As a church, we are committed to safer recruitment practices. When recruiting both paid and volunteer church workers, the following process will be applied:
- We will develop a clear role profile, person specification and application form;
- When advertising a role which involves working with children or adults at risk we will make it clear that any appointment is subject to a DBS check;
- All applicants will be asked to complete an application form and include the names of two referees;
- Shortlisting of applicants will be carried out by at least two people, including the line manager or group leader directly overseeing the role being recruited for;
- Interviews will be carried out by at least two people, including the line manager or group leader;
- References, a Self Disclosure Form and an enhanced DBS check must be completed satisfactorily before the appointed person starts in their role.
Note: Under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, it is an offence for anyone disqualified from working with children or adults at risk to knowingly apply, accept or offer to work with children or adults at risk. It is also a criminal offence to knowingly offer work with children or adults at risk to an individual who is so disqualified or to knowingly allow such an individual to continue to work with children or adults at risk.
Additional checks for paid workers
In addition to the above checks which should be completed for both paid and volunteer church workers, an applicant’s UK residency status and/ or right to work in the UK will be checked when recruiting for a paid role.
References
Formal written references will be requested, ideally in the form of at least one professional and one personal reference.
Appointment and Supervision
The church’s safeguarding policy and procedures will be discussed with the applicant and they will be required to sign their agreement to adhere to them. All workers will have a role description and clear lines of accountability to a leader and the leadership team.
Paid workers will also have an assigned supervisor whom they will meet with regularly to discuss work and address any issues or areas of concern. There will be a probationary period of six months in the role before any paid appointment is confirmed.
There will also be regular team meetings to review procedures, share concerns and identify other matters that may need clarification and guidance.
Training
It is important that all workers understand our church’s agreed safeguarding procedures and attend BUGB Excellence in Safeguarding training at least once every four years. Where a worker is successfully recruited but has not yet been able to attend the training, they will be asked to view the Baptist Union of Great Britain’s Gateway to Level 2 Excellence in Safeguarding booklet and asked to complete the relevant sections. Additional specialist training will also be arranged where needed, for example, in First Aid.
Young helpers under 18 years of age
In law, young under the age of 18 are children and cannot be treated as adult members of a team. Training and mentoring will be given to ensure that they are helped to develop and hone their skills, attitudes and experience. Young helpers must always be closely supervised by an adult leader and never given sole responsibility for a group of children. When considering ratios of staff to children, young helpers need to be counted as children, not leaders. The safeguarding procedures apply to a young helper just as they do to any other person. Parent / carer permission needs to be sought for young helpers to attend an event or help with a children’s group just as you would for any other person under 18 years of age.