Volunteer Policy – Gloucester Outdoor Church
Written 22nd January 2015. To be reviewed January 2017.
Edited June 2017
NOTE: See “Volunteer expectations and summary” for the sheets we give out to volunteers initially.
Volunteer training
As people engaged with people who live on the street, we deal with violence, or its threat, regardless of the nature of our ministry. Here are a few of the statements that came out of our conversation about our experiences with violence or its threat:
**We have a list of community guidelines called "Holy Manners" which is read before every gathering. It includes a list of our guidelines for being together.
** We try to turn violent threats or incidents into teaching moments by talking it out with respect for all involved.
**We have to recognize our own capacity for violence, know the roots of our own fear of violence. If we can be at peace within ourselves, that peace can be in us as we respond to violence, and it can influence our environment.
**We teach "harm reduction" practices. There are simple energy and communication techniques that can be taught that reduce violent response to life situations.
**If someone threatens violent behavior, we tell them first that they are welcome to come back next time, but that this time they need to leave the gathering so that people who come can feel safe.
**If a person is asked to leave a gathering but remains off at a distance, we take communion over to them when we distribute communion.
**We include violence – how it lives in us, how we live with it - in our preaching at least once a month.
**In order to avoid becoming numb to the violence, I keep a violence journal. Just listing it helps me process it and keep me mindful of it.
**We have a small group of people – including street people and house people – who have the informal role of being on the watch for violence during our gathering. They are able to see things brewing before they happen, and they are able to surround that person and relate to them, as needed.
**We have to watch people, look for the signs, listen to them, be ready to talk with them.
Read through all the food training policy things, and adopt accordingly below.
And red through the safe-guarding policy
And read through the risk assessment and adopt the volunteer training policy.
Volunteers should NOT bring food and should discourage people from accepting unacceptable food.
Do de-
Tell volunteers:
Remember Jesus and Hot Chocolate? They will rock the caravan, masturbate in front of you, disrupt you, hate you and hurt yo uand do anythin they can to stop you. Now Sophie Bishop is a Christian. Discipline is key, control through tough love.
Don't bring wallet, handbag, only car key. Don't park next to Gloucester Park – don't walk back alone. Establish standard car parking place where we can all meet. Maybe ask URC chruch where to park.
Have to subscribe to:
The Church subscribes to the 13 guidelines from the Home Office Code of Practice “Safe From Harm”, as quoted here from that document, pages 1-2:
1. Adopt a policy statement on safeguarding the welfare of children.
2 .Plan the work of the organisation so as to minimise situations where the abuse of children may occur.
3. Introduce a system whereby children may talk with an independent person.
4. Apply agreed procedures for protecting children to all paid staff and volunteers.
5. Give all paid staff and volunteers clear roles.
6. Use supervision as a means of protecting children.
7. Treat all would-be paid staff and volunteers as job applicants for any position involving contact with
children.
8. Gain at least one reference from a person who has experience of the applicant’s paid work or
volunteering with children.
9. Explore all applicants’ experience of working or contact with children in an interview before
appointment.
10. Find out whether an applicant has any conviction for criminal offences against children.
11. Make paid and voluntary appointments conditional on the successful completion of a probationary
period.
12. Issue guidelines on how to deal with the disclosure or discovery of abuse.
13. Train paid staff and volunteers, their line managers or supervisors, and policy makers in the prevention of child abuse.
Questions I have to ask at interview:
Note: that if you are successful in your application, and working with children or vulnerable adults specifically, we will have to do a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on yourself. A criminal record is not an automatic bar to being a volunteer with this organisation. The specifc details of each ex-offender's case will be considered on an invidiaul basis.
Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offfence or received a caution, reprimand, or warning?
A copy of the Policy on the Recruitment and Employment of Ex-Offenders is available to you if you undergo a DBS check.
Also:
They should apply to staff and volunteers who may work with children.
The post or role should be clearly defined.
The key selection criteria for the post or role should be identified.
Vacancies should be advertised widely in order to ensure a diversity of applicants.
Obtain professional and character references.
Verify previous employment history.
Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure/List 99 checks (maintain sensitive and confidential use of the applicant’s disclosure).
Use a variety of selection techniques (e.g. qualifications, previous experience, interview, reference checks).
(This if from the safeguarding policy)
I think I have this below: checj it's not duplicated:
Volunteer application policy
Recruitment and selection
We welcome volunteers. We will take up references, interview you to see whether we think you will fit in, and may ask you to complete a DBS check.
Age
All volunteers must be aged 18 years or over.
Getting started
Provided that we have notice of you coming to work with us, we will provide you with an initial training session to ensure your safety in volunteering.
Equal Opportunities
We believes that all people should be treated with respect and we positively value diversity. We recognise and accept our legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Responsibilities and Expectations
Our responsibilities
· To do everything we can to ensure your safety
· To provide you with a role where you can use your giftings.
· To encourage you in training where it is needed.
· To celebrate success and foster good team spirit.
Our expectations of you as a volunteer
· To support, respect and adhere all those who come to our outdoor services
· To act responsibly and within the law
· To quickly alert us of problems and of changes in your personal circumstances that may affect your volunteering
· To maintain high standards of reliability, professionalism and enthusiasm in your volunteering
Data Protection and Confidentiality
As a volunteer, we ask that you work with us to ensure that any information that is available to you in the course of your volunteering is kept confidential.
Insurance
We have public liability insurance (ask for details) which covers you while you are at the outdoor church.
Boundaries Policy
It is important to protect your boundaries while working for homeless people. For example, lending or giving money is discouraged because it can foster dependence and turn relationships into transactions. The easiest way to avoid these issues is to ask other volunteers for their advice: “Do you mind if I just ask my friend what she thinks?” It is far easier to maintain boundaries with the support of other people.
Using your own vehicle
Volunteers who use their own car in the course of their volunteering must come to an agreement with their own car insurance company.
Drinks, drugs
Volunteers are not allowed to drink or use drugs with the vulnerable people who come to the outdoor church, or to sell them these products.
Relationships
Volunteers are warned that relationships with street people who come to the outdoor church can prove very detrimental to team spirit and lead to conflicts of interest.
Protecting Children and Young Adults
*** write a bit here ***
Note that the Outdoor Church has to ensure the safety of young children and vulnerable adults and as such subscribes to the National Minimum Standards and Regulations of the Care Standards Acts 2001 (see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/14) for the text of the Act
Note:
Policy on the Recruitment and Employment of Ex-Offenders
Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) is committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer and this policy aims to ensure that ex-offenders receive fair treatment throughout their experience of recruitment and employment within our organisation.
Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) recognises our social responsibility and position within the community. We appreciate the role that continuity of employment can play in the rehabilitation of ex-offenders when matched to appropriate posts. A criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment with this organisation. The specific details of each ex-offenders case will be considered on an individual basis. In each instance, we will determine whether a candidate has the skills and experience for the post, taking account of the impact of the criminal record upon the needs of the post.
We will ensure that application forms for positions where Disclosures will be requested contain a statement that a Disclosure will be requested in the event of a successful application, so that the applicants are aware of the situation.
To assist us in this assessment, all applicants will be asked to provide details of unspent criminal records at the initial application stage. In line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, details of spent convictions will be requested from applicants for posts which are considered exempt from the Act due to the responsibilities of the role, predominantly posts which include working with children and/or vulnerable adults. The following question will be entered on all application forms where we are eligible to ask exempted questions – ‘Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence or received a caution, reprimand or warning?’
We will, at all times, exercise extra vigilance and diligence when recruiting to these posts and will undertake relevant criminal conviction checks as part of our recruitment and employment action when appropriate. Where details of spent convictions are required, they will be obtained in conjunction with the applicant and member of staff via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) will adhere to the DBS Code of Practice at all times and, as required by the DBS, a copy of the Policy on the Recruitment and Employment of Ex-Offenders will be made available to all applicants and staff who undergo a criminal records check.
All information received as part of this process will be treated as highly confidential and in line with Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) policy regarding the security, storage and retention of applicant and staff criminal records information, as required by the DBS.
Once in employment, staff should inform their line manager, in confidence, of any changes to their circumstances affecting their criminal records status, in order that the impact upon their suitability to undertake their role may be reviewed.
At interview, Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) aims to ensure that an open and measured discussion takes place on the subject of any offence or other matter that might be relevant to the position sought and could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment.
Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) will make every subject of a Criminal Record check aware of the existence of the DBS code of practice and make a copy available on request.
Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) undertakes to discuss any matter revealed in a disclosure with the person seeking the position before withdrawing a conditional offer of employment.
We will make the applicant aware of our policy and ensure that relevant statements are made during the application process
This policy will be reviewed prior to the AGM of this organisation and presented for approval if amendments are made.
Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary)'s Storage Policy Statement
General principles
As an organisation using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to help assess the suitability of applicants for positions of trust, Gloucester Outdoor Church (Sanctuary) complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice regarding the correct handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure information. It also complies fully with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant legislation pertaining to the safe handling, use, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosure information and has a written policy on these matters, which is available to those who wish to see it on request.
Storage and access
Disclosure information should be kept securely, in lockable, non-portable, storage containers with access strictly controlled and limited to those who are entitled to see it as part of their duties.
Handling
In accordance with the DBS’s Code of Practice, Disclosure information is only passed to those who are authorised to receive it in the course of their duties. We maintain a record of all those to whom Disclosures or Disclosure information has been revealed and it is a criminal offence to pass this information to anyone who is not entitled to receive it.
Usage
Disclosure information is only used for the specific purpose for which it was requested and for which the applicant’s full consent has been given.
Retention
Once a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made, we do not keep Disclosure information for any longer than is necessary. This is generally for a period of up to six months, to allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints. If, in very exceptional circumstances, it is considered necessary to keep Disclosure information for longer than six months, we will consult the DBS about this and will give full consideration to the data protection and human rights of the individual before doing so. Throughout this time, the usual conditions regarding the safe storage and strictly controlled access will prevail.