Safeguarding Children and Young People
The following is a summary of the full report entitled ‘Otley Methodist Church Safeguarding Children and Young People.’
The Otley Methodist Church Council approved the following recommendations regarding our Safeguarding Policy on October 18th 1995.
1 We recommend that Otley Methodist Church adopt, as part of its Church Policy, the following statement of safeguarding the welfare of children.
‘As the people of the Methodist Church, we are concerned with the wholeness of each individual within God’s purpose for everyone. We seek to safeguard all members of the Church community, of all ages. It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse of children and young people.
All workers with children and young people under the age of 16, within Otley Methodist Church, should work within the framework of the guidelines laid down in the report ‘Otley Methodist Church Safeguarding Children and young people.’
2 We recommend that when one-to-one discussions between a child/young person and an adult leader/helper take place in a separate room, the door is left open and another leader/helper should be asked to pop in from time to time.
3 We recommend that groups of children and young people do not leave the premises under the supervision of one adult, that a minimum of two adults is always observed. If, in exceptional circumstances, this is not the case, parents should be made aware of the situation beforehand.
4 We recommend that, whenever practical, two adults are always present with a group, particularly when it is the only activity taking place on Church premises.
5 We recommend that a telephone line be installed and a plug-in telephone purchased and that an itemised billing system is used and the group/person who made the call would pay the full cost of the call. (Since this recommendation a Public Payphone has been installed on the church premises.)
6 We recommend that a full review of the situation regarding first aid is carried out and we suggest that a main Church first aid box is either re-filled and re-sited or individual groups are issued with their own basic aid kits.
7 We recommend that when the Church premises are hired out or used by outside groups, whose use would involve work with children or young people, that the following clause be added to the conditions of hire/use:
‘The user confirms that they are familiar with the Home Office Code of Practice "Safe from Harm" and have an understanding of it and undertake to follow the Code of Practice contained therein in relation to work with children and young people under the age of 16 years.’
8 We recommend that children under 8 years of age should be brought into the premises and collected from the premises.
9 We recommend that new leaders/helpers are not allowed to take children home before they have completed their probationary period of service and this recommendation should be followed whenever it is possible to do so.
10 We recommend that the telephone number of Childline is prominently displayed on the corridor notice board.
11 We recommend that when the Church Council adopts it’s Policy statement on Safeguarding the welfare of children, a written copy of the Policy statement, together with the recommendations for good practice are given to each and every worker with children and young people. This is to include all paid and unpaid workers with children and young people.
12 We recommend that written job descriptions are drawn up for all roles for workers with children and young people in the church and that these job descriptions are agreed by the Church Council and copies retained on a church file, to be amended/updated as and when necessary.
13 We recommend that regular opportunities should be made for workers to meet together to review and plan their work, to share their experiences, to receive training and to talk about their relationships with the children and young people.
14 We recommend that all new workers with children and young people, under the age of 16, complete an application form and that all existing workers being encouraged to complete an application form for record purposes. This excludes helpers on a one-off occasions, who will be constantly supervised throughout the period of their work with a group (i.e. a cub dad who comes in for an evening to share his skills/knowledge). However, care should be taken for situations when helpers are involved in day trips or activities which include an overnight stop as constant supervision will not be possible and the completion of application forms should therefore be encouraged.
15 We recommend that before a volunteer is accepted as a worker with children and young people, a reference should be sought in writing.
16 We recommend that all new workers with children and young people are ‘interviewed’ to explore their experience of working or contact with children and young people.
17 We recommend that if any convictions are disclosed on a worker’s application form, the group leader consults the minister of the church for further guidance before a decision about the suitability of the applicant is made.
18 We recommend that all paid and voluntary appointments within the Church, which involve work with children and young people, are made conditional on the successful completion of a probationary period and that appropriate training is to be undertaken when available.
19 We recommend that the guidelines in Appendix A, regarding the disclosure or discovery of abuse, are approved by the Church Council and adopted as standard procedure within Otley Methodist Church. Additionally, we recommend that a copy of the appendix is given to all new and existing workers with children and young people.
(The only exception to workers with children and young people following these agreed procedures will be our Playgroup leader and helpers, as the Playgroup Association’s existing rules and regulations are understandably, much more strict and Playgroup workers must continue to abide by their Association’s Cod of Practice. Our Playgroup workers will therefore only be issued with a copy of these guidelines by way of explanation of our Church’s policy.)20
20 We recommend that when specific training in the prevention of child abuse becomes available, all new and existing workers with children and young people within the church are positively encouraged to undertake such training.
Appendix A
Guidelines on how to deal with the disclosure or discovery of abuse, or suspected abuse, in children and young people.
The statement of the Methodist Church on the safeguarding of children:
‘As the people of the Methodist Church, we are concerned with the wholeness of each individual within God’s purpose for everyone. We seek to safeguard all members of the Church community, of all ages. It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse of children and young people.’
It is the duty of a person working with children and young people to prevent abuse and to report any abuse discovered or suspected.
General Guidelines
1) Kinds of abuse:
Physical abuse: Where children or young people receive physical hurt or injury.
Sexual, where adults seek sexual gratification by using children and young people.
Emotional, where children or young people are harmed by a constant lack of love and affection, or threats, taunting etc.
2) The following may be signs of abuse:
Physical abuse: unexplained injuries or those which have received no medical attention, hidden injuries, signs of neglect.
Sexual Abuse: allegations made by the child or young person, pre-occupation with sexual matters, sexual activity through words, play or drawings, severe sleep disturbances with fears and phobias, being sexually provocative to adults.
Emotional abuse: regression in behaviour, nervousness, sudden under-achievement, inappropriate relationships with peer/adults, attention seeking, running away/stealing/lying, looking uncared for.
N.B. Physical abuse and neglect are difficult to hide. Sexual abuse can be almost impossible to identify and prove. Many symptoms of distress can point to abuse but there may be other explanations.
It is important therefore, that the above signs are not taken as indications that abuse has taken place. They should make us stop and think, but not necessarily jump to conclusions.
3) If you suspect abuse:
Do not delay.
Consult with the person to whom you are responsible for the work with children and young people (i.e. the group leader), and/or other workers in the same group to gain an input and wider perspective.
You must immediately report any disclosure or discovery of abuse, or suspected abuse, in a child or young person, to the Otley and Aireborough Methodist Church Circuit ‘Taking Care’ Group. This Circuit group consists of people with expertise in this area, who are available for consultation and support and who have experience in professionally dealing with such matters.
This support group, once notified of abuse or suspected abuse, will take full responsibility from then onwards, for any future decisions or actions taken (i.e. reporting the incident to the Social Services, NSPCC or the Police). It is the duty of the Circuit ‘Taking Care’ Group that they keep you fully informed and consult you at every stage, so that you are aware of what is happening. Their role is to take on the responsibility, but also to provide support and guidance. It is the Circuit ‘Taking Care’ Group that decides when or if the local Church Minister should be informed/involved.
To contact the Circuit ‘Taking Care’ Group, please use the following list. The names have been given in order of priority, therefore please make every effort to contact the person at the top of the list first.
1) Mrs Hilary Murden 01943 876930
2) Circuit Superintendent 0113 267 8355
3) Your own minister 01943 462308
4) If none of the above can be contacted and the situation is an emergency, contact the Social Services in your area.
4) Be aware that in every area there are procedures for investigating cases where a child is at risk. The Social Services Department has the main responsibility and will normally set up a Case Conference carried out be social workers and police. You may be asked to attend, either to give information or to support the parent/family. It is important to clarify in what capacity you have been invited and how you want to be seen by the family i.e. as a member of the Conference or as a support.
5) If a child or young person wants to talk about abuse:
Accept what the child or young person says, keeping calm and looking at them directly.
Let them know that you need to tell someone else, do not promise confidentiality
Even when a child or young person has broken a rule they are not to blame
Be aware that the child or young person may have been threatened
Never push for information
Reassure the child or young person they were right to tell you and you believe them
Let the child or young person know what you are going to do next and that you will let them know what happens
Make notes as soon as possible, writing down exactly what was said and when he/she said it. Record dates and times of these events and keep the hand-written record.