All Church of England National Safeguarding Guidance can be found here
Policies / Practice Guidance
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Protecting All God's Children CofE - November 2010 - this remains national policy, however, please note: Chapter 4 has been replaced by 'Key roles and responsibilities of church office holders and bodies'. Chapters 7 and 8 have been replaced by 'Responding to, assessing and managing safeguarding allegations and concerns against church officers'
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Safer Environment and Activities - provides practical advice for parishes, and all those working on behalf of the Church engaging with children, young people and adults who maybe considered vulnerable, with advice on how to conduct day-to-day ministries safely. Along with advice on risk management planning and a more detailed look at who holds positions of responsibility within the Church there is also specific advice for different situations, along with best practice for those leading activities for children and young people
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Code of Safer Working Practice Guidance - sets out what we expect from anyone who ministers in our church, in both paid or voluntary roles, and is one of the ways we ensure high standards of safeguarding in all we do
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Key Roles and Responsibilities of Church Office Holders and Bodies Practice Guidance - outlines the safeguarding responsibilities of key office holders and bodies in line with ‘Promoting a Safer Church’: the Church of England policy statement for the children, young people and adults
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Safeguarding in Religious Communities -this document applies to members of all those religious communities which are recognised or acknowledged under the Religious Communities Regulations 2020
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Model safeguarding provision that can be attached to any hire of church premises agreement
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Promoting a Safe Church (safeguarding policy for adults, 2006)
Understanding Safeguarding & Recognising Abuse
The Safeguarding Children Young People and Vulnerable Adults Guidance was published in December 2021
The Church of England’s Safeguarding policy statement ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ (2017) outlines the Church’s commitment to promoting a safe environment and culture across all church communities for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
The Safeguarding Children Young People and Vulnerable Adults Guidance does two things:
- It describes what is meant by “safeguarding” and defines the different forms that abuse and safeguarding concerns can take. As such, it provides the context and foundation for the complete suite of Church safeguarding Guidance documents. (With two exceptions, the forms of abuse are based on existing Church guidance, which have been updated and brought together in one place).
- It provides more detailed guidance on three important safeguarding issues:
- Domestic abuse, because many Church Officers will themselves be victims and survivors of domestic abuse, and / or will be in contact with victims and survivors who, for example, might be members of a congregation or work colleague.
- Spiritual abuse and deliverance ministry as these are particularly relevant to safeguarding in a Church / faith context.
- This Guidance replaces: “Facts Sheet: Types of Abuse 2018” (which is part of Responding to Safeguarding Concerns or Allegations that relate to Children Young People and Vulnerable Adults practice guidance 2018) and parts of Responding Well to Domestic Abuse practice guidance 2017.
Responding Well
Recent guidance for Responding Well to Victims and Survivors of Abuse was published in November 2021. This Guidance outlines requirements and advice for Church Officers and Church Bodies on how to respond well to victims and survivors of all forms of abuse. It also contributes to the implementation of Recommendation 7 of The Anglican Church Investigation Report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The Guidance is about the relational and support aspects of responding well. It should be read alongside the specific procedural steps to be taken when concerns and allegations of abuse are raised. These are set out in: