Introduction

The purpose of this code

This Code imposes requirements on relevant persons to enable the assessment and management of safeguarding concerns and allegations. It also provides guidance to relevant persons on how to comply with the requirements. Both the requirements and guidance should be read together. The appendices contain further background and good practice advice. 

The Code is designed specifically for Safeguarding Officers and those who are involved in the management of cases.

It has become increasingly important to distinguish the purposes of the different processes that exist in respect of safeguarding, so that people are clear what to expect from each.

• First, there is the process for responding to, assessing and managing safeguarding concerns about individuals. This process is about the identification and management of risk through the Safeguarding Casework Management Group (SCMG, previously Core Group).
• Secondly, there are the processes which focus on responsibility and accountability for actions, including the establishment of guilt. These processes include criminal investigation and prosecution, disciplinary processes for those with contracts of employment, and complaints under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) for those who are ordained.
• The third process, “learning lessons”, is about taking a step back to try to understand why the events happened in the way they did, and what were any underlying organisational and contextual issues which contributed to them.  Answering the “why” question enables an organisation to learn and make improvements that will keep people safe in the future. Without these underlying issues being identified and addressed, there remains a risk that unsafe practice and organisational factors continue.   

The Code focuses on concerns and allegations about Church Officers. However, the Code also includes guidance on responding to concerns that do not involve Church Officers and on managing risks posed by other individuals in a Church community.

The Code aims to ensure that:

• any safeguarding risks are identified, assessed and managed appropriately;
• where required, statutory services are informed and involved, and there is ongoing partnership work with those agencies to ensure the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults;
• complainants (individuals who raise concerns or allegations) and respondents (individuals who are the subjects of concerns or allegations) receive appropriate and coordinated responses, that have regard to their wellbeing; and
• all safeguarding concerns or allegations are assessed and managed, regardless of whether a threshold for disciplinary action against the subject of the concern or allegation has been met, which is particularly important from a prevention perspective.

This Code is not:

• a criminal justice process – Where appropriate, an investigation will be carried out by the police and may be followed by prosecution.
• a disciplinary process – The processes set out in the Code do not replace the church’s disciplinary processes, any human resource policies and procedures, and any other local disciplinary policies.

However, the processes outlined in this Code complement any action undertaken by statutory services such as police investigations or assessments by social services.  Where relevant, the procedures outlined in this Code should inform and assist both secular and church disciplinarily procedures and as far as possible should take place at the same time.

Overriding principles

The Church is not a single or uniform entity, but a multitude of organisations and communities bound together by the love for God and the commitment to Christian values. Church Bodies are supported by a range of individuals and roles, including those who are office holders, employees, volunteers and those in elected roles. In addition, the Church serves parishioners and opens its doors to anyone who wishes to worship God. It is important, therefore, that safeguarding processes recognise this diversity and ensure that any risk assessment and management processes applied are tailored to specific roles and proportionate to the degree to which someone is involved with the Church.

The overriding principles under this Code are:

1. The safety and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults is paramount.
2. Consistent with Christian theology and acceptance that each human being is made in the image of God, complainants, respondents and others impacted by the concern or allegation will be treated with dignity and respect.
3. Complainants and respondents will have access to appropriate support whilst action under this Code is undertaken, recognising the potential of these processes to cause distress and lead to trauma.
4. The primacy of statutory processes and services is recognised, and responses to complainants and respondents should meet legal requirements and be underpinned by guidance from the relevant statutory authorities (e.g. the police, social care).
5. Effective partnership work, within the Church and with relevant organisations and professionals outside of the Church, is key in ensuring that risks are effectively managed, processes are not duplicated, and complainants and respondents receive coordinated responses.
6. The safeguarding processes under this Code should be carried out in a transparent manner, and complainants and respondents will have access to information explaining these processes.
7. Complainants and respondents will have the opportunity to state their views, be listened to and be heard.
8. The safeguarding processes under this Code should be conducted efficiently and seek to avoid delays.
9. Clear records should be maintained at all stages, including records of key decisions, referrals and outcomes for all cases.
10. Whilst the requirements set out in this Code must be followed, in certain circumstances, flexibility can be applied to meet the specific needs of individual complainants and respondents, or in order to apply the Code effectively in specific Church settings. This can only be done on the advice of the statutory services or a Regional Safeguarding Lead (on behalf of the NST).

Legal framework

Section 5A of Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, was inserted by the Safeguarding (Code of Practice) Measure 2021 and came into force on 1 March 2022.

The provisions replace the former “duty to have due regard” with a duty for all relevant persons to comply with the requirements of a Code.

Where a requirement is imposed the Code also gives guidance on how relevant persons can comply with the requirement. The guidance sets out some good practice examples and explains why the requirement is necessary. In other words, it explains “why and how” to deliver the requirements. All requirements are marked as such and are contained in a blue box. 

At diocesan and parish level, different terms may be used to describe a lay worker or reader, according to a particular missional need.  However, for the purposes of being a relevant person, the provisions extends to those who have been licensed to the office of reader or to serve as a lay worker by the bishop under Canon E 5 or E 6.

It is important to note that the relevant person is the one who has responsibility for making the requirement happen, and who has the ultimate accountability if it doesn’t.   That does not mean they are necessarily the person who will carry out the requirement.   For example, if a Bishop is a relevant person for a particular requirement, in practice this might be delegated to, for example, an Archdeacon.

Enforcement

Failure by a member of the clergy to comply with a requirement under this Code may constitute misconduct.  Failure by a reader or lay worker to comply with a requirement may be grounds for the revocation of that reader’s or lay worker’s licence.  Other officers, such as Churchwardens, may by suspended from office for failing to comply with a requirement under the Code.  Breaches by trustee bodies, such as a Parochial Church Council (PCC) or a Cathedral Chapter may also trigger an intervention by the Charity Commission.

Application in the Diocese in Europe

This Code must be followed in all the dioceses in the Church of England, including the Diocese in Europe. However, it is recognised that specific considerations will need to be taken into account, which may impact on how the requirements in this Code can be met. In each case, any such considerations must be recorded and should include a clear explanation and rationale for how the underlying intent of the Code is met.

Such considerations may include, but are not limited to:

1. Different terminology – where the Code uses the terms “parish”, “priest / vicar” and “Parish Safeguarding Officer”, these should be understood as “chaplaincy”, “chaplain”, “Safeguarding Officer” or any other such terms that are used locally and would be regarded as being of equivalent status, role and responsibilities.
2. Legal frameworks and statutory services - references to legislation, statutory guidance and statutory partners, agencies or services may be understood as the relevant equivalents within the respective country or territory in which a Diocese in Europe chaplaincy operates. Such structures and legal requirements may be different, and this may affect local practice, both in terms of emergency reporting and ongoing case management procedures. Similarly, local employment legislation and regulatory frameworks for charitable organisations may also differ.