Dame Mary Marsh, former chief executive of NSPCC, is to lead the development of a sector-wide code of conduct on behalf of NCVO.
The code of conduct is a response to recent issues of safeguarding, NCVO has said. It will be part of cross-sector work with the government, the Charity Commission and NCVO members to build safeguarding knowledge and capacity across the voluntary sector.
Sir Stuart Etherington, if a chief to his organisation's conference today, said Marsh had been appointed to lead on the development of a code of conduct “that we can all work to – ensuring that our values are reflected in our behaviours”.
“We want this [code of conduct] to work for every organisation, whether you are in social care, arts and heritage, international development or conservation. We want to make it clear to everyone that we take these issues seriously and that we aim for the highest possible standards. The cost of failure is too high”.
Dame Mary Marsh was previously chief executive of NSPCC between 2000 and 2008. She went on to be the founding director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme between 2008 and 2015. She received her DBE from Her Majesty the Queen in the 2007 New Year Honours list for services to families and children.
Terms of reference for the development of the code have yet to be finalised by NCVO. Civil Society News understands that a reference group is likely to be appointed shortly, and that this will be followed by a wider consultation with the sector.
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