Items filtered by date: August 2025
There are three types of check:
Basic – this checks for unspent criminal conviction information only and incurs a charge to the Parish
Enhanced – this checks for spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings plus any additional information held by the police that's reasonably considered relevant to the role being applied for
Enhanced with barring list checks – this is like the enhanced check, but includes a check of the DBS barred child and/or adult lists.
The House of Bishops has decided that criminal record checks must be renewed every three years.
The following flowchart will help you deciode on which DBS check is required: Regulated Activity Decision Making Guidance Flowchart
Should there ever be a delay in obtaining the criminal record check, the person is not approved by the Church to act and must stand down pending completion of the process.
The annual clergy conference takes place at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire.
>> Visit the Clergy Conference website
These three documents are applicable for all Licensed Lay Readers / Lay Ministers as well as Clergy.
Clergy Confidential Declaration Form this must be completed and signed with either a physical/wet ink or image of your signature.
Privacy Notice (PDF). Please read and retain a copy of this document for your reference.
ID Verification and Justification Form. For those already within the Diocese of Derby, the official signatory will need to see three forms of ID. (parish safeguarding officer, churchwardens, a member of clergy, area dean or deanery administrator can be official signatory),
- one should bear a recent photograph,
- one must confirm your date of birth, and
- one must confirm your current address
For those yet to move to the diocese please have this countersigned by a senior member of clergy from your current diocese. Notes and an example ID form can be downloaded with a list of acceptable ID documents.
Once completed email both forms together to dbs@derby.anglican.org or post the original documents to Safeguarding Administrator, Derby Church House, 1 Full Street, Derby, DE1 3DR.
(Do not include identity documents or copies to us)
On receipt of your completed forms,
- You will be emailed a unique user ID number and a link to create your online application using that user ID number.
- Use the link and user ID to access the application form and complete the step-by-step application instructions. (We are often asked why the paper/electronic forms are needed - we use these to verify the online application you make.)
- On completion of the DBS process your certificate will be posted directly to you, this may take several months and is out of our control. Keep your certificate in a safe place as it is a legal document, you may be asked for it to show you are entitled to work with children or vulnerable adults.
- The DST will receive a notification of your DBS certificate and will inform the Bishop's Office and / or Warden of Readers Office and as appropriate the parish safeguarding officer of your parish and the appropriate departments within the diocese.
If there are any concerns shown on your certificate, a member of the DST will contact you to discuss what should happen next.
If you need a DBS for your role please speak with your Parish Safeguarding Officer or group Leader. They will provide you with a copy of the
- Laity Confidential Declaration Form, and Privacy Notice.
- ID verification form.
Complete the Confidential Declaration Form (CDF), either online or a paper copy, ensuring the signature is a physical/wet ink or image of your signature.
Forward the CDF to the contact named on the bottom of the form who will complete an Identity Check with you. At this point they will need to see three forms of identity: one should bear a recent photograph, one must confirm your date of birth, and at least one must confirm your current address. Notes and an example ID form can be downloaded and also a list of acceptable ID documents.
You will be provided with a unique user ID number and a link to create your online application using that user ID number (this may be immediately by your local contact, or may be emailed to you at a later date either by the local contact or from dbs@derby.anglican.org at the Diocesan Safeguarding Team).
Use the link and user ID to access the application form and complete the step-by-step application instructions. (We are often asked why the paper/electronic forms are needed - we use these to verify the online application you make.)
Once processed by the DBS service, your certificate will be posted directly to you. Keep your certificate in a safe place as it is a legal document, and you may be asked for it to show you are entitled to work with children or vulnerable adults.
The Diocesan Safeguarding Team will receive a notification of your DBS certificate and will inform your parish safeguarding officer and/or if appropriate departments within the diocese.
If there are any concerns shown on your certificate, a member of the DST will contact you to discuss what should happen next.
DBS updating service.
Once your application has been processed and you receive you DBS certificate you be able to apply for the DBS Updating Service. This means that you will no longer need to apply for renewals if your role remains the same or new role requires the same level of check. You will need to join the Updating Service within 30 days of the issue of your certificate. This service is free for volunteers. Please email dbs@derby.anglican.org and your parish safeguarding officer if you do subscribe so we can update our records that your DBS is subscribed. If you do not inform us, we are not notified otherwise and for volunteers it costs nothing.
For those who already have a DBS in place through the Diocese of Derby, or from elsewhere which was registered on the update service when first issued and has remained registered, then it may be possible to use it if it is has the required workforces and regulatory barring checks.
Note, all Clergy will be asked to make a full new DBS application even though they may have a certificate subscribed to the update service.
Note anyone who works from home will have to make a new application, even though they may have a certificate subscribed to the update service.
To use a certificate subscribed to the update service for roles in the Diocese of Derby:
1. The Parish Safeguarding Officer must have a recent, completed Confidential Declaration Form.
- If any answers are yes / positive then a copy of this must be sent to dbs@derby.anglican.org with the completed DBS Update Service Check Form, and will be reviewed by the Diocesan safeguarding team.
- If all answers are No, it should be retained by the Parish as part of standard policy.
2. Complete the top half of the DBS Update Service Check Form as you would for a standard DBS application and if the person is new to the Parish, also satisfy yourself that they are who they say they are by asking for identity documents other than the DBS Certificate, as you would usually when going through the recruitment steps checking:
- Full Name
- Date Of Birth
- Role in Parish required now
- If they will work from home now (often this will require a full new application)
- Which Regulatory Barring Checks may be required
- The Parish and Church the applicant will be working for
- If this is for a Voluntary or Paid role
3. For the lower half of the form - From the certificate being checked on the update service – you must see the original certificate and then complete the following:
- The disclosure (certificate) number which is subscribed to the update service (not the update service registration number) – this must include any leading zeros.
- Date of Issue
- Surname, Forenames and Date of Birth as they appear on the certificate if different from those already noted
- Position applied for
- The words in each of the 5 boxes e.g. e.g. Non Record, Not Requested, Certificate Contains no Information etc.
4. Send all the information obtained from 2, and 3 as documented on the form to us at dbs@derby.anglican.org. Do not send copies of the DBS certificate.
5. We will make the update service check and will then send you a notification of a successful DBS check, or advise that a new DBS application is required.
For any questions please contact dbs@derby.anglican.org
Our Christian life is so much more than how we gather together on Sunday.
We are Christians in our working lives, as nurses, students, hairdressers, engineers, carers, managers, bus drivers, volunteers... We are Christians in our homes and families, as parents, grandparents, children, friends and neighbours.
We are Christians as we do the weekly shop, walk the dog, work out at the gym, do the school run, meet with book club, play football and go to the pub.
We are Christians whoever and wherever we are - that is Everyday Faith - and this series of videos will explore how faith helps ordinary people in their ordinary, everyday lives.
- Download the new Everyday Faith app: Google Play | App Store
Watch the Everyday Faith videos
- 1
What's your story?
In the Diocese of Derby, we are asking people to share their Everyday stories - we would love to hear stories of people’s real lives, the impact that faith has on who they are and what they do and how churches support them as they live out their faith.
We want to hear stories from people of all ages and backgrounds - sharing your story of how your faith helps you in your daily life helps inspire, encourage and reassure others.
To share your story, drop us a line at ideas@derby.anglican.org
Let’s all get talking about our Everyday Faith!
Everyday Faith is about enabling the whole people of God to live out the Good News of Jesus confidently in the whole of life, Sunday to Saturday.
The 2017 Church of England Report Setting God’s People Free highlighted that 98% of the Church is lay rather than ordained and that these everyday followers spend 95% of their time outside of church activities.
The Church of England has undertaken a concerted effort to adapt and change our culture of ‘doing church’ in order to release fresh imagination and energy for ‘being Church.’
Across the country, hundreds of worshipping communities have been trying out various ways to achieve this culture shift, focussing on what makes a real difference in supporting an everyday faith in people’s everyday lives.
You can also find out more on the Church of England's Everyday Faith pages: https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/everyday-faith
New role templates have been added to the Resources for Parish Safeguarding Officers page. They must be tailored to each churches particular situation.
The Autumn Newsletter is available for download here.
Today, I join with the whole United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and friends across the world, in expressing my sorrow at the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
I know you will join me in sending our sincere condolences to His Majesty the King, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and to the entire Royal Family and Royal households, with the assurance of our heartfelt prayers as they grieve. We pray they may know the peace and comfort of Christ in the loss of their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.
And through our own grieving, individually and collectively, we give thanks to God for her long life and her dedicated service to this nation and the Commonwealth.
After so many decades in public service, I expect we will each have a memory or image of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, engaged in such a wide range of contexts as she travelled the nation and the globe, and as she supported causes close to her heart. Her commitment to those seeking to help others was enormous – she was patron of hundreds charitable organisations.
Her Late Majesty’s personal faith was deep rooted and steadfast. In her Christmas message of 2014, she said: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ's example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.”
Her Late Majesty’s strength of faith and her constant seeking to follow Christ through good times and bad in her own life, serves as a wonderful example to all of us at this difficult time.
I have a number of fond, personal memories of Her Late Majesty, from occasions public and personal. I recall her charming, welcoming and gracious manner and the complete attention she afforded me during our times together. I admired her lively engagement with issues facing the world, appreciated the interest she showed in me and my family, and valued the opportunity to reflect on our faith.
As we mourn and mark her passing, let us remember her always putting the interests of others ahead of her own and, in so doing, providing an outstanding example of Christian discipleship. As we look to the future, I pray we can take inspiration from her long life, well lived in the service of God and neighbour.
May Her Late Majesty rest in peace and rise in glory.
God save the King.
Bishop Libby
The Rt Reverend Libby Lane
Bishop of Derby
Printable prayer cards (A4 sheet - print double sided)
Creswell Breakfast club has helped get the new school year off to the best possible start by providing school uniforms for local schoolchildren moving up to secondary school.
The club is based at St Mary Magdalene Church in Creswell village and is now in its seventh year.
► Feeding Derbyshire's Children: Creswell Breakfast Club
Bob Glassey writes:
Creswell Breakfast club has been making a difference this summer by working with Creswell Junior School - coordinating activities in the parish, ensuring a full range of free activities for the five days a week during school holidays.
At one of our meetings with the headteacher Alison Pymm and Head of Care Amie Wilson, they identified a number of families with school children in need of assistance buying the mandatary new uniform and PE kit for Clowne Heritage School (average cost of a uniform and PE kit is £100).
I was happy to hand over a cheque for £1000 that the breakfast club raised with help from: £250 from Bolsover Community lottery fund, £250 from County Councillor Mick Yates from the Community Leadership Fund, and £500 from Elmton Creswell Hodthorpe Big Local.
The school has also received £176 from the Revd Keith Cocking and will receive £200 from Councillor Duncan McGregor of Bolsover Distric Council.
Vulnerable families in our parish continue to face increasing financial pressure due to the rising cost of living, and disposable income seems to be an increasingly rare luxury.
The added pressure of children moving up from the Creswell Junior to the Clowne Heritage School needing a new complete school uniform plus PE kit means families as desperate and need assistance now.
It will lift a great weight from the shoulders of parents and family members knowing their children will have a brilliant start and will be the same as any other child at this new school.
There are many things which make up a community spirit.
And when it exists, a positive sense of community spirit is a great asset.
It can act as a glue, bringing together a whole community, and what can you do to make a difference.
We have shown that we can work together across organisations, professional of otherwise.
We are proud to be working with our local councils and local groups for the past six years, enabling them to create and make such a positive impact on our local community.
Derby Cathedral has just received a silver eco award from Eco Church, an A Rocha UK project.
The award is based on a comprehensive survey of the Cathedral covering topics as diverse as worship and teaching, management of church buildings and land, community and global engagement and lifestyle.
In other words – everything from how the Cathedral worships, the energy it uses, the wildlife it supports, the environmental projects it supports in other parts of the world, including Fairtrade, and the individual lifestyle choices we all make.
Eco church is designed to bring together a national community of churches addressing the environmental crisis with ongoing action to protect nature and address climate change so we can play our part in the prophetic call from General Synod for all parts of the Church of England to be net zero by 2030.
In granting the award Eco Church especially mentioned the Cathedral’s connections with the Wildlife Trust and the peregrine falcons, its involvement in planting trees including the “Trees for Derby” project, and our local engagement with the Council in supporting the bike event before Christmas.
Well done Derby Cathedral and thank you to members of JPCC (the Cathedral’s Justice, Peace and Creation Committee) and Carol Thomas, Chief Operating Officer for putting the application together.
Next step …GOLD!!
To find out more about Eco Church go to www.a.rocha.org.uk
