Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Safeguarding Audits
Our EDI Safeguarding Audits give organisations a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of equity, diversity, inclusion, and safeguarding across workforce, governance, and service delivery. The audit identifies both strengths and risks, delivering practical, actionable recommendations that support compliance, reduce organisational risk, and improve outcomes for staff and service users. Each audit is tailored to your organisation and includes the following components.
Strengthen compliance and improve outcomes.
Speak with our experts to see how an EDI Safeguarding Audit can identify gaps, strengthen governance, and embed inclusive practices that protect your organisation and improve outcomes for staff and service users.
What We Provide
EDI, Safeguarding and Regulatory Obligations
We assess your compliance with legal and regulatory obligations, alongside your internal organisational commitments. This demonstrates legal and regulatory literacy without being legalistic, ensuring your organisation can meet its statutory duties while embedding equity and safeguarding principles effectively.
Equity Framework used by Talk Forward
Our audit uses a comprehensive equity lens across five key dimensions:
Access: Who is included and excluded.
Experience: How people experience your systems and services.
Outcomes: Who benefits and who is disadvantaged.
Power & Voice: Who influences decisions.
Safeguarding & Harm Reduction: Where inequities create risk.
This framework ensures all findings are actionable and grounded in best practice.
Workforce Equity Analysis
We evaluate workforce representation, recruitment, progression, pay, reward, recognition, performance, discipline, and retention. Intersectional analysis identifies where inequities may create legal exposure, workforce harm, or retention risks. This provides a clear picture of organisational strengths and vulnerabilities in people management.
Culture, Inclusion & Lived Experience
Using staff feedback and focus groups, we assess psychological safety, belonging, confidence to raise concerns, and trust in leadership. Our trauma-informed, anti-oppressive approach highlights cultural strengths, barriers, and areas where silence or disengagement may be protecting staff, giving leaders insight into real organisational culture.
Service User Equity and Safeguarding
We review access, experience, and outcomes for service users, identifying barriers for marginalised groups, disproportionate thresholds, engagement patterns, and missed safeguarding opportunities. This ensures your services are safe, inclusive, and equitable, and helps mitigate reputational, operational, and safeguarding risk.
All risks identified are assessed through a structured, defensible framework including description, affected groups, risk type, likelihood, impact, existing controls, and gaps. This mirrors familiar risk registers and ensures leadership can make informed decisions and prioritise mitigation effectively.
Governance, Accountability & Assurance
We evaluate senior leadership oversight, reporting lines, escalation routes, and board readiness. Gaps in governance or assurance are identified, highlighting where evidence, monitoring, or leadership capacity may be limiting your organisation’s ability to respond to challenges effectively.
Find out how our audits, strategy reflective supervisions, trainings, and strategic consultancy can work together to reduce risk, enhance compliance, and embed inclusive practice across your teams.
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An audit helps organisations proactively manage risk, meet regulatory obligations, and strengthen governance. By identifying gaps and inequities in workforce, governance, and service delivery, organisations can reduce legal, operational, and reputational exposure while improving the experience and outcomes of both staff and service users.
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We use a rigorous, multi-method approach combining quantitative data analysis (workforce, pay, progression, complaints) with qualitative insights (interviews, focus groups, surveys), and a review of policies and documents. Risk and safeguarding is considered throughout to ensure recommendations are defensible and actionable.
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Findings are delivered in a clear, structured report including:
Executive overview and organisational context
Regulatory and ethical alignment
Workforce and service user equity analysis
Culture, inclusion, and lived experience insights
Governance, accountability, and assurance assessment
Prioritised recommendations and an action plan
The report uses a RAG (red, amber, green) rating system and highlights top priority actions to ensure clarity and decision-making support for leadership.
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An EDI Safeguarding Audit provides tangible organisational benefits, including:
Enhanced compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.
Identification and mitigation of operational, safeguarding, and reputational risk.
Clear, actionable recommendations to embed inclusive practices.
Improved staff engagement, culture, and retention.
Safer, more equitable outcomes for service users.
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Audit timelines vary depending on organisational size and scope, but each audit is designed to provide a thorough, actionable assessment within a timeframe that minimises disruption while maximising insight and impact.
We work flexibly with organisations to develop a schedule that suits their operational needs — and, where required, can offer an accelerated turnaround for those seeking faster delivery of findings and recommendations.