Safeguarding Arrangements for Readers2017

Summary:

It is a requirement under the Church of England Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance2015 for everyone holding the Bishops Licence including Clergy and Readers to:

  • Submit an application via the Diocesan Safeguarding Office to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for an enhanced DBS check. This may be done by a paper form, or through the online eBulk system.
  • Produce the DBS certificate to the Safeguarding Office at the Diocese or to a member of clergy within 14 days of receipt, or before the expiry of their existing certificate, whichever is the earlier date. If the application is done via eBulk, the Diocese will automatically be informed of the outcome of the check, but may ask to see the certificate in some cases.
  • Renew their DBS Certificate within the 5 year period for which it is valid, and at the latest before their existing certificate expires (5 years from date of issue).

If you are concerned about any aspect of this process, such as the possibility that there may be information about a caution or conviction on your DBS check, please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.The DBS Certificate is required as it provides evidence that the Reader does not have the type of conviction that would automatically bar them from their role. The Church has a responsibility to provide leaders who can be trusted by children and vulnerable adults in their congregations, and the DBS check allows us to carry out our legal duty to confirm that leaders have no relevant criminal convictions.

It is also a Bath and Wells Diocese requirement that all Readers in Training complete as a minimum the Diocesan C0 “Safeguarding Awareness”online, and C1 “Safeguarding Foundation”trainingbefore Licencing.

Failure to follow these requirements could result in licencing as a Reader being delayed, or existing licences being suspended.

In order to ensure this process operates smoothly actions need to be taken at certain points in the Reader Licencing process.

Applying to be a Reader

  1. Immediately after the initial discussion meeting when the application is completed and references are taken up, or immediately after selection if there will be at least a 3 month gap between selection and Reader training commencing,an email containing names and addresses of those applying to be Readers should be sent to Helen Humphreys, the Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, at the Diocesan Office by the Archdeacon Warden of Readers (ADW).
  2. Helen will then send out the appropriate DBS and Confidential Declaration paperwork along with a reminder to check the Diocesan website for details of safeguarding training courses. There are several training courses applicant Readers will need to attend.
  3. If the applicant reader has not attended Diocesan Safeguarding training in some other role in the past 3 years, they should sign up for the online C0 “Safeguarding Awareness” Course as soon as possible. The course will take about an hour to complete online. Some parishes may provide the C0 in-house as a group session.
  4. Once the applicant reader has completed the C0, they should sign up to a C1 Safeguarding Foundation Training course – a number of these will be run in different locations around the Diocese throughout the year and details are available on the Diocesan website. If there are any queries about dates or locations for training, please ring Vicky Christophers at the Diocesan Office.
  5. Applicant Readers should fill-in the Confidential Declaration and DBS Application within 21 days of receipt, or, if their parish is using eBulk, complete the online DBS form; a separate confidential declaration form will stillbe needed.They should then take the form and identification documents to the Parish Safeguarding Officer, who will complete the identity check part of the DBS form and send it with the Confidential Declaration back to Helen.
  6. Helen will have the completed DBS form authorised by the Diocesan Signatory, and sent to DBS.
  7. Within 2-12 weeks, the DBS certificate will be sent to the applicant. They should check that the certificate is accurate and raise any queries relating to the accuracy of the information directly with the DBS.
  8. The Certificate should then be either:
  9. Taken to a member of licenced clergy who can verify it (not the Parish Safeguarding Officer). The member of clergy will then need to email Helen with the name on the certificate, the certificate number, the date of issue, and confirmation that all sections are clear.
  10. Sent into the Diocesan Office for Helen to view,or an appointment made for it to be brought into the Office. If there is a “blemish” (information about a conviction, caution, police investigation or other information) on the Certificate it must always be sent or an appointment made for it to be brought into the Diocesan Office.
  11. Once confirmation of a clear DBS certificate is received, (or if the certificate has a blemish, the Safeguarding Department are satisfied that the information provided does not pose an impediment to the Reader being put forward for licencing)the applicant reader can be listed on the Diocesan Database as a Reader in Training, and the Reader training programme can be commenced.
  12. Only once the safeguarding training has been completed can the Reader in Training be put forward for Licencing. Failure to complete the safeguarding training in good time may result in licencing being delayed.

Readers being Relicenced

Where Readers are being relicenced for any reason they must

  • Either produce a current valid Diocesan DBS check (issued within the past 5 years) to the Archdeacon Warden of Readers or the ADW office should check with the Safeguarding Department to ensure that the Reader has a current DBS certificate prior to the licence being issued.
  • Have attended Diocesan Safeguarding Training within the past 3 years. If it is more than 3 years since they attended Diocesan Safeguarding Training, Readers should complete the online C0, and then apply to attend a C1 course. If Readers have attended a C1 within the past 3 years, they should now apply to do the C2 “Safeguarding Leadership” course.

Old style Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) certificates are no longervalid. If no valid Diocesan DBS certificate is held, the licence cannot be reissued. If Readers are concerned that their DBS check may have expired prior to relicencing, they should contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Office. The DBS check is renewed through the Diocesan office, and paperwork is sent out 2 months before the renewal is due.

Renewal of DBS Certificates

All Readers must hold a valid Diocesan CRB or DBS certificate in order to carry out their ministry. From January 2013, certificates were issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and these certificates can be valid for up to 5 years. Renewal of these certificates needs to be done throughthe Diocesan Safeguarding Office.

  1. Two months before the 3 or 5 year expiry of certificates, Helen Humphreys will send out renewal paperwork to Readers. This will include a DBS application form or a link to the electronic DBS system, and a confidential declaration form, both of which should be completed within 21 days of receipt.
  2. Once Readers have filled in the Confidential Declaration and DBS Application, their identity should be checked by the Parish Safeguarding Officer, who will complete either the paper DBS form or the online form and send it with the Confidential Declaration back to Helen.
  3. Helen will have the DBS form authorised by the Diocesan Signatory, and sent to DBS.
  4. Within 2-12 weeks, the DBS certificate will be sent to the Reader by DBS. They should check that the certificate is accurate and raise any queries relating to the accuracy of the information directly with the DBS.
  5. The Certificate should then be either:
  6. Taken to a member of clergy who can verify it (not the parish safeguarding officer). The member of clergy will then need to email Helen with the name on the certificate, the certificate number, the date of issue, and confirmation that all sections are clear.
  7. Sent into the Diocesan Office for Helen to viewor an appointment made for it to be brought in. If the DBS is completed through the electronic system, the Diocese will be notified automatically of the DBS result, but the safeguarding team may request to view some certificates.
  8. If there is a “blemish” (information about a conviction, caution, police investigation or other information) on the Certificate it must always be sent in or an appointment made for it to be brought into the Diocesan Office.
  9. Failure to provide the new certificate for verification to either the Diocesan Office or to a member of Clergy, if this is after the expiry date of the existing certificate, could mean that the Reader is asked not to carry out any ministry until the new DBS certificate is produced.
  10. Reminders will be sent out one month after DBS certificates are issued if they have not been provided/verified to the Diocesan Office by that time.
  11. If the DBS certificate is not produced within a further 28 days, a request will be made to Archdeacon Warden of Readers for steps to be taken to suspend the Reader from Ministry until the certificate (or verification of it by a member of licenced clergy) is received at the Diocesan Office. (If anyone who holds the Bishop’s licence, ordained or lay, fails to pay due regard to following Church of England Safeguarding policies and practice guidance, a complaint may be brought against them under the Clergy Discipline Measure - Church of England Safeguarding Practice Guidance “Responding to Serious Safeguarding Situations” House of Bishops, 2015.)

The DBS Certificate is required as it provides evidence that the Reader does not have a conviction that would automatically bar them from their role. It is an offence for an organisation to take on an employee or volunteer into a role from which they are barred due to having such a conviction, or to allow a barred person to remain in that role once checks have been carried out. The Church has a responsibility to provide leaders who can be trusted by children and vulnerable adults in their congregations, and the DBS check allows us to carry out our legal duty to confirm that leaders have no relevant criminal convictions. Whilst failure to produce the certificate does not necessarily imply the opposite, on occasion those with convictions have “slipped through the net” into leadership positions by simply failing to show a recent certificate. We therefore cannot allow Readers to continue ministering if they have not renewed their DBS check.

Blemished DBS Certificates

On occasion, we receive DBS certificates which have “blemishes”. This may be a caution, a conviction, information from the Police that an investigation is currently underway, or that a person was investigated in the past but were found not guilty. Information of this sort on a certificate does not necessarily mean that someone cannot take up a leadership role in the church, but it does mean that we need to review the information and carry out a risk assessment. This is initially an “in-house” assessment carried out by the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser which reaches one of 4 outcomes:

  • This is a renewal of a DBS, we have previously been made aware of the information and adjudged that there are no concerns, and that view has not been challenged or changed by the information on this DBS Certificate.
  • The information is about concerns of a minor or historical nature and not of sufficient current concern to prevent the Reader from taking up their role without any restrictions.
  • The information may be about concerns of a minor nature, but these concerns are relatively recent (the offence is not “spent” for example), or the information may be about concerns of a historical nature but which suggest there may be some potential continuing risk. A plan will be suggested to ensure that any residual risk can be safely managed.
  • The information is about major concerns, or recent or historical convictions or allegations about offences against children or vulnerable adults, or crimes of violence. A more comprehensive independent risk assessment, which takes into account information held by Police, Social Services and other organisations needs to be carried out before the Reader can be licenced or re-licenced, in line with the Church of England “Practice Guidance: Responding to, Assessing and Managing Safeguarding Concerns 2017”.

Portability

Some people hold a number of DBS Certificates issued by different organisations. It is possible to reuse a certificate between organisations without the need for a new one by registering it within 19 days of the date of issue on the DBS “Update Service” website. This service is free for volunteers or £13 per year for those in paid roles – as any update service checks will be for the benefit of another organisation, this fee must be paid by individuals, not by the Diocese. In order for a DBS certificate issued by another organisation to be used for a role within the Diocese through the update service,

  • The certificate must be registered with the DBS Update Service
  • The original certificate and proof of ID must be produced
  • A Confidential Declaration Form must be completed
  • The “workforce” (child and/or adult) must be the same in both roles
  • The level of check required must be the same for both roles
  • Written consent must be given for an organisation to see the confidential data held by the DBS. The original certificate, confidential declaration and written consent must be sent to the Diocesan Safeguarding Office who will then view the “Updated” check online.

It is up to the checking organisation as to whether they wish to accept an “update” certificate or whether they require a new check to be carried out. We will not accept Update certificates if the role or workforce are significantly different from that for which the check was originally requested.

Changes in 2017

During 2017, the Diocese will move to an electronic DBS system called eBulk. Paper forms will be replaced by completing forms online. Helen will send out information about this process to Readers as their DBS Certificates are due for renewal. It will mean that the Diocese will be notified electronically whether certificates are clear or not. This means that there will be no need for clear certificates to be viewed by Clergy or by Helen for verification. Blemished certificates (those with a caution, conviction or other information) will still need to be submitted to the DSA for a Risk Assessment.

Safeguarding Training

The Diocesan Safeguarding Trainer is Vicky Christophers. Information about Safeguarding Training Courses is available on the Diocesan Website

Contact Details for the Safeguarding Team

Glenys Armstrong, Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser

Tel: 01749 685135/ M: 07834514842

Helen Humphreys, Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser

Tel: 01749 685103

Vicky Christophers, Diocesan Safeguarding Trainer

Tel: 01749 685149


Appendix 1: Flowchart for Applicant Readers

Appendix 2: Flowchart for DBS Renewals

Safeguarding Arrangements for Readers. B&W DSA May 2017Page 1