Creating an environment
that minimises the risk of abuse
Managing the organisation
to protect children
Managing staff and volunteers to protect
children
Choosing staff and volunteers to protect
children
Dealing with abuse
Training
3.1 The first essential is to ensure and maintain a safe
environment for children and young people and those who
work with them. Much work has been done by many organisations
to develop effective and practical guidelines for working
with children. The Home Office publication Safe From
Harm: A Code of Practice for Safeguarding the Welfare
of Children in Voluntary Organisations in England and
Wales (Home Office, 1993) remains the best set of
guidelines that we know of. It sets out the following
13 statements of principle as a basis for practical action:
Managing the organisation
1. Adopt a policy statement on safeguarding the welfare
of children.
2. Plan the work of the organisation so as to minimise
situations where the abuse of children may occur.
3. Introduce a system whereby children may talk with
an independent person.
Managing paid staff and volunteers
4. Apply agreed procedures for protecting children to
all paid staff and volunteers.
5. Give all paid staff and volunteers clear roles.
6. Use supervision as a means of protecting children.
Choosing the right paid staff and
volunteers
7. Treat all would-be paid staff and volunteers as job
applicants for any position involving contact with children.
8. Gain at least one reference from a person who has
experience of the applicant's paid work or volunteering
with children.
9. Explore all applicants' experience of working or
contact with children in an interview before appointment.
10. Find out whether an applicant has any conviction
for criminal offences against children.
11. Make paid and voluntary appointments conditional
on the successful completion of a probationary period.
Dealing with abuse
12. Issue guidelines on how to deal with the disclosure
or discovery of abuse.
Training
13. Train paid staff and volunteers, their line managers
or supervisors, and policy makers in the prevention
of child abuse.
It is clear that these principles were
written with secular organisations in mind. However, we
believe that they can without significant difficulty be
translated into the context of the Church and its work.
We recommend that they should be adopted by the Church
as the guiding principles to create a safe environment
for children and to keep them safe from harm.
3.2 Safe from Harm itself provides
some guidelines on the implementation of each principle.
We hope that we may be able to give useful further guidance
on some of them in our final report. But in reality there
is no substitute for the training and experience of those
involved day to day in devising codes which are both practical
and effective.
3.3 These principles must be adopted
by the Church as a whole, but they can only be given practical
expression at diocesan, religious order and parish level.
Indeed the parish must be at the heart of implementation
for it is at this level that children and young people
enter most fully into the life of the Church community.
Our proposals at other levels of the Church's organisation
are essentially to provide structure and support to what
happens in the parish. The priest and other clergy are
at the centre of that community and we are in no doubt
that most of them see it as an integral part of their
ministry to ensure a safe, encouraging and loving environment
for children and young people. All we say later about
the selection of clergy is designed to support and secure
that environment.
3.4 We recommend that each parish
priest should designate a lay child protection representative
and each bishop and religious superior a Child Protection
Co-ordinator to oversee implementation.
3.5 The rest of this chapter picks up
and discusses issues arising from the 13 principles of
Safe from Harm. We return to the roles of parish child
protection representatives, diocesan Child Protection
Co-ordinators and religious orders and our proposal for
national oversight in Chapter Five.
Managing the organisation
to protect children
Principle 1. Adopt a policy statement
on safeguarding the welfare of children.
3.6 This first principle is covered by our recommendation
at para 2.12 above.
Principle 2. Plan the work of the
organisation so as to minimise situations where the abuse
of children may occur.
3.7 This second principle is a matter of sensible practical
arrangements, for example to limit the situations in which
a child and an adult might be alone together, or to regulate
the circumstances and arrangements when they are alone
where that cannot be avoided. Such arrangements act to
protect both children and young people from abuse and
priests and other adults from suspicion. It needs to be
recognised, of course, that there are many different contexts
which need to be provided for from Sunday schools and
youth clubs to confession and counselling. There is much
good practice to draw on here both in the Church and other
organisations, and it is a particular area where we hope
we may be able to give some further practical guidance
in our final report.
Principle 3. Introduce a system whereby
children may talk with an independent person.
3.8 On this third principle we recommend that
each parish should appoint an independent person for this
purpose (this could be a joint appointment between several
parishes) and that their contact details together with
contact details for appropriate children's helplines should
be easily available in the parish church and other places
where activity with children takes place. It
is important that these "independent persons"
are well trained for their role which is a very sensitive
one.
Managing staff and
volunteers to protect children
Principle 4. Apply agreed procedures
for protecting children to all paid staff and volunteers.
3.9 In the context of the Church, "staff and volunteers"
must be taken to include the clergy even though their
position does not actually equate to anything in a secular
organisation. This fourth principle emphasises that procedures
are to apply to everyone who has any
appreciable contact with children and young people; there
are to be no exceptions. It would be unacceptably invidious
to apply procedures to some and not to others. It would
also leave those who were in any way exempted at undue
risk themselves of being exposed to suspicion.
Principle 5. Give all paid staff
and volunteers clear roles.
3.10 There are many benefits to an organisation from clear
job descriptions and effective supervision, not simply
in the area of child protection. Not only does the organisation
benefit from thinking through just what it is asking the
individual to do, but everyone benefits from the resulting
clarity. Some sample job descriptions are at Annex Two,
not as models but as examples. In the same way codes of
conduct for the clergy can play a valuable role. We believe
that an early task for the National Child Protection Unit
(see para 5.10) should be to prepare a set of models.
Principle 6. Use supervision as a
means of protecting children.
3.11 We particularly believe that proactive supervision,
by which we do not mean day to day invigilation but regular
opportunities to review experience and discuss issues,
has a very positive part to play, both for lay
workers and for clergy.
Choosing staff and
volunteers to protect children
Principle 7. Treat all would-be paid
staff and volunteers as job applicants for any position
involving contact with children.
Principle 8. Gain at least one reference from a person
who has experience of the applicant's paid work or volunteering
with children.
Principle 9. Explore all applicants' experience of working
or contact with children in an interview before appointment.
Principle 10. Find out whether an applicant has any conviction
for criminal offences against children.
Principle 11. Make paid and voluntary appointments conditional
on the successful completion of a probationary period.
3.12 The above five principles are of
great importance in the creation of a safe environment
for children and young people. Neither the Church nor
any other organisation can rely on the fact that someone
is known to them as evidence that they are not a potential
abuser. Abusers do not have a distinct set of characteristics
that can be readily identified; they come from all walks
of life and ethnic origins, they may be male or female,
old or young. It should also be remembered that there
is always risk in employing those who have abused, however
long ago it may have been. It is therefore important that
all are checked as thoroughly as is appropriate before
being given relevant responsibilities.
3.13 This means that applicants
should always sign an application form giving in addition
to their full name, address and date of birth, details
of previous experience (voluntary or paid) of working
with children and young people; permission to contact,
in writing and in person, at least one person who has
experience of their work with children and young people;
details of any convictions for criminal offences against
children and young people (including any spent convictions);
and (in appropriate cases) permission to check for any
police criminal record.
3.14 Failure on the part of applicants
or volunteers to give this information or to agree to
checks must, we believe, result in their not being employed
or used in work involving children and young people. There
should always be an interview covering their
experience. References should always be taken
up both in writing and, if necessary, informally.
Convictions for criminal offences against children
and young people should always be checked. Any doubts
that may arise should always be pursued. There should
always be a probationary period.
3.15 In the past there has sometimes
been difficulty for the Church in checking with criminal
records or the DfEE's List 99. However, the position on
criminal record checks is due to change shortly with the
establishment of the new Criminal Record Bureau (CRB).
We understand that the Bureau will give every assistance
to the Church, as to other similar organisations, in conducting
checks. Detailed arrangements will need to be discussed
between the Church and the CRB but we would expect
the Church and relevant Church organisations to be registered
with the Bureau and to use its services as a matter of
course. There can be no excuse for employing
someone with a known record of abuse. However, unfortunately,
the fact that someone does not have a record does not
mean that they have not or will not abuse a child and
no such conclusion should be drawn from a negative check.
This is why the other measures to secure a safe environment
for children are so important.
3.16 We have considered very carefully
how the principles concerning selection should apply to
the clergy themselves. Very great care must be taken to
ensure as far as is humanly possible that only candidates
who are suitable for the responsibilities of ordained
ministry are selected. We recommend that the requirements
set out above should be strictly applied when candidates
are being considered for ordination, and that those involved
in their initial selection and in their continuing formation
before ordination should err on the side of caution.
A number of those who have responded to our consultation
have urged that, in addition to the other checks and continuing
oversight during their training, candidates should also
be the subject of psychological testing. We know that
such tests have been adopted in practice by some seminaries.
Although psychological tests undoubtedly have their value
we appreciate that they also have their limitations. They
may be a useful tool in the hands of selectors but it
is important that reliance is not placed on psychological
tests to the exclusion of the many other considerations
to be taken into account before a candidate is selected
for ordained ministry. They can inform decisions but must
not direct them.
3.17 Under present arrangements Selection
Boards make recommendations to the bishop or religious
superior. We think it is most important that bishops
and religious superiors do not overrule Selection Boards
where reservations are expressed about a candidate's suitability
for ordination on the grounds of possible risks to children
and young people.
3.18 We have heard of cases where there
has been inadequate sharing of information between one
diocese and another, or where those in charge of a candidate's
formation in the seminary have not had access to information
known to the Selection Board. In some cases this has produced
situations in which children have been exposed to serious
harm. While we recognise the need for great sensitivity
in the handling of confidential personal information,
we regard it as essential that those who are involved
in advising on or making decisions about the formation
and ordination of candidates should have access to all
the necessary information. We believe that this
would be greatly assisted if there was a single national
database about candidates and therefore recommend that
the Church should maintain a single national database
of information on all applicant candidates for ordained
ministry and that decisions should not be made by Selection
Boards, bishops or religious superiors without reference
to it.
3.19 In many organisations, the equivalent
selection process is undertaken centrally, by a National
Selection Board or equivalent. There would clearly be
merit, in terms of uniform standards and, so far as child
protection is concerned, in the application of the same
thorough checking process to all candidates for ordination,
if such an approach were to be adopted by the Church.
We are, of course, conscious that there are wider considerations
in whether such a national structure would be appropriate.
We recommend that such an approach should be considered
for adoption if implementation of the recommendations
above fails to secure uniformity of approach.
3.20 Once a priest or deacon is ordained
or lay worker appointed that is not the end of the matter.
As with anyone else concerns may arise at any time and,
of course, data held by the CRB will be constantly updated.
Proactive supervision in accordance with the sixth principle
(para 3.11 above) will help considerably but we believe
that, in addition, on moving to a new post in
a different diocese, diocesan clergy, those who belong
to religious orders or congregations, and lay workers
should have their position reviewed by the receiving diocese
and appropriate action taken if necessary. The
success of the operation of the database, and these arrangements
for review of individuals, needs to be monitored by the
National Child Protection Unit.
Dealing with abuse
Principle 12. Issue guidelines on
how to deal with the disclosure or discovery of abuse.
3.21 This is the subject of Chapter Four.
Training
Principle 13. Train paid staff and
volunteers, their line managers or supervisors, and policy
makers in the prevention of child abuse.
3.22 As we have explained, policies and guidelines to
prevent abuse are of the first importance. They must,
however, be complemented by skills and awareness both
for those such as the diocesan co-ordinator or parish
representative who have key roles and for leaders in the
Church - bishops, priests and other clergy, the religious
and lay. Everyone who works with children and
young people ought to receive training for the tasks they
are required to undertake. They must, for example,
be equipped to identify signs of abuse by others, and
be familiar with and able to initiate the Church's own
procedures for protecting children. It is also important
to make sure that children, young people, and their families
are themselves aware of the issues and what to do about
concerns. Raising awareness, therefore, has a considerable
part to play as does the development of skills in planning
the work, interviewing applicants and many other aspects
covered in this chapter, as well as in responding to allegations.
Nor is this a once only activity. Skills and awareness
need continuing development.
3.23 Diocesan and religious order
Child Protection Co-ordinators should have a particular
responsibility for ensuring that appropriate training
and action to increase awareness is undertaken
and for facilitating it, and the National Child
Protection Unit can also play a useful role in disseminating
information and facilitating. There are clearly
resource implications here but we believe that such training
is necessary and that investment in it will pay considerable
dividends.
|
