Safeguarding policy updates
Since the launch of the new Safeguarding website in August 2020, the policies are now available on webpages and all changes made to them are updated on the website. You can track these changes here.
Please be advised of the following important update from the Safeguarding Board to the Safeguarding policies for children and adults:
Best safeguarding practice by the Church in respect of convicted child sex offenders requires that they should not hold representational roles as this can be perceived to convey a position of authority by other members of the Church, both children and adults. This can be particularly sensitive and potentially hurtful for anyone who has been harmed by a sex offender.
An individual who has been the victim of a sexual offence may have to manage lifelong consequences arising from that harm and their needs should be prioritised. It is therefore regarded as inappropriate that someone with a conviction for a sexual offence would hold any role on a decision making body in the Diocese or in Church leadership of any sort, even when that role does not involve contact with children.
The wording above has been added to the policies in the following locations:
- Section 3 – The Importance of Good Recruitment, Selection and Management Procedures, here in the RI policy. The same section in the NI children’s policy here .
- Here in the RI adult safeguarding policy (recruitment section E) and here in the NI adult safeguarding policy.
