Integrity, Respect, Care, Belief and Co-operation. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that we continue to live our values by being transparent, open, and accountable, especially when something goes wrong. It outlines the responsibilities and procedures related to our Duty of Candour when incidents occur that result in harm or unintended outcomes.

We will always endeavour to enact Duty of Candour unless directed not to do so by statutory agencies.

We aim to:

• Foster a culture of openness and learning within The Scout Association (TSA).
• Ensure that adverse events or mistakes are managed openly and honestly.
• Promote trust through transparency with our members, our communities, our partners, and stakeholders.
• View incidents as opportunities for learning and improvement.
• Encourage a culture of continuous learning and reflection.

2. Scope

This Duty of Candour Policy focuses specifically on Safety and Safeguarding incidents.

3. Definitions

Adverse Event/Incident threshold:

An event or incident that results in actual or perceived harm to a child, young person or adult volunteer taking part, or involved within, Scout activities. The event could result, or appear to have resulted, in moderate harm, severe harm, or prolonged physical and/or psychological harm, or, in the worst case, the death of an individual.

All events/incidents of this nature will result in this policy being enacted.

Duty of Candour:

Duty of Candour is a legal duty for services delivering health and regulated activities such as those regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Although not a statutory duty for TSA, it is implementing this policy as part of our commitment of openness and honesty with young people, parents and carers, particularly when something goes wrong, and where it appears to have caused or could lead to moderate, significant harm or even death now or in the future.

4. Who does this policy apply to?

This policy applies to all adult volunteers and staff, at all levels, in so far as they are required to report and record Safety and Safeguarding incidents throughout our movement as per POR.

TSA HQ will exercise the Duty of Candour where incidents where incidents meet the necessary threshold.

TSA HQ will lead engagement with individuals, their families and carers who may have been subject to an adverse incident/ event, ensuring they receive prompt, relevant information that may assist them in understanding what occurred. They will get an apology and will be told about any action we undertake to try to prevent another similar incident from occurring.

5. Accountability and responsibility

The Duty of Candour Lead is accountable for the implementation of this policy. Within TSA the lead is the Executive Director of Operations.

Responsibility for implementation rests with both the HQ Safety team and the HQ Safeguarding team who will review all incidents, reported or otherwise, to assess whether they meet the necessary threshold for this policy and supporting procedure to be enacted.

Within the movement all volunteers and staff are responsible for reporting Safety and Safeguarding incidents as per POR.

6. Our commitment when something goes wrong

When delivering activities, no matter how well planned and managed, we recognise there remains a risk that unintended or unexpected events could result in harm.

We recognise that when this happens, parents and carers expect to be told promptly and accurately what happened. They want to know what we know, how we are responding, and what future actions stop this happening again. This policy and supporting procedure help us to understand how we do this.

Our primary focus to apply our approach to candour will be with parents for those under 18. However, it is vital that we ensure young people feel empowered and involved. We will ensure that through parents and/or carers we can assess a child or young person’s competence to understand the situation and that, as far as practically possible, they are informed about the issues and actions that have and are being taken. For anyone over 18 where there is a concern about competence, again we will work with the relevant parents or carers to assess this and support as far as possible.

If something goes wrong TSA commits to:

• Ensure that we have prompt and open communication with those affected, especially parents or carers, and that this is maintained so that individuals are made aware of what is happening with clear expectations set.
  • Promptly disclose details of incidents to relevant authorities, taking their direction when required regarding how much information we can disclose and when.
  • Provide clear and accurate information about an incident, its consequences, and any actions taken.
  • Acknowledge any errors, apologise promptly and transparently.
• Conduct a thorough investigation, and give parents and carers evidence that lessons learned will help prevent reoccurrence of the incident.
  • Remove or restrict the duties of individuals involved in incidents, where appropriate.
  • Provide support for those involved including the injured party, and including those suspended or placed on limited duties, to cope with the physical and psychological consequences of what has happened.
  • Ensure that anyone we encounter is treated in a professional, caring and honest manner that reflects Scout Values.

7. Governance

This policy is overseen by the Board of Trustees, which is responsible for:

• Monitoring compliance with the policy across the movement.
• Regular reviews, involving sub-committees and operational teams, and recommending updates to the policy.

Part 2: Procedure

a. Aim

This procedure outlines how we operationalise our Duty of Candour Policy.

The aim is to provide an open and honest dialogue with individuals, staff and volunteers to ensure that all stakeholders are confident that we will robustly investigate any incident that may cause, or have the potential to cause, adverse effects and or serious harm; that we are committed to learning and continuous improvement; and that we will apologise should failings occur.

b. Application

For staff and volunteers this procedure details their roles and responsibilities if they become involved in an incident and the support available to them to help cope with the consequences.

This procedure should be read in conjunction with POR, which outlines the requirements to report Safety and Safeguarding incidents.

c. Incident reporting

In the event of any adverse incident/event, any adult volunteer and/or staff must:

1. Immediately report the incident according to our internal reporting procedures (ie to the Safety or Safeguarding teams), as set out from time to time in ‘POR’, and in other communications shared with the membership.
2. Ensure that the affected person and, as appropriate, their family or carers, are verbally notified as soon as possible.
3. Ensure that a verbal apology is given, expresses appropriate sorrow or regret, without admitting fault or liability. For serious adverse incidents we always aim to give this apology face to face.
4. Keep a written record of this conversation.
5. Advise that the incident will be reviewed by the HQ Safety and Safeguarding teams.

d. Assessment and communication

i. The HQ Safety and Safeguarding teams will assess all incidents reported to establish if they meet the threshold to enact this policy.

ii. The Duty of Candour Lead is accountable for ensuring these assessments take place.

iii. The Duty of Candour Lead communicates with affected parties, providing clear and honest information, and following an adverse event, we commit to:

1. Providing a sincere and meaningful written apology to the affected person and, as appropriate, their family. The written apology and explanation should follow what was shared in the verbal apology.

The written apology should:

• • Stick to facts known at the time. Do not stray into opinion or speculation.
  • Insofar as is possible, give a step-by-step explanation of what has happened.
  • Keep the language clear and simple using a conciliatory and measured tone. 
  • Be careful that everyone receives the same account of the same incident.
  • Think about how you would hear or read what you are communicating – try again if it is not clear.
  • Remember until all known facts are understood we cannot admit fault or liability.
  • Undertake an investigation if it is appropriate, in line with POR and the Critical Incident Management Policy.
  • Keep the affected person, and as appropriate, their family or carers updated of how any investigation is progressing.
  • Communicate any new facts to the appropriate person.
  • Advise the affected person of The Scout Association’s continuing duty to keep the individual, and if appropriate, their family or carers informed, in writing, of any further enquiries and investigations, should they wish to receive it.

iv. The Duty of Candour Lead (or appropriate staff member) recommends the suspension or restriction of duties, where appropriate, of individuals involved in the incident. This is undertaken in partnership with volunteer leadership.

v. Where incidents are reviewed and not deemed to meet the Duty of Candour threshold, relevant volunteers/staff will be advised locally and required to resume responsibility for the incident in line with POR.

e. Recording and sharing of information

Detailed records of incidents, actions taken, and communication with individuals, their family or carers must be fully documented. This includes clear details of the incident, those involved, those impacted and key actions taken including dates and times. This must be securely stored and available to be shared at short notice with TSA or the relevant authorities.

Details of related information may be shared with statutory agencies to ensure openness, learning and transparency. Sharing information will be the responsibility of TSA HQ.

f. After incident support and training

We will conduct a thorough review (in line with relevant policies and process) of the incident to identify areas for improvement. This policy forms part of our Critical Incident suite of policies including TSA's internal Critical Incident Management, and After Incident Response and Support.

Lessons learned are shared with individuals, families and carers, relevant stakeholders and across our movement to ensure that we share best practice and implement any lessons.

After incident support

We will provide:

• Immediate and ongoing support to those affected by adverse events, including psychosocial support if needed.
• Support for youth members, adult volunteers and staff involved in the incident, recognising the emotional impact such events can have.
• Guidance from either the Safety or Safeguarding team dependent on the nature of the incident.

Training

We will provide:

• Ongoing training to ensure all nominated individuals and leadership roles are aware of their responsibilities and requirements. 
• All individuals must undertake our agreed e-learning and annual refresher course that will provide details on what constitutes an adverse event that would result in the Duty of Candour Policy being implemented.

Appendices