Good Practice

Safeguarding Children and Young People in the Church

Child Protection – The Facts• There are at least 110,000 convicted

child sex offenders living in the UK (URC attendance is 120,000)

• At least 1 child a week dies following abuse and neglect

• 26% of all recorded rape victims were children

• 350,000 – 400,000 children live in families which are consistently low in warmth and high in criticism

Child Protection – The Facts

• 32% of those reporting sexual abuse reported it as being from someone known to the caller

• 59% reported that it came from someone in the callers family

• 9% reported it as someone unknown to the caller

Childline March 2000

Child Protection – The Facts

• About 33% of girls and over 20% of boys said that, at least sometimes, they were afraid to go to school because of bullying

• Up to two thirds of voluntary youth organisations do not report on staff suspected or proven to have offended against children

Good Practice

Safeguarding Children and Young People in the Church

Where are we now?

20/04/23

A Bit of History• Children Act 1989• Safe From Harm 1993

– 13 Principles for voluntary sector• Denominational Guidelines circa 1994• Time for Action – CTBI 2002• Criminal Records Bureau 2002• Every Child Matters 2006• Vetting and Barring Scheme 2008

halted by Coalition Government 2010• Protection of Freedoms Act May 2012

20/04/23

Independent Safeguarding Agency

• Introduced in 2009• CRB Enhanced Disclosure for all volunteers• Criminal offence for someone barred to apply

for work with children and young people• Criminal offence for an employer to employ a

barred person in this role

ALL of the above still applies!

New changes introduced in September 2012

Disclosure and Barring Service comes into Force December 2012

Disclosure and Barring Service

• CRB and ISA merge on 1st December 2012 and become Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

• New information and online services 2013, including a new “Update Service”, still to be finalised.

Regulated Activity

• Regulated Activity definitions have changes

• No longer any “Controlled” Activities

• CRB checks must be carried out where regulated activity takes place. (2013-14 no barred worker should be working within a regulated activity)

Regulated Activity - Adults

• Adult – anyone aged 18 or over

• The word “vulnerable” no longer applies

• Refers to the services required, not where they take place

• Frequency test has been removed – working in regulated activity just once requires checks to be undertaken.

Regulated Activity with Adults involves:

• Any healthcare provision or supervision of such• Personal care requiring hands-on physical assistance – toileting, washing, feeding, dressing, or prompting someone the need to do any of the above, or supervising anyone undertaking such activities• Any social work activity with an adult undertaken by health or social services• Assisting an adult with their own affairs under a formal appointment

Regulated Activity with Adults involves:

Conveying adults for reason of age, illness or disability, to, from or between places, where they receive healthcare, personal care or social work arranged by a third party”.

If you are conveying an adult for the reasons above on behalf of a local church you are undertaking a regulated activity.

Regulated Activity - Children

• Child – Anyone aged under 18

• New definitions of frequency

• Includes all volunteers working “regularly” with children or supervising such volunteers

• May still includes school governors and children’s charity trustees, subject to Charity Commissioner’s Guidance

Regulated Activity with Children - Frequency

An activity with children becomes a regulated activity depending on the frequency or “regularity” of the activity.

Regular = Once a week or more often; or on 4 or more days in a 30 day period; or any overnight activity (2am – 6am)

Regulated activities with Children

Includes all healthcare, personal care and social work activities included with adults, even if only undertaken once (no frequency test).

Regulated Activity with Children

Places of work such as schools, children’s hospitals, children’s detention centres and children’s homes are automatically covered in the Act.

A regulated activity in a church would be defined as unsupervised activities with children being undertaken on a regular basis

Regulated Activity with Children - Volunteers

Volunteers undertaking “regular” activities with a group of children in a youth group, uniformed organisation, junior church, Christian group, music group, choir, etc are seen as unsupervised workers and are therefore undertaking regulated activities.

Supervised Activity with Children - Volunteers

• “Supervised” volunteers no longer require a CRB check.

• Supervision = always in the care of a paid employee with CRB checks or undertaking non-regular activity in the care of other volunteers with CRB checks

Disclosure and Barring Service

• Established from 1st December 2012

• Plans to introduce “Update Service” which will negate the requirement for renewing CRB disclosures.

• Plans to introduce portable CRBs

DBS – Update Service

• For a small fee (unestablished) CRB applicants can check online for updates to their CRB Disclosure

• This may, in future, negate the need for renewing CRB checks, but will negate the need for multiple CRB checks for different “employers” or agencies.

CRIMINAL

RECORDS

BUREAU

APPLICATION

PROCESS

CRB Checks

• New age restriction

• New ID regulations

• Validity

CRB Checks – age restrictions

• It is now illegal to apply for a CRB check before the age of 16

• Anyone countersigning a CRB Check application must themselves be 18 or over.

CRB Checks – ID Regulations

New guidance has been issued with regard to how a CRB Applicant is to be identified. Certain documents MUST be seen to identify an applicant. If these are not available applicant must pay a fee for further checks to be made.

Ministries have sent out information and new CAS forms to all Churches.

CRB Checks - Validity

CRB checks are now valid indefinitely. HOWEVER the United Reformed Church recommends they are renewed every 3-5 years.

Renewals may be negated by the proposed “Update Service”

CRB Checks - Volunteers

• All volunteers are eligible for an Enhanced CRB check

APPLICANT – ring CRB on 0870 9090 844

and ask for an Enhanced Disclosure form giving the registered body name

‘Churches Agency for Safeguarding/Methodist Council’ – and quote registered body number

2062 5600 000

STEP 1

Please Note:New CRB Application forms came into effect in 2011.

We are awaiting supplies of a new form design December 2012/Early 2013 which removes ISA Application data. No details available yet.

STEP 1a

Local Churches who wish to be responsible for 10 or more forms

can apply directly to the Churches Agency for

Safeguarding (CAS) on 020 7467 5216.

Complete the CRB form (when it arrives according to the instruction booklet.

STEP 2

Take completed form with suitable means of identification to church secretary or notified verifier.

STEP 3

The Role of the Verifier

• The task of the verifier is to act as the responsible person in the local situation who affirms the identity of the applicant.

Why the Church Secretary?

• The verifier is usually the Church Secretary as they can be accessed from the CAS database in order that their own identity can be verified.

• All verifiers who are not Church Secretaries MUST notify ministries so that their details can be added to the database

What has to be done?

• See the applicant in person.

• Check the applicant’s documents to provide proof of identity.

Church secretary completes relevant sections of CRB form, CAS Documentary evidence of identity form and the churches CAS form.

STEP 4a

Which documents should be seen to confirm identity?

Has Applicant signed their consent on CRB Application?

Can applicant supply original UK or Channel Islands Birth Certificate?

Yes – Route 3

Yes

Original UK or Channel Islands Birth Certificate plus 1 document

from Group 2a and 3 from Group 2a or

2b

Yes

Verifier to state “NO” in Section W

Line 59 and applicant will be

required to supply fingerprints

Document check completed by Verifier

No

Can Applicant produce any Group 1 document?

One document from Group 1 plus

any two others from Group 1 or 2

(Route 1)

Three documents from Group 2a and

further two from group 2b

(Route 2 - £2:50 fee payable)

No

Yes - Routes 1 and 2

If applicant is a paid member of staff enclose cheque for £44, payable to ‘The Churches Agency for Safeguarding’.

STEP 4b

Send forms, marked ‘Strictly private and confidential’ to Churches Agency for Safeguarding (NOT CRB) at:

25 Marylebone RoadLondonNW1 5JR

STEP 5

Wait – the response will come eventually and usually within 4-6 weeks.

Only the applicant will be notified. You should maintain contact with the applicant and do not allow them to work in a regulated activity until the disclosure has been received and shown to you.

STEP 6

Copy CRB Disclosure

Please note it is the Government’s intention that copy CRB Disclosures will not be issued. This is to allow the applicant to challenge a blemished disclosure if it contains inaccurate information

Further Government Advice

If you would like to look up any advice of changes to the Law or procedures, please go to:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/crb

If in doubt please contact

OR contact Church House on: 020 7916 2020

Good Practice

Safeguarding Children and Young People in the Church