Appendix A: What roles are within the scope of the Safer Recruitment and People Management processes?

This Code of Practice sets out the process that must be followed – proportionately – for roles having substantial contact with children and vulnerable adults.  This Appendix helps explain what those roles might be. However, with the exception of certain levels of DBS checks, safer recruitment is simply good recruitment, and church bodies should consider these processes for all posts/roles. A basic DBS can be asked for in any role, whether safely recruited or not, as long as this is made clear at the point of applying, for example by being outlined in a local supplementary policy

It must be noted that just because a role is safely recruited, it does not automatically follow that an Enhanced DBS check (with/without Barred List) is required, and the normal DBS process to determine eligibility must be followed. 

Substantial contact

As described in the main body of text, this phrase is used to differentiate between roles who spend the majority of their time with children or vulnerable adults, and whose roles is specifically for that purpose, or those who (like the shopkeeper in the example), simply come into contact with children or vulnerable adults as part of their job or role. Below is an illustrative list of roles that are likely to be subject to the process in this code, but it is not exhaustive and relies on proper scrutiny of every job role. 

  • Clergy1
  • Youth ministers and youth workers, whether leaders or supporters/helpers
  • Sunday school teachers and helpers 
  • Parent Toddler leader and supporters/helpers 
  • DSAs, PSOs, some NST staff
  • Parish Volunteer driver for children
  • Roles which involve the supervision or training of children, e.g. some Tower Captains, Music Leaders, Head Servers
  • Readers; Worship Leaders; Authorised Lay Ministers; Licensed Evangelists
  • Leader of a group for people with dementia, and supporters/helpers
  • Those providing home (pastoral) visits/prayer ministry 

Roles that would not normally be subject to safer recruitment processes 

This section sets out examples of roles that are unlikely to require safer recruitment, as they will mostly come into contact with children or vulnerable adults only as part of their role. 

  • Shop staff
  • Flower arrangers, gardeners, maintenance staff, cleaners 
  • Visitor engagement staff/Welcome team 
  • Choir members, bell ringers etc with no responsibility for training or supervising children 
  • Those helping with refreshments after services
  • Sidesperson
  • Church administrator 
  • DBF staff/Governance boards other than PCCS 

Questions that will help 

The following questions might help decide if a role should be safely recruited. If in doubt, advice from an HR or safeguarding professional should be sought. 

  • Does the main purpose of the role involve children or vulnerable adults? 
  • What will the role spend most of its time doing? 
  • Does the role involve teaching or supervision of children?


 

  • 1

    Clergy are always subject to SRPM and an Enhanced DBS check plus barring list because of the nature of their role