“If you’re prepared to take on a voluntary role, it doesn’t always have to be a big role, but just taking on some aspects or a supporting role can really help.”
Kelly Baxendale, Parish Safeguarding Officer, St Michael's, Tonge-cum-Alkrington
Thank you so much for taking on the role as Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO), which plays such an important part of our mission to create safer churches. We want to do all we can to support and encourage you in this role.
The role of PSO is to help parishes to understand the need for a positive approach to safeguarding and create an environment which is welcoming and respectful, and enables safeguarding concerns to be raised and responded to openly, promptly and consistently.
We encourage all PSOs to raise your profile and visibility within your congregation, so that people know more about safeguarding and who to come to if they have a concern. The PSO is also the key link between the diocese and the parish, working with the safeguarding team at St John's House.
The role can be taken by one person or the role shared, for example with one person covering children the other vulnerable adults.
Hear from one of our Parish Safeguarding Officers
Parish Safeguarding Officer Role description
The Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) is the key link between the diocese and a parish concerning safeguarding matters. The PSO is appointed by and supports the Parochial Church Council (PCC) in the delivery of its (the Council’s) safeguarding responsibilities.
Person specification
- Willingness and aptitude to undertake the role, attend the relevant training and undertake their own development in the field of safeguarding.
- Ability to challenge in an appropriate, supportive manner.
- Ability to demonstrate why safeguarding is intrinsic to the Christian faith.
- Ability to instigate and manage difficult conversations.
- Ability to articulate the need for culture change with regard to safeguarding in the Church as a whole, and in particular in their parish community.
- Ability to demonstrate an empathetic and objective attitude with integrity when dealing with possible allegations of abuse.
- Ability to manage sensitive information and, where needed, understand confidentiality and data sharing.
- The PSO should not be related to, or have a conflict of interest, with the vicar / priest (or anyone acting on their behalf as an interim arrangement);
- Willingness to declare and explore with members of the Parochial Church Council /Diocesan safeguarding team ways to manage any potential conflicts of interest
Role Description
- Exact responsibilities may differ between parishes and different areas, depending on local circumstances. For instance, some parishes have a “team” of PSOs who share responsibilities, whilst other areas have one PSO supporting multiple parishes.
- Be familiar with the Safeguarding e-manual and how it is implemented in local practice.
- Establish positive working relationships with the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer / Team.
- Refer all safeguarding concerns to the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer / Team.
- When someone is in immediate risk or needs urgent medical attention, report concerns to emergency services.
- Discuss regularly with the parish priest / vicar and the PCC any emerging safeguarding issues and support them in resolving those issues.
- Work with the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer / Team to determine which members of staff and volunteers need which level of training and when refresher training is needed and ensure that this is satisfactorily completed.
- Have an awareness of all activities involving children and vulnerable adults, keep a record of them and assist with the safeguarding risk assessment of these activities.
- Help facilitate discussions about what the parish sees as a safe culture, what the current barriers may be and how they might be resolved.
- Support the PCC in the delivery of its responsibilities around safer recruitment and people management – for instance, by maintaining records, supporting recruitment, coordinating DBS applications (including updates to DBS status), and seeking advice from the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer / Team.
- Ensure safeguarding contact details are displayed in all Church premises and on websites (where applicable);
- Where appropriate, help the parish develop protocols to keep themselves and their visitors safe.
- Contribute to relevant reports and meetings with a safeguarding perspective, to support the vicar / priest and the PCC in the delivery of their safeguarding responsibilities.
Actions for a new Parish Safeguarding Officer to take
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Work through the Church of England Model Parish Safeguarding Checklist
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Ensure that the Church of England Promoting a Safer Church poster for parishes is visible on your Church notice board.
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Ensure that the Church of England Parish statement on domestic abuse is complete and up to date.
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Ensure that the Church of England Safeguarding in your parish – who’s who? document is complete and up to date.
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Update The Church of England Model Parish Safeguarding Policy at your parish annually or when there is a new PSO, Incumbent or Churchwarden.
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Ensure that the safeguarding arrangements are up to date and clearly visible on the front page of your parish website.
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Complete/book the relevant Safeguarding Training courses.
Training
All Parish Safeguarding Officers must complete these two training modules:
1. Basic Awareness (online)
2. Foundation (online)
Then complete these courses (in any order):
3. Safer Recruitment and People Management (online),
4. Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse (online),
5. PSO Induction
6. Leadership
More information about safeguarding training is available here Safeguarding Training
Support and contact details
The Safeguarding Team at St John's House is on hand to support you in your role. Working with you, the team shares best practice safeguarding advice so that our clergy, volunteers and lay people are safe. Contact details for the team are provided on this Safeguarding page.
The team offers advice, support, and guidance to anyone in the diocese about all aspects of safeguarding. This includes:
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Advice and support: telephone, email, and face-to-face consultation about a range of issues.
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Casework: management of complex cases, joint working with statutory agencies, consultation, and advice.
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Support for survivors: direct support and advice, provision of Authorised Listeners.
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Supervision of offenders and those who pose risk: working with individuals who have criminal convictions, or where other safeguarding risks are identified, to ensure that they, and all members of the church community, are safeguarded.
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Policy and practice: signposting to national and local policies and practice guidance.
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Training: safeguarding training to clergy and other leaders, including training at St John's House and online.
Resources
Head to this page for resources to support your work in parish safeguarding Safeguarding resources