PARISH RESOURCES

Summary of April 2024 drop-in session (not previously covered in other sessions)

Dear %informal_name%,

It was lovely to see so mnay people at the drop in this morning, especially considering it is Easter holildays.  Please see below some brief notes from the meeting this morning:

  • If giving people a lift, please use this Church of England volunteer driver template .
  • If you need to know what member of clergy has undertaken leadership training, ask the member of clergy in the first instance but ask the safeguarding team in the second.
  • Information sharing with schools – contact your DSA but if it’s a safeguarding concern, information can be shared in line with Working Together.  All information shared needs to be proportionate and formally recorded.
  • Spending time 1:1 with someone under 18 is not recommended.  If you do need to, then contact the parent and ask for their written permission. It would be better to arrange a small group activity.
  • If working with children with special educational needs, check with the parents what the needs of the child are, and what support their school have put in place to support the child so that the church can put in place the same support.  It is important to understand from the parents how the child manages the support they are given, such as needed smaller groups. The Additional Needs Alliance has a very active Faceook group and the resources page of their website has lots of useful information.
  • All local authorities provide training about different aspects of safeguarding training. E.g. children, drugs and mental health.  They are free as long as you turn up. MIND also offer free mental health training courses.
  • References – they should be recent.  If applicant is from abroad you can ask them to request a certificate from the country they have previously lived in, but awareness should be given to that county and whether requesting a reference/certificate could cause difficulties for the person.
  • Information on the different levels of the parish safeguarding hubs can be found here.
  • The Additional Needs Alliance is my go to place. They have a very active Facebook group and the resources page of their website has lots of useful information.