Our commitment to safeguarding

Safeguarding is the active work of recognising when a child or an adult at risk may be being harmed, and acting on it. The CQC-regulated providers we work with carry safeguarding duties as registered persons. Verivius supports that work; we do not replace it.

Anyone working for Verivius (the founder, employed staff, or contracted consultants) is expected to recognise a safeguarding concern and act on it, whether it arises during an on-site engagement, while reviewing records remotely, or in any other contact with a provider's people. We hold ourselves to a written internal safeguarding policy, and everyone who works on our behalf agrees to follow it.

When a Verivius consultant carries out an on-site engagement, for example a Verivius Mock Inspection, they will:

• Hold a current Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where the engagement is eligible for one. Eligibility is checked against the latest gov.uk guidance before fieldwork begins.
• Hold current safeguarding training appropriate to the setting.
• Follow the provider's own safeguarding policy while on site, including any access, escorting, or supervision arrangements.
• Treat any safeguarding concern they observe as the provider's to act on first, supporting the provider's named safeguarding lead in raising it through the provider's existing channels: the local authority safeguarding team, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), or the CQC as appropriate.

Where a concern needs to be raised independently of the provider, for example where the provider itself appears to be the source of harm, the Verivius consultant follows the escalation route in our internal policy and, where needed, raises it directly with the relevant authority.

If you have a safeguarding concern that involves Verivius or anyone working for us, contact safeguarding@verivius.co.uk with "Safeguarding concern" in the subject line. We aim to acknowledge concerns promptly, and always within two working days, and to act without delay on anything urgent.

If a child or an adult is at immediate risk, do not wait for us: contact your local authority safeguarding team, or call 999.

If your concern is about a CQC-regulated service rather than about Verivius, the right route is the local authority safeguarding team and the CQC. We cannot act as a substitute for those channels and we will not try to.

Safeguarding records held on the Verivius platform are handled under our Data Processing Agreement and privacy policy, which set out who is responsible for what. We never share the details of an individual's safeguarding concern beyond the people who need to act on it.

Verivius is not a regulator. We do not investigate, adjudicate, or enforce safeguarding outcomes. We support providers in doing the work, and we hold ourselves to the same standards we expect of them.