This document is aimed at Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) that train people for licensed ministries (lay or ordained) within the Church of England. When considering the House of Bishops safeguarding guidance1 , it is clear that TEIs do not fit easily into this framework, aimed as it is at parishes and dioceses. This document does not replace any of the House of Bishop’s safeguarding policy documents or dilute the requirement of church officers to comply with them. Instead, it explains how those policy documents should be read and adapted into the special circumstances of a TEI. It has been written by the Ministry Development Team (MDT) in consultation with the National Safeguarding Team (NST). Throughout, the guiding principle must be for the TEI to adopt policies that keep everybody safe.
Each TEI is unique, and while each has strong links with the Church of England, their formal governance could fall into one or more of the following organisational structures:
- Independent institution;
- Run by a single diocese;
- Run by two or more dioceses;
- An ecumenical institution.
Similarly, each TEI might
Be residential, non-residential, or some mix of the two;
- Provide residential accommodation for some or all students, staff and their families;
- Offer short-term residential accommodation to others on a commercial basis (e.g. conferences or B&B);
- Focus almost entirely on formation for ordained ministry, or additionally for a range of other licensed and unlicensed ministries;
- Include independent students and students from other denominations;
- Be a standalone institution, a centre within a wider TEI or part of a partnership/federation with other local TEIs;
- Be validated by one or more universities, including “Common Awards” (CA) with Durham University, and so subject to that university’s regulations.
Therefore, some TEIs see themselves not as “Church of England Theological Education Institutions” but as “Independent Theological Education Institutions which train people for the Church of England”. Nonetheless, the Church of England requires that a TEI is a safe place for its ministers and their families to train, and its requirements on TEIs are laid out in section 8 of the “Key Roles and Responsibilities ” guidance. These requirements apply to all TEIs that that train anyone for ministry in the Church of England, lay or ordained.
The Roles and Responsibilities document includes the requirement that TEIs must “adopt and implement the House of Bishops’ safeguarding policy and practice guidance and national legislation and guidance”. An independent, ecumenical TEI may believe that safeguarding is best achieved by implementing some other policy, for example from a partner Church, or a combination of the policies from several Churches. This would normally be acceptable to the Church of England. Furthermore, every other point in Roles and Responsibilities will still apply in order for the TEI to be considered a safe place for formation of people for ministry and for their families.
Some TEIs work very closely with other TEIs, for example to form a single entity for the purposes of Common Awards. In these cases, the TEIs involved need to be completely clear where responsibility for safeguarding lies. Normally, this will be with the Governing Bodies of the separate institutions that are responsible for the day to activities of staff and students. However, a case could be made for central safeguarding action and governance if teaching and placement coordination were also centralised. Whichever option is chosen, this needs to be properly documented and communicated.
- 1Safeguarding Guidance becomes Safeguarding Code of Practice from 2023 onwards. For further information on what this change means, please refer to this Synod update.