Training and Events Safeguarding Team
All Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs) are encouraged to regularly read the PSO Welcome Pack
Guidance and codes of practice are available in the Church of England's Safeguarding e-manual further information and links can be found on the Safeguarding Dashboard.
Every PCC across the Church of England follows the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and must sign the statement: ‘Promoting a Safer Church.’
A full checklist for parishes can be found on our parish checklist page, these are the minimum requirements every parish must follow.
What to display on your notice board.
Each PCC is required to display two safeguarding notices on any church notice board.
Please choose the correct poster for your area:
- Herefordshire Poster (here is a Word version).
- Shropshire Poster (here is a Word version).
- Monmouthshire Poster (here is a Word version)
- Worcestershire Poster (here is a Word version)
- Powys Poster (here is a Word version)
Please also print this one-page summary ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ Policy and display it alongside.
An optional poster can be displayed alongside the mandatory posters, explaining the five safeguarding standards.
What information to show on your parish website
If you have a parish website, you must include safeguarding information, easily accessible from the home page. Please also ensure you update your Church of England A Church Near You (ACNY) parish page; standard text is available to publish on this platform. It can also be copied and used on any other parish website to ensure you share the same message. It is a requirement of the Parish Safeguarding Toolkit.
Details of the Safeguarding Information for Parish Websites can be found on the Church of England website as well as on the resource pages of A Church Near You.
Safeguarding Dashboard
Our diocese has adopted Safeguarding Dashboards. This is an online tool to support safeguarding administration and governance for all parishes.
Watch a short video - or download a brochure - to learn more about this tool.
Further details can be found at safeguardingdashboards.org.uk where you can also log on to your Parish Safeguarding Dashboard page online. If you experience any issues logging in, please email the safeguarding team for assistance
You can use this quick guide document, which explains how to use the Dashboards.
Details of how to sign up to the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard can be requested from the safeguarding team. You will need to provide the following information:
- Your name and role in your parish
- The name of the parish you are a part of/need access to the dashboard
- If you need to be an owner (with the ability to edit the dashboard information) or a viewer (with no ability to edit dashboard information
Safeguarding Hub
The Safeguarding Hub works alongside the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard, supports safer recruitment and training, keeping a simple record. The Safeguarding Hub is free to use.
- Keep track of DBS checks and safeguarding training.
- Create role descriptions and person specifications.
- Track the safer recruitment of new volunteers.
This brochure explains how the Safeguarding Hub works.
If you already have access to your Safeguarding Hub you can log in via your Parish Safeguarding Dashboard.
Please contact the safeguarding team for advice and support if you are experiencing any technical issues.
‘Promoting a Safer Church - Action Plan’
Every PCC in ecouraged to create a Parish/Benefice Safeguarding Action Plan. This document details all the actions and is also an effective tool to track progress. The Parish Safeguarding Action Plan will be used as the basis for a Parish Audit.
The Parish Safeguarding Dashboard is the online version of this tool and is very easy to use.
Please contact DSO Lisa Anderson for more information.
Support for Parish Safeguarding Officers
Contact the Diocesan Safeguarding team for support and advice at any time. Regular meetings, training events are published in our weekly eNews bulletin alongside information on this website. Please do sign up to receive eNews if you are not already subscribed.