Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance
Preface
The Safer Recruitment practice guidance 2015 replaced the original joint guidance produced in June 2013 with the Methodist Church. It retained, at the beginning, a revised joint statement with the Methodist Church on safer recruitment. This update replaces and the Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance 2015.
Safer recruitment practice is an essential part of the Church of England’s approach to safeguarding. This policy and guidance sets out safer recruitment practices for people working or volunteering with children and adults. The guidance addresses two key areas – the recruitment process and criminal record checks (DBS). The guidance outlines who should undertake a criminal record check in accordance with their role with the Church of England and provides helpful templates for use within parishes, dioceses, cathedrals and other church organisations.
The House of Bishops commends this policy and practice guidance for use by parishes, dioceses, cathedrals and the National Church Institutions. Where relevant, it should also be applied to other Church of England Settings, for example religious communities and theological colleges. Failure to implement and adhere to this policy and guidance may invalidate your insurance.
I hope you find this useful in your practice.
Yours in Christ's fellowship,
+Paul
Bishop Paul Butler
Bishop of Durham
Joint Policy Statement on Safer Recruitment
Church of England and Methodist Joint Policy on Safer Recruitment
The Church of England and Methodist Church are committed to the safeguarding and protection of all children, young people and adults, and the care and nurture of children within our church communities. We will carefully select, train and support all those with any responsibility within the Church, in line with Safer Recruitment principles.
This means that we will:
- Ensure that our recruitment and selection processes are inclusive, fair, consistent and transparent.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent those who might harm children or adults from taking up, in our Churches, positions of respect, responsibility or authority where they are trusted by others.
- Adhere to safer recruitment legislation, guidance and standards, responding positively to changing understandings of good safer recruitment practice.
- Produce and disseminate practice guidance on safer recruitment for both Churches, ensuring that such practice guidance is compatible, and keep it updated.
- Always seek advice from human resources personnel to achieve best possible practice.
- Ensure training on safer recruitment practice guidance.
- Introduce systems for monitoring adherence to the Churches’ safer recruitment practice guidance and review them regularly.
April 2015
+Paul
Bishop Paul Butler
Bishop of Durham
Liz
Revd Dr Liz Smith
Chair Leeds District
Joint chairs of the joint safeguarding group
1. Introduction
The danger is that too much reliance will be placed on CRB [now DBS] checks. There is a concern that many abusers do not have convictions and no intelligence is held about them. Therefore the selection and recruitment process if properly conducted is an important indeed essential safeguard (The Bichard Inquiry Report 2004)
1.1. This guidance sets out safer recruitment practices for all Church Officers [*] working or volunteering in a Church of England setting with children and young people and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect [*] . It replaces and updates the Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance 2015.
1.2. At a national level it is the House of Bishops which approves policy and practice guidance where it is judged that the Church of England should have common practice across the parishes, dioceses, cathedrals, religious communities and other church organisations e.g. National Church Institutions, theological training institutions.
1.3. This guidance must be followed for the appointment of all Church Officers for example members of the clergy authorised to officiate, churchwardens, licensed readers, lay workers [*] , youth workers and parochial church councils. The Church of England is a complex organisation with many different roles, paid as well as voluntary. As such, appointment processes may vary; nevertheless the principles and practice detailed in this guidance should, wherever possible, be made to apply to all positions in the Church of England. For the appointment of clergy it should be used in conjunction with the Guidelines on Parochial appointments 2015.
1.4. The Ecclesiastical Insurance Group has made it clear that their insurance cover is only valid where national safeguarding policy and practice guidance is being followed. In addition the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, once brought into force later in 2016, will require all clergy authorised to officiate; other relevant Church Officers (e.g. churchwardens) and parochial church councils to have ‘due regard’ to safeguarding policy and practice guidance issued by the House of Bishops. A duty to have ‘due regard’ to guidance means that the person under the duty is not free to disregard it but is required to follow such guidance unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so
1.5. The guidance addresses two main areas the recruitment process and criminal records checks. The appendices offer model forms for use in parishes and other church organisations. It must not be forgotten that only a tiny percentage of adults who abuse get caught and still fewer are convicted, so organisations must never rely solely on a criminal record check. Criminal record checks, although crucial, remain only one element of safeguarding and the safer recruitment process.
1.6. Please note that this guidance does not address the additional requirements of those working in schools, nor does it address the additional requirements of those working in childcare settings which are registered with Ofsted, and where the childcare disqualification requirements [*] apply. (Ofsted and the government provide separate guidance in these situations). It does not address settings where Care Quality Commission (CQC) requires registration e.g. where personal care, nursing care and specialist heath and personal care services are provided.
Where to find this Practice Guidance
1.7. It will be distributed via email to all dioceses, cathedrals etc. The most up to date version of the policy will always be available on the Church of England website National Policy and Practice Guidance. News of updates will be included in Safer newsletter, circulated by the National Safeguarding Team on a quarterly basis. Relevant information will be updated online, where the policy and associated practice guidance can be downloaded easily for local use, so that it is not necessary to supply large quantities of printed papers, which can become out of date all too quickly. Please note that the aim will be to move to a full electronic manual in 2017.
Reviewing the Practice Guidance
1.8. This guidance will be updated annually and fully revised every three years, or sooner if changes in the local or national safeguarding agenda require significant amendments to be made. As part of the update process information will be collected about what works well, and what could be improved.
In the meantime, where minor improvements and updates to the policy are needed the online version of the policy will be kept updated. Please note that measures are in place throughout the development of Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance (SGPPG) to ensure that errors are avoided as far as possible. However, on rare occasions errors may be found after publication of the SGPPG. These errors may not always warrant changes to the SGPPG, in which case they will be logged for consideration when the SGPPG is reviewed for updating. If an error is found, the National Policy Working Group has agreed the process that the National Safeguarding Team (NST) will use to determine whether changes are necessary. For further information please contact the NST.
2. The recruitment process
2.1. Finding and recruiting the right people to work with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect can be difficult. What follows is a safer recruitment checklist to help make sure that dioceses and parishes recruit / appoint safely the most appropriate people as employees or volunteers. It is a criminal offence for an individual who is barred from working with vulnerable groups to apply for a regulated activity role [*] and it is a criminal offence for an organisation to appoint a barred [*] person to a regulated activity role.
2.2. Be clear about who is responsible for appointments. While there will always be local variations, responsibility for appointing clergy and licensed or approved lay ministers normally rests with the Bishop. Responsibility for paid posts, in the diocesan office, is usually with the Diocesan Secretary. In cathedrals the responsibility for appointments is governed by the Cathedrals Measure 1999 and/or the constitution of the relevant cathedral. In the case of religious communities because they are independent charities appointments will be governed by their constitutions. In local Churches the responsibility for appointments and approval of paid officers and volunteers rests with the PCC.
In each case it is important that each of these bodies is clear about who is responsible for the recruitment process. Responsibility can be delegated but it is important that the person to whom it is delegated is capable, competent and trained in safer recruitment and is also able to keep personal matters confidential. You must seek advice if it is unclear who has the responsibility for appointments.
2.3. Have a policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders. Applicants for paid and volunteer positions must be clear about how they will be treated if they are ex-offenders. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has published a sample policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders [*] .
2.4. Ensure that there are safeguarding policies in place. The Church of England has a range of national safeguarding policies. The joint statement of safeguarding principles, which appears in all national safeguarding policies must be used in the recruitment process to ensure the applicant is aware of the safeguarding approach of the Church of England. Have a clear job description or role, which sets out what tasks the applicant will do and what skills are required. The job description or job role will also say whether it is eligible for and requires a criminal records check, and if so the level of the check (see Section 1) If it is a paid role this must be a formal job description / person specification. If it is a voluntary role, a simple job role may be used. A model template for a volunteer is shown at Appendix 2.
2.5. Job description or role and Criminal Record Checks - In broad summary, it is the policy of the Church of England that all those who work regularly with children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect, including those on a rota, must have, where appropriate, an enhanced criminal record check (with / without a check of the barred list, as appropriate). In addition, those who work only occasionally with vulnerable groups will also be asked to apply for enhanced checks, provided they are eligible. Those who manage or supervise those who work with vulnerable groups and those in a leadership capacity who carry responsibility for safeguarding, will also be required to obtain enhanced check, provided they are eligible. For more details please refer to the table at Appendix 7 and 8.
2.6. Application form / references. An application form will always be necessary in a paid role to assess the person’s suitability for the role. An application form will also be good practice when recruiting for a voluntary role. A model template application form for a volunteer can be found at Appendix 3. Always ask for and take up references. Ask referees specifically about an individual’s suitability to work with vulnerable people. Ensure that you carefully examine application forms and references and make sure that the information that has been provided is consistent and the organisation is provided with a satisfactory explanation for any discrepancies and / or any gaps in an applicant’s personal history and / or career. If anything is unclear in the reference, contact the referee to clarify the position. A model template reference request letter for volunteers can be found at Appendix 4.
2.7. The Confidential Declaration. At the start of the process, where an individual is going to work or volunteer with vulnerable people, ask him / her to complete a ‘Confidential Declaration’ which, in broad summary, asks if there is any reason why he / she should not be working with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect. It can also help to identify any issues that might need resolving at an early stage. Having a criminal record may not necessarily be a bar to working with children or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect. The Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser is there to provide advice to the person responsible for the appointment and must be contacted if an applicant discloses any information in the Confidential Declaration. A copy of the Confidential Declaration is to be found at Appendix 5. Should the applicant not wish to complete the Confidential Declaration, which is entirely his / her choice, the application must not proceed further and must be terminated.
2.8. Interview / discussion. Have a face-to-face interview or discussion with pre-planned and clear questions to assess a person’s suitability for a role. Check the Confidential Declaration and the references. In paid roles (and sometimes in volunteering roles) the candidate’s identity will need to be checked by asking him / her to bring photographic ID as well as evidence of his / her relevant qualifications. Include questions about an applicant’s values, attitude to working with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect and motives for wanting to engage in such work. Always ask if he / she knows of any reason why he / she should not be working with children or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect or if there are any pending cases / issues which could affect him / her or his / her ability to carry out the role. If the applicant discloses any matter during the interview that relates to children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect and which may affect the applicant’s suitability for the role, then this must be referred to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser for advice. A model interview / discussion template for volunteers can be found at Appendix 6.
2.9. Asking for a Criminal Record Check. If the person / chair of the interview panel conducting the interview / discussion is minded to recommend approval then the applicant must be asked to carry out an appropriate criminal record check. A list of roles, which are eligible for, enhanced criminal record checks are outlined in Appendix 8. Special arrangements apply to overseas applicants, (see paragraph 2.10 below). Provided they are eligible, an enhanced criminal record check must always be required in relation to people sent abroad to work with vulnerable groups (children or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect) as part of the UK recruitment process. Should the applicant not wish to apply for a criminal record check, which is entirely his / her choice, the application must not proceed further and must be terminated.
2.10. Overseas applicants. If a candidate/applicant etc. for a position that is eligible for a DBS check is coming from overseas who, either has never lived in the UK or spent a period of time (i.e. lived abroad), the person making the appointment should request an additional check and ask the applicant to obtain criminality information (also known as a certificate of good conduct/character) from his/her relevant embassy/high commission (or police force). This means that in addition to the DBS check, the candidate/applicant must seek this additional check to cover the time he/she spent abroad. (Further advice can be found on the Home Office website).
If such information is not available from the embassy/high commission etc. or if there are concerns about the reliability of the information provided, the person(s) making the appointment should take extra care when taking up references and checking any previous employment record. In such cases, additional references should be sought and at least one reference from a previous employer should be contacted by telephone as well as by letter
2.11. Approval. The decision to appoint to voluntary or paid work must be made only by those who have that responsibility, (see paragraph 2.2 above). The start date or appointment must not be confirmed until the relevant criminal record check is received and examined. While local practice may vary, most criminal record checks are received and examined by the criminal records (i.e. DBS) administrator. Criminal record checks that are not clear (i.e. which contain information of, for instance, criminal convictions or cautions or additional information such as arrests) must always be referred to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser for advice – see 4.4 below. All paid posts will receive a letter of appointment. It is also good practice for volunteers to receive a letter of appointment, which can set out both an organisation’s commitment to its volunteers and what it hopes from its volunteers. A model template can be found at Appendix 9. Included with the appointment letter should be a copy of the “Statement of Safeguarding Principles” (see Appendix 10) and a copy of the “What to do if…” guidance (see Appendix 11).
2.12. Induction. Employees or volunteers whose roles involve working with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect must receive relevant safeguarding training from the Diocese after starting their role, regardless of previous experience. They must also attend regular updates every three years.
2.13. Probationary / settling in Period. It is good practice to have a period of probation, (for instance, 6 months) for any paid role or a settling in period for volunteers when the volunteer and the organisation can see whether the volunteer is suited to the particular role. During these periods relevant training can be planned and support can be arranged. In addition, regular meetings with the supervisor can be organised to discuss any issues etc. that arise. For paid roles, at the end of the probationary period a person must be confirmed in his / her role in writing.
2.14. Supervision and regular review. All paid posts will be subject to management, supervision and appraisal. For all volunteer posts, working with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect, it is good practice to ensure regular supervision and conduct a review regularly, as the role requires, (e.g. annually) so that volunteers feel supported and issues can be discussed and/or resolved.
3. Criminal Records Checks
3.1. Who is eligible?
There are four types of criminal record checks:
- Basic – This checks for unspent criminal conviction information only. This is currently obtained from Disclosure Scotland;
- Standard - This checks for spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings. This is obtained from the DBS.
- Enhanced - This includes the same as the standard check plus any additional information held by local police that’s reasonably considered relevant to the role being applied for. This is obtained from the DBS; and
- Enhanced with barred list checks - This is like the enhanced check, but includes a check of the DBS barred lists. This is also obtained from the DBS.
Good safeguarding practice requires those who work closely with children and / or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect to have an enhanced criminal record check.
The eligibility criteria for enhanced criminal record checks is complicated but put simply one can ask “are you over 16 and does the role include activities that allow regular/substantial contact with children or adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect?” If the answer is “Yes” then you may be eligible for an enhanced criminal record check.
Details as regards eligibility for enhanced criminal record checks, as set out in the legislation, can be found in Appendix 7. Information on how this relates to Church roles can be found in Appendix 8. Those in self-help groups or family and friends arrangements are not eligible for an enhanced criminal record check.
3.2. What does it cost?
Criminal record checks are free to volunteers but there is a cost for those in employment or those training for a role where they could be paid e.g. all clergy. The DBS update service [*] , which ensures that DBS checks are up to date attracts an additional annual fee, (see paragraph 5). Dioceses have their own arrangements for paying for criminal record checks.
3.3. How long do criminal record checks last in the Church context?
The House of Bishops has decided that criminal record checks must be renewed every five years. (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).
4. Criminal Records Checks outcome
4.1. Only a single paper disclosure certificate is sent to the applicant as individuals have ownership over their own information. They can choose when they want to share and with whom. Employing and volunteering organisations will not receive a copy of the certificate unless the application is in the update service and certain conditions apply [*] . They will need to ask to see the applicant’s copy if this is required. In terms of copying the certificate and retaining copies of certificates, the DBS has stated that where an applicant provides a copy of his/her DBS certificate to the employing or volunteering organisation they must comply with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 [*] .
4.2. The electronic criminal records system. Some dioceses subscribe to a variety of electronic service providers which allow applicants to apply on-line and for the church to receive the results back electronically. The electronic service is efficient and usually obtains the results in days rather than weeks. It electronically informs the organisation if the disclosure is clear or if the certificate needs to be seen, (i.e. it contains information – for instance, conviction information). (Subscribing to an electronic DBS service is a matter of choice for each diocese as there is an additional cost involved). With the electronic system the DBS / criminal records administrator will know when a certificate is clear and can inform the person responsible for the appointment. In such circumstances the certificate does not need to be seen. If a criminal record disclosure is not clear (e.g. it reveals a conviction for a criminal offence or other relevant information) see paragraph 4.4 below.
4.3. The paper criminal records system. In dioceses or other church organisations which use a paper system the DBS online tracking response will advise when a certificate has been issued. How best to proceed after it is known that the certificate has been issued will be a matter of local determination. Indeed, what might work in an urban setting may not work in a rural one where the structures and arrangements are different. By way of example, what follows is an outline suggestion. The criminal record administrator, or someone else, locally determined, could ask the person responsible for the appointment to contact the applicant to see if the certificate can be seen and to confirm to the criminal record administrator that it is clear so that the application can proceed or if the disclosure is not clear see 4.4 below.
4.4. If a criminal record disclosure is not clear, the applicant will be asked to present the original disclosure to the person responsible for the appointment. A copy may also be requested but please note a copy must not be requested in substitute for the original, the original disclosure must always be seen. The disclosure must be cross-referenced with the Confidential Declaration (paragraph 2.8) to see if there are any discrepancies. The disclosure will be passed to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser for a risk assessment. The Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser is qualified to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences and the risk. If the issues are complex he or she will ask for assistance from the Local Safeguarding Children or Adults Safeguarding Board. In very complex cases the advice of an independent specialist may be required. The Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser will make a recommendation concerning the suitability of the applicant to the person responsible for the appointment in line with the diocese’s local arrangements. Should the applicant not wish the confidential declaration and/or the criminal record disclosure to be seen, which is entirely his/her choice, the application must not proceed further and must be terminated.
5. The DBS online update service
For full details see DBS update service.
5.1. For an annual subscription applicants can have their criminal record certificate kept up-to-date and take it with them from role to role. (However, if the certificate relates to work with children and an individual’s role changes to working with adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect, or vice versa, then a new criminal record application must be made as the basis on which the original certificate was issued has changed.) To apply for the update service an applicant must apply within 19 days of the criminal record certificate being issued. Apply at the DBS update service. The DBS update service is very useful to those who have multiple roles where a criminal record certificate is required.
5.2. The DBS update service can be very useful for organisations to check someone’s criminal record certificate status online and receive a result straight away. There is no registration process or fee for organisations to check a certificate online, but organisations must:
- Be legally entitled to carry out a check, (e.g.. the role must be eligible for an enhanced/standard (as appropriate) criminal record check); and
- Have the individual’s permission.
5.3. Applying for the annual update services, which carries with it a number of benefits for the individual and the organisation, is a matter of individual choice for the applicant and a matter of local financial determination by the diocese or other church organisation
6. DBS Portability
6.1. Portability is the term employed for using a criminal record check obtained in one role, for a new role.
6.2. Portability within the Church of England. Anyone applying for a new role in a Church of England organisation within the diocese where he/she currently works or applying for a new role in the cathedral where he/she currently works does not require a second criminal record check (i.e. his/her current check will be portable), provided the result of the criminal record check has been seen, does not need renewing (see 3.3) and the new role is:
- With the same “workforce” (i.e. either working with children or working with adults experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect); and
- Eligible for the same/lower level of criminal record check as the previous role.
6.3. When will portability not apply within the Church of England?
Portability will not apply and a new criminal record check will always be required where:
- A person moving into a role in the Church of England from an external organisation e.g. a volunteer with Scope (the disability charity) wants to volunteer in a church or a youth worker, working in a local authority, applies for a role in the Church; or
- An individual is seeking ordination, reader or lay ministry training; or
- A person moves to a new job or role in a new diocese or cathedral; or
- A person moves roles to work with a different workforce. For example from working with children to working with adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect and vice versa ;or
- The level of check required changes to a higher level (e.g. in his / her new role a person is eligible for an enhanced plus barred list check; but in his / her previous role he /she was only eligible for an enhanced check without a check of the barred list).
7. Referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service
7.1. The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (SVGA) places a duty on organisations where people work or volunteer with children or vulnerable adults in regulated activity (see table at paragraph 8 - Column A) to make a referral to the DBS in certain circumstances to protect vulnerable people from harm. This is when an organisation has dismissed or removed a person from working / volunteering with children or vulnerable adults in regulated activity (or would or may have removed such a person if the person had not left or resigned etc.) because the person has:
- Been cautioned or convicted of a relevant offence (e.g. a serious sexual or violent offence); or
- Engaged in relevant conduct in relation to children and/or vulnerable adults, (i.e. an action or inaction (neglect) that has harmed a child or vulnerable adult or put them at risk of harm as defined under the SVGA); or
- Satisfied the harm test in relation to children and / or vulnerable adults, (i.e. there has been no relevant conduct (i.e. no action or inaction) but a risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult still exists as defined under the SVGA).
7.2. Detail about how to refer can be obtained from the DBS and advice must always be obtained from the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser.
8. Appendices
Safer Recruiting in the parish - executive summary and models of good practice
These Appendices summarise the steps to safer recruiting for parishes and PCCs and contain models of good practice to support safer recruiting in the Church of England.
An executive summary is provided here to make the link between the models of good practice and the main guidance.
Finding and recruiting the right people to work with children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect can be difficult. What follows is a safer recruitment checklist to help make sure that dioceses and parishes recruit / appoint appropriate people as employees or volunteers. It is a criminal offence for an individual, who is barred from working with vulnerable people (children and adults experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect), to apply for a regulated activity role and it is a criminal offence for an organisation to appoint a barred person to a regulated activity role. A DBS check is the end of the process when the appointer/appointing body is minded to appoint. A DBS check is not the start of the process and should not be the only check of suitability.