The information on this page is aimed specifically at those who are recognised as Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSO) or DBS Administrators.
Diocese of Derby Safeguarding Team
Please familiarise yourself with the Safeguarding Team who are based at Church House, Derby, DE1 3DR. We are here to offer you information, support and guidance.
If you need to contact us, please do so using the most appropriate method:
- Referrals: complete the referral form Safeguarding Referral Form
- Training enquires: Safeguardingtraining@derby.anglican.org
- DBS enquires: dbs@derby.anglican.org
- General queries: safeguarding@derby.anglican.org
- Telephone: please call 01332 388678. We have voicemail enabled and it’s monitored consistently. If we do not answer, please leave a message and we will return your call.
Information for new PSOs
Firstly, thank you for agreeing to take on the role of Parish Safeguarding Officer!
When you are new in post we require the following forms to be completed to fully set you up on our system;
- Please complete this form to give consent to be added to our Contact Management System as Parish Safeguarding Officer.
- Please complete this form to allow us to register you with our DBS provider ThirtyOne:Eight as a recruiter (which is someone who processes DBS applications in your parish). You will not know the unit number, subunit name or whether you are the lead recruiter or additional recruiter, so please leave these blank.
- We will require a new DBS be conducted, please refer to the DBS section of this page for instructions on next steps.
- If you haven't completed them already, you will need to complete the following training. For booking information please visit our webpage Safeguarding Training.
- Basic Awareness
- Foundation
- Domestic Abuse Awareness
- Safer Recruitment
- Leadership
- You will also need to attend the Parish Safeguarding Officer Induction course. Please refer to the PSO training section of this page for instructions on next steps.
- You will receive email invitations to join the Safeguarding Hub and the Safeguarding Dashboard. Please refer to the relevant sections below for further information.
- Please download and read the Information & Welcome Pack for Parish Safeguarding Officers. This is full of useful hints and tips to support you in your role.
PSO Drop-In Meetings
The Diocese of Derby Safeguarding Team hosts a monthly meeting on alternate Tuesdays 19:00-20:00 and Wednesday 10:00-11:00. This is a space where the Diocese and PSOs come together to share updates, ideas and queries. We send out the meeting invite one week beforehand.
Parish Safeguarding Officer Induction Course
For details of core Safeguarding Training please navigate to our main training webpage here; Safeguarding Training.
Cohort PSO/05 - Saturday 13th June 09:00-11:00 - via Zoom - Book Here
Cohort PSO/06 - Tuesday 14th July - 19:00-21:00 - via Zoom - Book Here
Cohort PSO1 - Monday 12th October - 09:30-11:30 - via Zoom - Safeguarding Training Booking Form
Cohort PSO2 - Saturday 7th November - 09:00-11:00 - via Zoom - Safeguarding Training Booking Form
If you have any queries relating to this training please contact safeguardingtraining@derby.anglican.org where the team will assist.
Policies and Practice Guidance
The Diocese of Derby has elected to follow the National Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance since 2018. All associated documents, Key Roles and responsibilities of church office Holders and bodies practice guidance, Responding Well, Safer Recruitment, Training Guidance documents and Policy Statements can be found here.
Safeguarding for Bellringers in the Diocese of Derby
The Diocese of Derby Safeguarding team in partnership with the Derby Association of Church Bellringers (the Assiociation) has developed guidance which applies to all Bellringers in Church of England towers in the Diocese of Derby, whether or not they belong to the Association.
The Guidance can be downloaded here
Resources and Templates
This link will take you to The Church of England National Safeguarding Resources Page which shows resources published by Church House Publishing, and a list of wider reading published independently and contain the authors own views; these are mostly recommended in the different safeguarding training modules as it is important everyone understands the challenges and criticisms facing the Church, and learns from them.
National Templates and Resources can be downloaded from this link - Templates and Resources
The Diocese of Derby has created this template policy for the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders download here and then completed for Benefice and Parish use.
The Safeguarding department has created a number of example role definitions which must be adapated for local use. These are to assist Parish Safeguarding Officers in the creation of role defintiions within parishes and include indications on when DBS checks may be required. Note that these must always be reviewed against the specific circumstances of any paid employee or volunteer. These can be downloaded for use here:
Caretaker Childrens Leader, Childrens Worker, Creche Helper, Creche Leader, Driver for At Risk Adults, Elders Lunch Club Helper,
Flower Arranger, Food Bank Helper, Food Bank Leader, Hospitality (Tea, Coffee, Refreshments), Messy Church Helper, Messy Church Leader,
Open the Book Volunteer, Parent and Toddler Helper, Parent and Toddler Leader, Parish DBS Administrator, Parish Safeguarding Officer,
Verger, Welcomer, Youth Club Helper, Youth Club Leader, Youth Club Minibus Driver.
Code of Conduct template for volunteers
The Code of Conduct template has been written by PSO Jacqueline Haywood from St Alkmunds, Derby (thank you so much for this Jacqueline) the safeguarding team have viewed it and agreed it is a great tool, it can be download here for editing for local use.
Support For Churches in Vacancy
If your Parish is in Vacancy, or soon will be, the document Support for Parishes in Vacancy download here outlines how the Safeguarding team can help during the period of the vacancy.
Disclosure and Barring Checks (DBS)
Please refer to our main webpage relating to DBS checks for further information; Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) - Diocese of Derby
Who is responsible for monitoring DBS and training compliance?
Where to PSO is listed on the responsible person, you will need to facilitate a new DBS through our provider ThirtyOne:Eight.
DBS Process via the Safeguarding Hub
- Email (or hand printed copies of) the privacy notice, confidential declaration form (CDF) and ID check form to the applicant. These can be found in accompanying documents section below.
DBS Process without using the Safeguarding Hub
Accompanying Documents
You must amend the following documents to make them appropriate for your parish:
- Privacy Notice can be downloaded as a word document. You must edit this prior to it be given out. A privacy notice with comments and a completed example (PDF documents) are also available to assist you.
- You also must edit the Confidential Declaration form - required changes are highlighted in the document.
The following documents do not need amending;
To assist with this please see the notes on completing the ID Verification Form and Documentary Evidence Details documents.
Any Confidential Declaration Forms which have a declaration on should be sent us on dbs@derby.anglican.org before you process the DBS application. These can be sent by the individual rather than the PSO.
Independent review into Church's handling of Smyth case published
The independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England’s handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth has been published. The full review can be read here.
