From 1st April 2026, Thirtyone:eight are making some changes to the way we offer safeguarding support and membership. This article details those changes and what they mean for you.
Changes to the safeguarding helpline
For over 35 years our award-winning Safeguarding Helpline has been the go-to source of safeguarding guidance for the faith and charity sector. Demand for safeguarding advice and guidance continues to grow year on year, alongside rising costs and changes in how people prefer to access information. To ensure our services remain sustainable, accessible, and available long into the future, we’re evolving how support is provided and introducing new online tools alongside our long-established services.
From 1 April 2026, we’ll be launching our new online suite of support, giving you multiple ways to access guidance and information.
This will include:
- Free access to our online Safeguarding Knowledge Hub: For the first time, our Knowledge Hub will be open to the public without the need to register. It includes over 200 pages of fully searchable safeguarding guidance and answers to the most common issues.
- A new 24/7 Knowledge Finder (launching Spring 2026): Helping you to access the information you need quicker than ever.
- Frequently Asked Questions: Answers to the questions we get asked the most at your fingertips.
Our Safeguarding Helpline will continue to be available for safeguarding advice, but from 1 April 2026 access will be prioritised as follows:
- Victim-survivors and those with lived experience of abuse.
- Professionals working in statutory services.
- Organisations with an active Thirtyone:eight membership.
If you are an individual or organisation without membership, and you are not in one of the categories above, you will no longer have access to the helpline. However, you have 24/7 access to free and expert safeguarding guidance via our suite of online support.
Why are we making these changes?
The Safeguarding Helpline receives over 8,000 calls a year and is growing year on year. The helpline is funded almost entirely through membership subscriptions. As a charity, we receive no external or government funding. As demand and delivery costs continue to increase, we need to ensure the helpline remains sustainable and available long into the future.
By prioritising access for members, victim-survivors, and statutory services, we can continue to offer high-quality, specialist safeguarding guidance while expanding alternative support routes for others, such as the new online suite of support. These new online resources enable non-members to access reliable safeguarding guidance without needing to register or pay.
Find out more about the support available.
Changes to our member offer
Demand for our safeguarding services and guidance continues to grow year on year, and the diversity of organisations seeking our help has increased significantly. Differences in scale, complexity, and resources across our membership are becoming more pronounced, alongside wider changes in safeguarding practice and ongoing financial uncertainty.
To respond to these evolving and increasingly complex needs, we are changing our membership structure so it better reflects the breadth of organisations we support and ensures our services remain sustainable, accessible, and fit for the future.
From 1 April 2026, our existing single membership offer will be replaced with three new membership packages: Essential, Comprehensive, and Advanced.
Essential Membership will replace the current offer and will continue to include existing benefits, alongside new features such as dedicated access to the helpline, member-exclusive webinars, discounts in our online shop, and access to resources, templates and checklists.
These packages, together with our subsidy scheme, allow organisations to choose a level of support that best matches their safeguarding needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. My organisation can’t afford membership
We are committed to ensuring that finance is not a barrier to organisations receiving our help. Our subsidy scheme operates to provide organisations with a lower income, or those who are just starting out, with the means to become members. Contact [email protected] to find out more.
2. I am already a member, what do I need to do?
If you are a member organisation your primary contact will have received an email about the changes.
From 1 April 2026, our current single membership offer will be replaced by a new Essential Membership package. This package will automatically replace your existing membership at your next renewal — you don’t need to take any action.
Your Essential Membership will continue to include everything you already receive, plus new benefits designed to help you access safeguarding support more easily and build confidence across your organisation.
New member benefits include:
- A dedicated, free Safeguarding Helpline
- Free live and on-demand member-exclusive webinars
- 10% discount on all items in our online shop
- Unlimited downloads – to 50+ updated policies, templates and forms
You also get access to our new online suite of support that includes:
- an updated, four-nations friendly safeguarding Knowledge Hub
- a new 24/7 online Knowledge Finder (launching Spring 2026)
- Frequently Asked Questions
Your log-in details, portal access, and DBS/AccessNI processing access (where applicable) will remain exactly the same.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
As the UK’s leading independent Christian safeguarding charity and membership organisation, we remain committed in our mission and vision to equip, empower, and encourage organisations to create places where every child and adult can feel, and be, safe. By responding to changing needs and developing our services and the way our people, we hope we’re making it even easier to create safer places for all.