SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Digital Xtra’s Safeguarding Policy concerns the personal safety and wellbeing of children participating in initiatives supported by the Charity. The charity is committed to ensuring the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people who interact with supported initiatives.
What is Digital Xtra?
Digital Xtra is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), trading as Digital Xtra, and registered in Scotland, Registered Number SC047272 based in Oracle Campus, 7 Blackness Road, Linlithgow, EH49 7LR.
The Charity supports the start-up and scale-up of extracurricular computing and digital tech activities for young people, aged 16 and under, across Scotland. We also specifically seek to improve participation of girls and other underrepresented groups in digital, dispel negative perceptions about computing science, and promote digital as an attractive career path.
Digital Xtra is committed to the wellbeing and protection of children and young people. Please read the following safeguarding policy to understand how Digital Xtra facilitates and supports this safeguarding. By working with the Charity, beneficiaries also agree to ensure the protection and wellbeing of children and young people including, but not limited to, ensuring any staff or volunteers doing 'regulated work' with children receive the relevant checks which, in Scotland, consist of joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership scheme through Disclosure Scotland and having in place an appropriate Code of Conduct and Child Wellbeing and Protection procedures.
Protection and Wellbeing of Children & Young People
Children have the right to be protected from harm. While Digital Xtra does not work with young people directly, we support a variety of schools, charities, companies, public bodies, and other organisations who do. As such, Digital Xtra’s Safeguarding Policy communicates the expectations we hold for each of our beneficiaries to: 1) keep children safe and well, and 2) how to respond to child protection concerns.
Digital Xtra’s beneficiaries must ensure all people doing 'regulated work' with children are subject to relevant checks. More information can be found at:
Disclosure Scotland: Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership scheme (mandatory in Scotland)
OSCR: Interim Safeguarding Guidance: Keeping vulnerable beneficiaries safe
NSPCC: ‘8 steps to safeguarding and child protection’ (as well as many other useful tools and guidance)
Catalyst: ‘Digisafe: A step-by-step digital safeguarding guide. For charities designing new services or taking existing ones online.’
Children 1st: ‘Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport’ – excellent series of resources and advice for safeguarding children and young people during extracurricular activities.
Digital Xtra’s beneficiaries must also have an organisational Code of Conduct / Child Protection Policy which includes clear steps in the event of an incident or disclosure by a child, including whom to inform and how to contact them as well as any other relevant Child Wellbeing and Protection procedures.
Digital Xtra’s beneficiaries must also provide child protection training to staff and/or volunteers who have unrestricted face-to-face contact with children and young people – this training must be appropriate to the nature of the work, cover the organisation’s policies and procedures, and be refreshed regularly. Ideally, the management committee or board should also have appropriate safeguarding awareness training as a group.
Equality
In addition, the Equality Act 2010 protects children, young people and adults against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation in relation to housing, education, clubs, the provision of services and work. Discrimination is broadly unfair treatment related to: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership (with some restrictions); pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.
Digital Xtra expects all grant recipients to take active steps to eliminate discrimination and to implement positive measures to promote equality. We also expect all grant recipients ensure any policies or procedures in place do not unlawfully discriminate within the meaning and scope of the Equality Act 2010 or any statutory modifications or re-enactments thereof relating to discrimination in the provision of goods and services.
Digital Xtra reserves the right to notify appropriate authorities of any activity and/or material downloaded, stored, disseminated, or used that may give rise to a safeguarding concern or is used for immoral or illegal purposes, and to assist the Police/Crime Prosecution Service in any subsequent enquiries.
Digital Xtra also reserves the right to withdraw funding and/or support at any point from beneficiaries found to not have appropriate policies in place as relates to this Safeguarding Policy.
LAST UPDATED: September 2026