A brief summary of actions not covered in previous drop-ins can be read below:
- There is guidance on how long to keep documents on the Church of England Retention Policy.
- All roles, except those who hold a bishops’ licence can use an update service check if subscribed.
- A confidential declaration is not needed for the update service. A new confidential declaration is needed for each DBS application.
- DBS information on what you need to disclose about your criminal record.
- If a DBS is blemished, the DSA speaks to the applicant and assesses whether the matter is conduct or a safeguarding concern. If safeguarding, the DSA will do a risk assessment to assess suitability for the role. The DSA will notify the Lead Recruiter of suitability.
- Personal email addresses should not be used to communicate anything related to safeguarding. Some parishes have set up Gmail email addresses, which only the PSO has access to. These also have a Google Drive associated with the email address that can act as a safeguarding repository.
- If anyone wishes to speak to the auditors during the audit week, or prior to it, then they can be contacted via the contact form on the INEQE London web page here.
General Updates:
Safeguarding Sunday on 16th November this year. This year the theme is Action Speaks Louder. There are some excellent resources on the Safeguarding Sunday web pages for you to download.