4B.1 & 4B.2: Initial response and convening a Safeguarding Case Management Group (SCMG)

Guidance

Deciding if the respondent is a volunteer

The Church of England benefits from the contributions and good will of a high number of volunteers, which hold a diverse range of roles within the Church. There is no legal definition for the term “volunteer”. However, for the purposes of this Code, the definition provided by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has been adopted. The NCVO defines volunteering as: “any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives”. Central to this is the fact that volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual1 .

If there is uncertainty as to whether a person is an employee or a volunteer, Safeguarding Officers should seek HR advice.

For the purposes of this section lay volunteers can broadly be grouped in three categories:

• Licensed Church Officers – This category refers to members of the laity who have a licence from a Bishop to deliver a specific role within the Church, for example, readers, lay workers / licensed lay ministers.
• authorised or commissioned Church Officers – This category refers to those members of the laity who are part of a recognised diocesan scheme, or who have been officially authorised or commissioned by the relevant bishop or diocesan office to deliver a specific role within the Church, for example Children, Youth and Family volunteers, musicians, worship assistants / facilitators.
• locally recognised Church Officers – This category captures those lay officers who are not licensed, authorised or commissioned by a bishop or a diocesan office, and whose role is more likely to be linked to local recognition and arrangements put in place by the PCC or incumbent.

It is important to note, however, that a lay officer who holds one of the roles specified above is not always a volunteer. If a contract of employment is in place, then that person is an employee, and any safeguarding allegations raised in relation to them should be managed following the employees pathway (4E) within this Code. As such, in order to determine which pathway should be followed in the application of this Code, Safeguarding Officers must not only consider the title that someone holds, but the exact circumstances of the role. The following questions may help Safeguarding Officers in deciding which pathway to follow:

• Does the lay officer have a contract of employment?
• Does the lay officer receive a salary or some other form of formal remuneration?
• Is the Church Body or TEI contributing to the lay officer’s pension?
• Is the lay officer subject to formal disciplinary procedures (as opposed to volunteer management)?
• Is the lay officer able to take annual leave and any other leave entitlements (e.g. maternity leave)?

If the answer to the questions above is “yes”, then the lay officer is likely to be an employee. In such cases, Church Bodies and TEIs must ensure that they meet their responsibilities under employment law.

Careful consideration should be given to those lay officers who receive a stipend. Lay officers who receive a stipend are generally those who hold an office under Common Tenure. Stipends do not imply an employment relationship, so those individuals should be considered volunteers and any allegations about them should be managed using the processes outlined within this pathway. For certain roles, such as deaconesses, readers and lay workers, the Ecclesiastical Office (Terms of Service) Measure 2009 specifically mentions that no relationship of employment exists in situations in which a person undertakes one of these roles and receives a stipend - see section 9(6). It should be noted that a remunerated, licenced lay person may be either employed, or on Common Tenure – their status depends on their specific circumstances. It is best practice to take HR advice as early as possible when dealing with a remunerated, licenced lay person.

Expectations regarding volunteers

If a volunteer is being recruited to undertake substantial contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults, then the “Safer Recruitment and People Management” House of Bishops’ guidance must be followed. It is, however, good practice to have some form of recruitment process in place for other roles. During recruitment, expectations from volunteers, including around conduct and safeguarding, must be outlined in role descriptions and person specifications. Once a person has been recruited to a volunteer role, a Volunteer Agreement must be put in place. The relevant safeguarding policies, learning and development, safe practice and conduct standards expected from that person in their volunteer role must be shared and discussed with them. Such standards may include requirements around lone working, an emphasis on the need to maintain appropriate professional boundaries, and expectations around contact outside of the volunteering activity. Volunteers new to their role must be supported, to ensure that they understand those standards and are well-equipped to meet them. Volunteers should be informed about the steps that will be followed in cases in which those standards are not met. They should also be told where and how they can seek advice and support if they feel they cannot meet those standards, or if they are unsure how to deliver their volunteering responsibilities in a way that meets the expected standards.

It is good practice for Church Bodies to bring these standards together in a volunteer management policy.

It is important to note that volunteers are not subject to the same disciplinary processes as employees, as the expectations around their conduct differ, and they do not have the same rights under the law as employees. It is recommended that Church Bodies that rely heavily on volunteers put in place a bespoke process for dealing with conduct matters involving volunteers. This should be a proportionate process and ensures that the boundaries between volunteering and employment are made clear.

Where a safeguarding allegation is made against a volunteer, but it relates to matters in their   personal life, the Safeguarding Officer must exercise their professional judgement when determining whether or not to act on that information. This involves an assessment of whether the information received has any bearing on the volunteer’s role in the Church, particularly any work with children, young people or vulnerable adults. Where the Safeguarding Advisor decides to initiate relevant safeguarding processes, a clear rationale must be recorded in the case notes, which should detail which aspects of that information are relevant for safeguarding purposes, how and why they are relevant.

When assessing a case where the information available refers to a volunteer’s personal life, the Safeguarding Officer should work closely with any statutory services involved and take their advice. The Safeguarding Officer’s assessment of the case should be proportionate and should not lead to an unnecessary and intrusive collection of information about someone’s personal life. For every question asked and action undertaken as part of the assessment, there should be a clear rationale and a link back to an aspect of the respondent’s work within the Church.

The above advice also applies to situations in which an allegation is made about someone in a volunteer’s close family. Generally, these situations will not trigger a safeguarding process under this Code, unless there is a rationale to argue that the volunteer has displayed concerning behaviours in how they dealt with that matter (e.g. where they actively covered up abuse inflicted by a member of their family, or where they appear to believe that abuse inflicted by a member of their family is acceptable). This does not apply to situations in which the family member is directly involved in the life the Church, as an employee, volunteer or otherwise, in which case they are a Church Officer, and this Code will apply to them and the relevant process outlined in this Code will be followed.

Responding to safeguarding allegations involving non-recent events, where the respondent has left the Church Body

Complainants who come forward to disclose non-recent abuse will have varied reasons for doing so: it might have taken them a long time to look at the events that they have experienced and see them as abuse, they might have felt scared to disclose whilst the respondent was still in active ministry, they may express a need or desire to achieve closure on past traumatic experiences, and / or they may wish to prevent others from becoming victims of abuse.

Regardless of when the events disclosed are alleged to have taken place, complainants should be taken seriously, and their disclosures should not be ignored. A trauma-informed approach should be applied, and support must be offered in line with the Responding Well to Victims and Survivors of Abuse guidance. Specific care should be given to the fact that the complainant might feel a sense of disappointment and/or frustration in situations in which limited action can be undertaken regarding the respondent (e.g. when a disciplinary process cannot be followed). Being open and clear about what processes can and cannot be followed from the start will help manage the complainant’s expectations.

Assessing and managing any ongoing risk

Where an allegation refers to non-recent events and the subject of the allegation is alive, a Safeguarding Officer may be faced with different scenarios, including if the volunteer continues to be actively involved in ministry in the Church of England, but has moved to a different diocese or Church Body, or when they have:

• retired;
• been removed from their substantive role
• has left the Church of England entirely and moved to a role in a different denomination or a role outside of the Church.

There are specific considerations that a Safeguarding Officer would have to keep in mind when acting in each of these scenarios.

If a volunteer has left the respective Church Body or diocese, but continues to be actively involved in a different diocese or Church Body within the Church of England, then the Safeguarding Officer should share the allegation with the Safeguarding Officer in that diocese (in line with the Internal Information Sharing Plan) and agree how the allegation will be taken forward and by whom. The requirements, advice and procedures set out in this Code would then apply.

If the volunteer has moved to a role outside of the Church, then from a safeguarding perspective the Safeguarding Officer, would need to consider the following:

• If the allegation is that a crime might have been committed or that a child, young person or vulnerable adult has been, or might be at risk of being, harmed, then the relevant statutory services would need to be informed. Some police forces have specific teams that deal with allegations of non-recent abuse.
• There may be transferrable risks associated with the respondent, particularly in cases in which the respondent has moved, or may have moved, on to a role that involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults. Close partnership working with statutory authorities is essential in these circumstances, as a Church Body may not always have information about a respondent’s subsequent roles outside of the Church.
• Depending on the nature of the allegation, the respondent might have had connections with other individuals who may continue in roles within the Church and may pose a safeguarding risk, for instance there may be the possibility that a different Church Officer covered up or failed to act to prevent abuse.
• Depending on the nature of the allegation, if the processes put in place to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults have failed to do so, their effectiveness needs to be reviewed and improved.

In such circumstances, Church Bodies would still need to follow the requirements and processes outlined in this Code, but the extent of any safeguarding enquiries and risk assessment carried out may be limited and would need to be proportionate. Disciplinary processes and procedures would only be applicable if the volunteer had moved to another role in a different diocese or Church Organisation.

If information is held or becomes available about a respondent’s current role, then the need to share information about the allegation / concern with the new employer or the new religious organisation / denomination should be considered. This will generally be done only in very limited circumstances, usually via the police, LADO or other relevant statutory authority. The key questions that should be asked in these cases are:

• Are statutory services involved? Have they been informed? If yes, follow their advice.
• Does the individual’s new role involve work with children, young people and vulnerable adults?
• What is the nature of the allegation or concern? Based on the records and information gathered, if the allegation or concern is substantiated, is there a continued risk of harm to children, young people and vulnerable adults?
• Would children, young people and vulnerable adults potentially be at risk if information is not shared?
• Have the Diocesan Registrar / the relevant legal advisor and the relevant Data Protection Officer provided advice whether the information about the allegation or concern should be shared? If not, seek their advice.

Any information shared needs to be necessary, accurate and proportionate, with a clear rationale and aim, and should meet the requirements under data protection legislation. The Internal Information Sharing Plan covers information sharing with the Church in Wales, but does not cover information sharing with other religious organisations or Christian denominations.

If they are now simply a member of the worshipping community, the Safeguarding Officer would need to determine firstly if the requirements are met for any referrals to statutory services, and whether a risk assessment as per Section 4C of this Code is required.  It may be that there is no action which can be taken in respect of the alleged respondent, however support must always be provided to the complainant.

If abuse took place, Church Bodies should reflect on their safeguarding arrangements and understand where such arrangements have potentially gone wrong and why. Organisational learning from such incidents and addressing any identified weaknesses or gaps, as well as any cultural factors, are important aspects of promoting safer practice and environments. Further guidance can be found in the Code of Practice on Safeguarding Practice Reviews.

• 1For more details on what constitutes volunteering, see the NCVO guidance on “What is volunteering?” (https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/involving-volunteers/understanding-volunteering/what-is-volunteering/#/).