| Child Protection Policy |
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Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church
Policy Statement
Child Protection Policy: Adopted 30th April 2006. Amended 21st March 2007.
Statement of Intent of this Policy:
- As the people of God, 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, young people and those vulnerable by either physical or intellectual impairment.
- It is the duty of a person working with children and young people to prevent abuse and report any abuse discovered or suspected.
In order to do this, our policy has been developed with reference to Disclosure Scotland’s Protection of Children Act and the Home Office’s Safe from Harm guidelines.
This policy covers all staff and volunteers involved in young people’s programming and contact with young people. This includes any work that is a part of MCC Edinburgh’s programming, whether on or offsite. Where the Policy refers to "staff", “volunteers” or "representatives" it covers people who carry out work for MCC Edinburgh in either a paid or unpaid capacity. When referring to “abuse or harm”, this includes emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, and neglect. When referring to impact, reporting, and risk management (Policies 4, 5, and 6), this policy refers to anyone involved in MCC Edinburgh’s activities, including staff, volunteers, members, attenders, and visitors.
Metropolitan Community Church of Edinburgh’s Child Protection Policy covers the following areas:
Policy #1 - The Selection and Screening of Workers
All workers, whether paid or volunteer, who work with children will have been screened through the following process:
1) completion of an application form;
2) completion of an enhanced disclosure form with Disclosure Scotland and accompanying photographic proof of identity; an enhanced disclosure with Disclosure Scotland will be initiated and paid for by the church;
3) a personal interview.
4) reference checks with a written record of responses, including a reference from the applicant’s last employer.
All of the above information should be marked "confidential" and maintained in confidential personnel files of the church
All workers working with children will have a job description outlining their role, work, lines of accountability, and their duty to prevent and report abuse.
Applicants who have been convicted or have plead guilty to criminal charges of sexual abuse or molestation will not be placed in positions working with children.
Persons must have been members or attenders of the church for at least six months prior to applying for a position working with children.
Policy #2 - The Supervision of Children and Workers
A minimum of two adult supervisors will be present at all church sponsored activities for children or young people. Such supervision should remain in place as long as any children are present. Written parental permission will be required for the participation of children or young people in any church sponsored activity for children or young people. All workers will receive ongoing supervision by their named supervisor, and will undergo a probationary period appropriate to the post. All church workers assigned to work with young people or children's activities will be made aware of MCC Edinburgh’s Child Protection Policy and its application. All workers will have read and signed copies of this statement.
Policy # 3 - Reporting Child Abuse
In the case of suspected abuse, all paid and volunteer youth workers must be trained in and aware of the following:
- the need for proper reporting and the obligation of workers to follow these procedures
- The basis for making a report;
- A description of the indicators of child abuse;
- A procedure to follow when possible abusive or unhealthy activities are suspected.
- All such reports should be documented in writing and brought immediately to the attention of church leadership.
More specifically,
- If a child discloses issues of abuse to a volunteer or paid youth worker or other member of MCC Edinburgh paid or volunteer staff, the individual has a legal requirement to report the incident to the appropriate authorities.
- The responsible adult should explain to the young person that confidentiality will be broken if issues of abuse or harm are disclosed.
- The responsible adult should report any incidents or suspected incidents to the Child Protection Co-ordinator as soon as possible and the Child Protection Co-ordinator will inform the Pastor (unless the Pastor is the subject of the complaint).
- The responsible adult and the Child Protection Co-ordinator should record the incident on the attached form, and take the next necessary steps:
- In the absence of the Coordinator, or if the suspicions in any way involve the Coordinator then the report should be made to Rev Kerri Mesner (hereafter the "Deputy Co-ordinator") tel no:XXXXX. If the suspicions implicate both the Co-ordinator and the Deputy Co-ordinator, then the report should be made in the first instance to the Regional Elder. The local Social Services office telephone number between 9.00am and 5.00pm is XXXXX. The out of hours emergency number is 0800 731 6969.
- Suspicions must not be discussed with anyone other than those nominated above. A written record of the concerns should be made in accordance with church procedures and kept in a secure place.
- Whilst allegations or suspicions of abuse will normally be reported to the Co-ordinator, the absence of the Co-ordinator or Deputy Co-ordinator should not delay referral to the Social Services Department.
- The Pastor and the Committee will support the Co-ordinator/Deputy Co-ordinator in their role, and accept that any information they may have in their possession will be shared in a strictly limited way on a need to know basis.
- A child or vulnerable adult also has the option to speak to the Child Protection Co-ordinator independently if they so choose.
- It is, of course, the right of any individual as a citizen to make a direct referral to child protection agencies, although the Pastor and the Committee hope that members of the church will use this procedure. If, however, the individual with the concern feels that the Co-ordinator/Deputy Co-ordinator has not responded appropriately, or where they have a disagreement with the Co-ordinator(s)as to the appropriateness of a referral they are free to contact an outside agency direct. We hope by making this statement that the Pastor and the Committee demonstrate the commitment of the church to effective child protection.
- The role of the co-ordinator/ deputy co-ordinator is to collate and clarify the precise details of the allegation or suspicion and pass this information on to the Social Services Department. It is Social Services task to investigate the matter under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989.
- At all times, all MCC Edinburgh representatives should apply MCC Edinburgh values and principles to their dealings with young people and their families.
- MCC Edinburgh is committed to ensuring adequate support and supervision to its paid and volunteer staff in understanding and implementing these policies.
Policy # 4: Duty to report to the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL)
MCC Edinburgh abides by policies outlined in the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003. In particular, MCC Edinburgh adheres to the requirements of the Act pertaining to the duties for organizations to refer individuals to the Scottish Ministers for inclusion on the Disqualified from Working With Children List (DWCL).
Policy #5: Risk Management
MCC Edinburgh is committed to proactive risk management with regards to Child Protection. As a part of this commitment, upon completion of their membership form, all new Members and Friends of MCC Edinburgh are invited to voluntarily disclose whether they have any criminal convictions relating to children.
If at any point, MCC Edinburgh becomes aware that:
- an individual does have a conviction relating to children,
- an individual’s Disclosure Certificate contains relevant conviction information,
- an individual’s Disclosure Certificate contains relevant non-conviction or other information
or
- an individual who has been required to do a Disclosure refuses to do so and other risk factors have come to light,
the Child Protection Co-ordinator and the Pastor will meet with that individual to develop a risk management plan. This plan must be adhered to for the individual to continue any involvement with MCC Edinburgh activities (with the exception of outside individual pastoral care, which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis). The risk management plan will be reviewed by these three parties on an annual basis. The plan will be shared with the Regional Elder, and will be kept strictly confidential to those members of MCC Edinburgh who need to be aware of it in implementation of Child Protection Policies.
Policy #5 will be carried out under the guidelines outlined in Region 4’s “Guidelines on Dealing with Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse within Metropolitan Community Churches”.
Note: Additionally, with reference to both this and our Protection of Vulnerable People policy, the following roles will also require Enhanced Disclosure Checks:
- Pastor of MCC Edinburgh (enhanced disclosure)
- All members of the Congregational Care Team (enhanced disclosure)
- The Link Person working with the Pastor (enhanced disclosure)
- The Child Protection Co-ordinator (enhanced disclosure)
- All Committee members who are signatories on the church bank account (standard disclosures)
Reporting Form for Suspected Incidents of Abuse or Harm
Note: It is understood that the reporting adult is not to undertake any sort of interviewing process with the child/young person; this form is intended to serve as a record of any information that has come to light at the time of reporting.
Child/Young person’s Name and Contact Details:
Parent's/Carer's Name and Contact Details:
Person Reporting Incident (Name & Contact Details):
What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Who was present?
What was said by those present:
Was there any physical evidence of abuse?
Who has been informed of the incident?
Who was involved in the incident, and in what context?
Was the child/young person able to say what had happened?
Have appropriate parties been informed, e.g. parents, social services?
Note: Please also refer to MCC Edinburgh’s Disclosure Procedure, Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy, and Protecting Vulnerable People Policy, as well as Region 4’s “Guidelines on Dealing with Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse within Metropolitan Community Churches”.
Sources:
Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003: Guidance for Organisations.
Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003: Guidance to the Voluntary Sector on who needs to be checked against the disqualified from working with children lists.
Safe from Harm: Code of Practice for Safeguarding The Welfare of Children in Voluntary Organisations in England and Wales
The Police Act 1997 (Enhanced Criminal Record Certificates) (Protection of Vulnerable Adults) (Scotland) Regulations 2002
UFMCC Risk Prevention guidelines for working with children and youth:
Tower Hamlets Mediation Service Protecting Vulnerable People Policy
MCC North London Draft Child Protection Policy
Journey MCC, Birmingham Child Protection Policy
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