Safer recruitment for parishes and churches

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.  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.   For roles which support ministry and offer a profile in the church please see the relevant section for recruitment guidance.
 

Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance - comprises of 16 sections, each of which includes

  • 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 that can be used
     

The following is the link to the Church of England Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance: :https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/safeguarding-e-manual/safer-recruitment-and-people-management-guidance

Links to template documents for use when completing the safer recruitment process:

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.
 

Roles which support ministry and offer a profile within the church eg: welcomers, homegroup leaders, tea and coffee servers 

These roles still require a form of safer recruitment.  The Diocesan Safeguarding Team's advice, in line with the House of Bishops safeguarding policies is that all such roles should follow a basic 4-step safer recruitment process:

  1. A short role description is given to the volunteer
  2. The volunteer completes a confidential declaration form which is reviewed by the Parish Safeguarding Officer and the privacy notice to accompany.  Both these documents can be downloaded from the following page of the Diocese Web Site -  Safer recruitment for parishes and churches - Diocese of Liverpool (anglican.org)
  3. The volunteer commits to undertaking basic online safeguarding training which can be accessed via the Church of England Safeguarding Training Portal - Safeguarding Training Portal (cofeportal.org)
  4. The volunteer is given a code of safer working practice - available here

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 
 

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

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 to 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

Recruitment for PCC Trustees

As PCC trustee are elected to their role they must once elected to role complete a Trustee Eligibility Fit and Propers Persons Eligibility and the Charity Commission recommends that if the governing body sponsors in its own name work with children, young people and vulnerable adults the trustees always obtain an enhanced with barring dbs check for child and adult workforce

 

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

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