Requirements
Initial enquiries
4F.1 Where the Safeguarding Officer receives a safeguarding concern or allegation that a “relevant person” has failed to meet safeguarding requirements, the Safeguarding Officer must inform the relevant manager or person who maintains oversight of that person’s activity in the Church.
4F.2 Where this relates to an employee, they must refer the matter to the HR lead and the relevant HR policies must be followed.
4F.3 Where the person is a member of clergy but not a Bishop or Archbishop, the Safeguarding Officer must inform the Archdeacon, Bishop, Dean or other relevant senior person in the first instance. If the matter relates to a Bishop or Archbishop, this must be referred to the NST, and references to the Safeguarding Officer will then apply to the NST caseworker.
4F.4 Where the subject is the Safeguarding Officer themselves, the matter will be dealt with by their line manager and the Regional Safeguarding Lead. References to the Safeguarding Officer will then apply to the Regional Safeguarding Lead.
4F.5 Where 4F.2, 4F.3 or 4F.4 applies, the Safeguarding Officer must carry out initial enquiries to gather more information about the allegation and must initiate a Safeguarding Code of Practice meeting
Guidance
The aim of this pathway is to provide an option for mistakes to be rectified without having to go through, at least in the first instance, the full pathway appropriate to the role. Therefore, initial enquiries need to focus on:
- Is the person a “relevant person”?
- Have they failed to follow (for whatever reason) any Safeguarding Code of Practice?
- Is this a procedural breach that has not resulted in direct harm?
If the answer to these questions is “yes”, this pathway should be followed. If the answer to the last question is “no”, then the role appropriate pathway (4A, B or G) in this Code must be followed.