Back to News Posts

Code of Practice Compliance Review – Autumn 2025

We are very proud about the outcome of the recent Code of Practice Compliance Review of Circles South West (CSW) and hugely grateful to all the volunteers, core members, staff and partners involved in this process. This article provides a summary of the process and outcomes, and highlights areas of good practice identified.

Context

CSW must comply with national standards for the provision of Circles which is called the ‘Code of Practice for Circles of Support and Accountability’. Every two years, Circles UK (national body overseeing Circles Providers), on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, undertakes a rigorous ‘Code of Practice Compliance Review’ to ensure that we meet the national standards. This comprises detailed analysis of an ‘evidence file’ providing documentation that proves how we meet the standards, plus 3 site visits where Reviewers scrutinise the case files and practice of 3 randomly selected Circles, and interview a range of stakeholders including volunteers, core members, coordinators and other staff, trustees and partners such as probation and police.

Process

The evidence pack was submitted Sept 2025 and the 3 site visits took place in Oct 2025 in Bournemouth (Dorset), Frome (Somerset) and Exeter (Devon).

A detailed report was provided by the Reviewers covering these areas:

• Governance and Accountability
• Financial Management and Control
• Planning and Reporting
• Staff and Volunteers
• Organisational Identity
• Effective Service Delivery
• Public Protection and Risk Management

Outcome

The ‘compliance percentage’ was the very high score of 97.3%. The Reviewers have written an extremely positive, detailed report that captures well the fantastic work that is undertaken by staff and volunteers, and reflects our competent charity governance.

Good Practice

Reviewers highlighted 11 areas of good practice:

1. Regular [staff] Practice Meetings to discuss cases/safeguarding and/or risk issues and share learning and good practice.
2. The commitment and quality of the Volunteers was apparent across all 3 Circles, and it was clear that staff held them in high regard.
3. The staff team appeared to work collaboratively and are loyal and supportive of each other.
4. The Senior Management Team and Trustees were highly respected and appreciated by staff.
5. Coordinators possessed significant levels of experience, knowledge and expertise and were highly regarded by Volunteers and the senior management team.
6. CSW has an effective policy framework in place.
7. CSW’s commitment to data protection / UK GDPR is robust.
8. The investment in evaluating the Circles provision through the 5-year Research in Practice study.
9. The recruitment and initial training were positively received by Volunteers and reported to be of a high standard.
10. Positive and effective engagement with the outer Circle who all spoke favourably of the impact that the Circle has had on the Core Member (CM).
11. All CMs spoke positively about the impact that the Circle has had on them.

Comments from Core Members

‘I used to be a closed off person and it has helped me to open up and not bottle up things inside anymore. I’m not getting as anxious anymore and can handle my anxiety and depression better’.

‘I used to hide in my own head and wouldn’t talk to people, and the Circle has helped me with being less socially isolated’.

‘At first it felt overwhelming, but the Volunteers have made me feel part of the community and they have encouraged me to try new things’.