We are committed to excellence in safeguarding practice
The Diocese and Church of England are committed to safely recruiting and supporting all workers and volunteers who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults who attend church activities. The Church of England's Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance (see section below for links to each section of the guidance) must be followed for all new appointments for paid and volunteers working with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
Due to numerous issues which have arisen over the last few months the Diocese now state that for roles which are not primarily working with children and/or vulnerable adult eg serving tea/coffee after a church service, gardening, flower arranging etc there still needs to be a form of safer recruitment. This should comprise of a short role description, a completed confidential declaration form, completion of basic online safeguarding training, and be provided with the code of safer working practice.
NO PERSON SHOULD COMMENCE IN ANY ROLE UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE SAFER RECRUITMENT PROCESSES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND THEY HAVE ALSO COMPLETED BASIC ONLINE SAFEGUARDING TRAINING
Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance - comprises of 16 sections, each of which include:
- Requirements - The minimum standards that everyone must adhere too
- Good practice advice - Information about why the requirements must be met, and how to meet them to a good level
- Toolkit - Templates and resources than can be used
The following are the links to each section of the guidance and lead you through the Safer Recruitment Process:
- Responsibilities
- Role Description and Person Specification
- Advertising a role
- Application Process
- Confidential Declaration
- Shortlisting applicants
- Interviews and Assessment
- Pre-Appointment Checks
- Disclosure and Barring checks - DBS
- Criminal Records
- Appointment
- Induction
- Probationary/Settling in period
- Ongoing support, accountability, oversight and supervision
- Learning and Development
- Record Keeping
Links to template documents for use when completing the safer recruitment process:
- Volunteer role description
- Person Specification Template
- Application form template
- Confidential declaration form (as per Diocese guidelines this should be completed by anyone taking on a volunteer or paid role in the church)
- Privacy Notice (to be given to the person completing a confidential declaration form, this will need personalising for your church and information adding in the sections highlighted in yellow)
- Example Interview Questions
- Reference request template
- Letter of appointment template
- Induction Checklist
- Sample Volunteer Support Meeting Agenda
- Recruitment, DBS and training record keeping template
- Code of Safer Working Practice
Please remember if someone completes a confidential declaration form and answers yes to any of the questions asked then you must contact the Safeguarding team for advice before proceeding any further with the recruitment process.
New Activities
If your church is setting up a new activity then please ensure you have covered the following before the activity commences:
- Your church insurance is aware you will be running the activity
- The activity has been authorised by the PCC and recorded in the minutes
- All volunteers/paid workers must complete the safer recruitment process appropriate to their role
- An activity risk assessment should be completed and reviewed regularly for each activity which is associated with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults which are run in the name of the church - you can download this here
Other useful template documents
- Model Activity Risk Assessment
- Model Personal Risk Assessment tool
- Model Registration form - Activities and Trips
- Model Risk Assessment Checklist for Home Visiting
- Model Volunteer Driver Agreement
- Model Consent Form - Recordings and Privacy Notice
- Model Consent Form - transport
- Model safeguarding provision that can be attached to any hire of church premises agreement
Recruitment of Ex-Offenders
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. But we do follow strict guidelines and procedures for the recruitment of ex-offenders which we expect all parishes to follow - read our policy here
Recruitment of Overseas Applicants
Overseas applicants must complete the Church of England Safer Recruitment Process & Right to Works Checks before commencing their role. For information relating to DBS checks for overseas volunteers please see the following page of the Diocese Web Site and government guidelines
Recruitment for Parish Safeguarding Officers
All new appointments to the role of Parish Safeguarding Officer should complete the following Safer Recruitment Process:
- Provide them with the role description which they should read and understand. For details of the tasks involved in the role of the PSO please read the PSO's role description.
- Complete a confidential-declaration form
- Complete an application form and provide two references which should be requested and verified
- If eligible obtain an enhanced dbs check, see the following guidance - DBS checks for Parish Safeguarding Officers to help you decide if your PSO is eligible for a DBS check.
- Have their appointment approved by PCC - this should be recorded in the minutes
For further information or queries relating to Safer Recruitment contact Debbie Doran, Safeguarding Support, tel 0151 705 2124 any Tuesday or Wednesday or email: deborah.doran@liverpool.anglican.org or the Safeguarding team via email: safeguarding.team@liverpool.anglican.org
#SafeguardingMatters