Policy and practice guidance | The Church of England

Please visit our Safeguarding e-manual for revised House of Bishops Guidance and Codes of Practice.

The safeguarding policies on the e-manual have been updated and should be the first port of call for anyone seeking clarity in relation to a safeguarding action. For those using the Safeguarding Dashboard, there are helpful links to relevant polices and key notes against actions.

We are currently developing a Parish Safeguarding Toolkit, with the help of our church colleagues. The toolkit, as with the PSH, does not provide the legal details which are outlined in code of practice, but rather provides “how to” advice on relation to what steps you need to take in relation to different areas of safeguarding. The Information developed so far is available here and we anticipate this will be completed by January 2026.

All the policy and practice guidance on this page has been approved by the House of Bishops and must, where relevant, be followed by all Church Bodies* and Church Officers**.

Please note under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016*** all authorised clergy, bishops, archdeacons, licensed readers and lay workers, churchwardens and PCCs must have 'due regard' to safeguarding guidance issued by the House of Bishops (this will include both policy and practice guidance). A duty to have 'due regard' to guidance means that the person under the duty is not free to disregard it but is required to follow it unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so. ('Cogent' for this purpose means clear, logical and convincing.) Failure by clergy to comply with the duty imposed by the 2016 Measure may result in disciplinary action.

*Church Bodies includes PCCs, diocesan bodies, cathedrals, religious communities, theological training institutions and the National Church Institutions. This policy will apply to the whole of the provinces of Canterbury and York (including the Diocese in Europe subject to local variations/modifications). There is also an expectation that the policy will apply to the Channel Islands and Sodor and Man unless there is specific local legislation in a jurisdiction that would prevent adoption.

**A "Church Officer" is anyone appointed/elected by or on behalf of the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or unpaid.

***The Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 applies to the whole of the provinces of Canterbury and York (including the Diocese in Europe subject to local variations/modifications), with the exception of the Channel Islands and Sodor and Man. In order to extend the 2016 Measure to the Channel Islands or Sodor and Man legislation will need to be passed by the relevant island jurisdictions in accordance with section 12 of that Measure.

Practice Guidance

For templates and resources relating to safeguarding policy and practice guidance, including those referenced in the Parish Safeguarding Handbook and Safer Working Practice, please see here.