Bishop: This means the diocesan bishop, or where those functions have been delegated to another bishop, that person. Where the word bishop appears, it should be read to include ‘archbishop’, unless expressly stated otherwise.
Cathedral Safeguarding Officer (CSO): The person who maintains oversight of, leads and advises on safeguarding matters in a cathedral. A Cathedral Safeguarding Officer could be a member of a Diocesan Safeguarding Team or could be an officer employed directly by a cathedral.
Church Bodies: For the purposes of this Code, the term “Church Bodies” means Parochial Church Council’s (PCCs, including District Church Councils and Guild Church Councils, or similar bodies), diocesan bodies (including Diocesan Boards of Finance [DBFs] and Diocesan Boards of Education [DBEs]), cathedrals, religious communities, mission initiatives (for example a Bishops Mission Order (BMO), and the National Church Institutions (NCIs).
Church Officer: Any person appointed or elected by, or on behalf of, the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or unpaid. This covers a wide range of roles and is in effect anyone who is not purely a member of the congregation. This will therefore include clergy, staff, volunteers and elected members but would not include third party contractors.
Diocesan Safeguarding Officer (DSO): The person who maintains oversight of, leads and advises on safeguarding matters in a diocese. The functions of the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer (DSO) are set out in the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer Regulations 2024.
Note: DSOs have the authority to delegate tasks that would otherwise be their responsibility to Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Officers (ADSOs), as and when they see appropriate. ADSOs are not specifically referenced in this Code, but where a requirement is included that requires the DSO to undertake a certain action, the DSO can delegate that action to an ADSO within their team.
National Safeguarding Team1 : The Church of England’s central safeguarding provision, supporting policy development, training, major projects and investigating cases against senior clergy (e.g. bishops and deans), and cases where there is a high degree of interest or complexity.
Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO): This role is the first point of contact in a parish for all safeguarding matters. This includes receiving disclosures, managing Church Safety Plans and maintaining records.
Relevant person: Any person or body that falls within any of the categories listed in section 5A(2) of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016.
Respondent: An individual who is the subject to a safeguarding concern or allegation.
Safeguarding concern or allegation: A safeguarding concern arises where someone has suspicions about a person or situation, but the reason has not yet been established. For example, there may be concerns about a child who often comes to Sunday School upset, dirty and hungry. An allegation is a more definite assertion, for example, if someone is witnessed hitting a child. For ease of reading, the term “safeguarding allegation” is used throughout, and is be taken to include safeguarding concerns.
Safeguarding Officer: This term is used throughout this document to mean both the Diocesan and the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer, as appropriate in the context.
Vulnerable Person2 : A person aged 18 or over whose ability to protect himself or herself from violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation is significantly impaired through physical or mental disability or illness, old age, emotional fragility or distress, or otherwise; and for that purpose, the reference to being impaired is to being temporarily or indefinitely impaired. This definition of a vulnerable person acknowledges that a person may move in or out of being vulnerable at various points in their life, depending on the context. More information on this can be found in the Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Guidance.
- 1For further information on specific responsibilities, please see Key Roles and Responsibilities of Church Office Holders and Bodies Practice Guidance.pdf (churchofengland.org)
- 2Further information around this definition can be found in the Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults guidance