Safeguarding Resources

Quick Links:

• Parish Safeguarding Dashboards
• National Church of England Safeguarding Policy
• National Church of England Safeguarding Practice Guidance
• Diocese of Exeter Policy and Guidance
• Parish Toolkit for Safeguarding
• Safer Recruitment
• Domestic Abuse

National Church of England Safeguarding Policy

• Promoting a Safer Church (2017): the new national House of Bishops policy statement for Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults.  This document is to be supported by more detailed practice guidance, which will be made available in due course.
• Protecting All God’s Children (2010): Previous national policy for safeguarding children.  Please continue to refer to this until the supporting practice guidance is available for the new policy.
• Promoting a Safe Church (2006): Previous national policy for safeguarding vulnerable adults.  Please continue to refer to this until the supporting practice guidance is available for the new policy.

Note: Explanation of duty to have ‘due regard’ with respect to House of Bishops policy and practice guidance (issued February 2020)

National Church of England Safeguarding Practice Guidance

• Parish Safeguarding Handbook v2.0: the ‘need to know’ Safeguarding reference guide for parishes.  (NB: Where the handbook refers to Parish Safeguarding Officers or PSOs, we refer to them as Parish Safeguarding Representatives or PSRs in the Diocese of Exeter.)
• Safer Environment and Activities (2019): practical guidance that should be read by all activity leaders and PCC members.
• Responding Well To Domestic Abuse 2017 Revised: policy and guidance on how we should respond to victims/survivors of abuse and to alleged/known perpetrators.
• Safeguarding Training and Development Practice Guidance 2017: policy and guidance on what training is required and how it will be delivered.
• Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance (2016): the key practice guidance that all PCCs and Parish Safeguarding Representatives should read to understand the Safer Recruitment process that must be followed for volunteer or paid appointments.
• Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure (2016): the legislation that compels all Clergy and Church Officers to pay due regards to the House of Bishops’ guidance on Safeguarding.
• Responding to Safeguarding Concerns or Allegations Against Church Officers 2017: guidance on how safeguarding concerns should be handled when raised regarding clergy/church officers.
• Roles and Responsibilities of Church Office Holders – Practice Guidance 2017: guidance outlining the safeguarding responsibilities of key office holders and bodies in the Church structures in line with current Safeguarding policy.
• Glossary Reference Document 2017: a glossary of key terms used in Safeguarding in the Church context.
• Risk Assessment for those who may pose risk to children or adults (2015): guidance on how the Diocesan Safeguarding Team will assess the risk posed by an individual.
• Safeguarding in Religious Communities (2015): guidance on how Safeguarding policy and guidance should be applied in religious communities outside of the normal parish church model.
• Safeguarding Joint Practice Guidance – LEPs (2015): guidance on joint safeguarding practice in Local Ecumenical Partnerships.
• Safeguarding Records: CofE and Methodist Joint Practice Guidance (2015): joint safeguarding practice guidance on maintaining and sharing safeguarding records.
• Responding well to those who have been sexually abused (2011): policy and guidance on how to respond to disclosures of abuse so as to support victims/survivors and avoid causing further harm.
• The Gospel, Sexual Abuse and the Church: A Theological Resource for the Local Church: a resource that aims to frame the Church’s Gospel-based duty to respond well to abuse and to remove any theological argument that might seek to justify abuse in the Christian faith.
• Forgiveness & Reconciliation in the Aftermath of Abuse: a resource that tries to help you answer the question “How do forgiveness and reconciliation, both human and divine, relate to experiences of abuse in our churches?”
• Refugees and Asylum Seekers: A Briefing Note from the National Safeguarding Team: guidance on how churches might support refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

Diocese of Exeter Policy and Guidance

Guidance for all churches, parishes, mission communities and other Church of England bodies within the Diocese of Exeter

In October 2017 Diocesan Synod approved the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy Statement 2017.

This policy replaces the previous May 2014 policy.  While we await the revised national practice guidance to accompany the new 2017 policy from the House of Bishops, please refer to the existing practice guidance found here:

Diocesan Safeguarding Practice – Adults – May 2014 (August 2017)

Diocesan Safeguarding Practice – Children – May 2014 (August 2017)

• Flowchart: Responding to concerns about a child or adult at risk: a simple flowchart summarising the actions to be taken when you are in possession of information regarding a safeguarding situation.

• Confidentiality – Information Sharing Guidance for Clergy and Parishes: guidance on how safeguarding information should be handled.
• What happens when an offender wants to worship at your church: guidance on how to respond if you become aware of an offender (or someone else who poses a risk) who is worshipping or wants to worship in your church.
• Safeguarding complaints policy and procedure EDBF: guidance on how to make a formal complaint about the Safeguarding service provided by the Diocese of Exeter.

Safeguarding and Data Protection: detailed guidance on how and why Safeguarding data is held and processed in the Diocese of Exeter in line with GDPR and the UK Data Protection Bill, including data retention periods.  In Summary:

• Where it is possible and appropriate to obtain consent from an individual we should do so.
• Where it is necessary to process data for the ‘Safeguarding of children and of individuals at risk’ it is in the ‘substantial public interest’ and we have a lawful basis for the processing of that data without consent of the data subject.
• Where we have a ‘legitimate interest’ we can process data without requiring consent.

National Church Institutions Safeguarding Privacy Notice: This privacy notice explains what to expect when the NCIs collect your personal information.

Parish Toolkit for Safeguarding

• PCC Safeguarding Policy template August 2017: your parish is advised to adopt this template policy based on the new House of Bishops policy.  (Please refer to the existing practice guidance until the new guidance is released by the national team that will accompany this new policy.)
• Change of Safeguarding Representative Form (C1): form to register a change of Parish Safeguarding Representative.
• Safeguarding Checklist for Benefices and Parishes 2017: an audit you should undertake in your church to measure how well you are equipped to perform your safeguarding duties.
• Parish Contact Poster: template poster for sharing Safeguarding contact details in church buildings (pages 2, 3 & 4 are specific to your local authority area).
• Parish Responding to Safeguarding Allegations or Concerns Procedure Template: a simple template to help your parish set out the basic procedure for how church officers should respond to a Safeguarding concern in your local church context.
• Church Lettings Safeguarding Statement – August 2017: appendix to add to lettings forms to cover safeguarding responsibility when church premises are hired.
• PCC Use of photographs of children policy (template): policy for the Safe Use of Children’s Photographs.
• Model Registration Form: template form to use for registering the details of children and young people attending groups or activities at your church.
• Church Volunteer Worker Safer Recruitment Record template: This spreadsheet is provided as a template for recording your volunteers’/workers’ details for Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment purposes.  You do not have to use this tool (many of you will have your own systems for recording these details), but we are making it available for anyone who does not currently have a recording mechanism or wishes to move from paper-based to electronic records.
• Examples of Risk Assessments: These assessment templates are not suitable for use without editing, but are a starting point for you to tailor to fit your local context.

Safer Recruitment

• Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance (2016): the key practice guidance that all PCCs and Parish Safeguarding Representatives should read to understand the Safer Recruitment process that must be followed for volunteer or paid appointments.
• Safer Recruitment Diocese of Exeter Flowchart July 2017: a simple to follow flowchart that outlines the basic steps in following the Safer Recruitment process.
• Exeter Evidence Checker Registration Form: new form to register a new/additional DBS evidence checker.
• Confidential Declaration Form 2019: Confidential Declaration form to be localised and used with Enhanced DBS checks.
• Cover Sheet June 2018: Disclosure Cover Sheet for DBS Verifiers to complete and send to the relevant Archdeacon’s PA following completion of a DBS evidence check.
• Parish Information Log – June 2018: form started by DBS Verifier and completed by Parish Safeguarding Rep to record completion of the DBS and track renewal.
• Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Sample Parish Policy 2017: a template to be adopted by all parishes to comply with legal restrictions and expectations over the recruitment/appointment of ex-offenders to parish roles.
• Volunteer Agreement for work with Children and Young People: A template to base volunteer agreements on when recruiting for activities involving children and young people.
• Code of Conduct for Volunteers working with Children and Young People: A template code of conduct that accompanies the Volunteer Agreement for Work with Children & Young People, which should be tailored to suit your local context.
• Young Person Volunteer Agreement: A template volunteer agreement for volunteers in your church aged under 18.
• Code of Conduct for Young Volunteers: A template code of conduct for volunteers aged under 18 to accompany the Young Person Volunteer Agreement, which should be tailored to suit your local context.

The role description templates below contain the key safeguarding responsibilities along with generic duties and responsibilities for the specific role outlined.  Please adapt the role descriptions to fit your local circumstances:

• Role Description – Bell Ringing Teacher
• Role Description – DBS Verifier
• Role Description – Generic Parish Volunteer
• Role Description – Junior Church Helper
• Role Description – Junior Church Leader
• Role Description – Organist/Director of Music
• Role Description – Pastoral Visitor in RA
• Role Description – Pastoral Visitor not in RA
• Role Description – PCC Member
• Role Description – Parish Safeguarding Representative
• Role Description – Server
• Role Description – Tower Captain (CCCBR template)
• Role Description – Verger

Domestic Abuse

Covid-19: Domestic Abuse Response and Resource Guidance

• • Domestic Abuse – National Resources and Advice: contact details for domestic abuse information and support services.
  • Domestic Abuse – Parish Statement template: a template statement for parishes to complete to make a clear statement on their position in opposition to domestic abuse and their intention to support victims.
  • Domestic Abuse – The Legal Context: an explanation of the legal protections victims of abuse can seek to access.
  • Domestic Abuse – Marriage Preparation: guidance for clergy on confronting issues around abuse when supporting couples in preparation for marriage.
  • Domestic Abuse – Theology Clarification: a table setting out counter-points to common Bible passages that are miss-used to condone abuse.
  • Domestic Abuse – Restored Pack for Churches: a resource to support local churches in tackling domestic abuse in their church and community.
  • Domestic Abuse – In Churches Too: a report from the Universities of Leicester and Coventry, commissioned by Restored, that is the first meaningful study of domestic abuse in Church communities.  The report highlights how domestic abuse is as prevalent in Church lives as in the wider community and gives some direction on how churches should respond.
  • Domestic Abuse – Policy Statement 2018: foreword by the Bishop of Exeter and theological statement.

Domestic Abuse – Discreet Contact Posters

Please display the relevant poster for your locality on the back of toilet doors or other discreet locations where people can privately and safely take the number they need to get help.  Use scissors to cut vertical slits between the telephone numbers at the bottom to produce tear-off tabs that people can pull off and keep somewhere safe.

• DA Discreet Contact Poster Devon
• DA Discreet Contact Poster Plymouth
• DA Discreet Contact Poster Torbay