Sound Systems Accreditation

The Sound Systems Accreditation scheme is a way in which organisations can critically examine their own policies and practices around safeguarding, measure them against the recommended standards and work towards reaching those standards.

It encourages, promotes and accredits good practice in accordance with the Keeping it Safe standards which fall into the following categories:

• organisational policies and procedures;

• reporting concerns, suspicions and allegations;

• safe recruitment and selection;

• managing paid and volunteer staff;

• providing education training and support; and

• providing safe activities.

Sound Systems works differently to many accreditation schemes in that it offers extensive support to an organisation wishing to achieve the standards. You will be assigned a mentor who will help you set action plans and targets with realistic time scales when working towards the standards.

Once you and your mentor feel you have achieved the standards, you will be allocated an assessor who will analyse the portfolio of evidence you have compiled. Because the accreditation scheme is not just about have the right polices and procedures written down, the assessor will also visit your organisation and chat to staff, volunteers, trustees and maybe young people and their parents to ensure they understand what the organisations does to keep its young people safe.

The assessor makes a recommendation as to your status which will be one of the following:

• you can pass outright

• pass with recommendations (when we make some minor suggestions as to possible improvements)

• pass with conditions (when we will come back after an agreed period to make sure the additional requirements have been met

• or failed to achieve the standards