In the Diocese of Chelmsford we have adopted the full suite of Policies, Procedures, Practice Guidance and Resources provided by the Church of England National Safeguarding Team (NST).
On this page
Important: the following documents have been removed from the NST website and must no longer be used:
- Parish Safeguarding Handbook (being replaced by the Parish Safeguarding Toolkit - not yet published)
- Protecting all God’s Children (2019)
- Promoting a Safe Church (2006)
- Note: ‘Promoting a Safer Church (2017)’ is under review and remains available during that period.
Safeguarding in the Church of England - policies, codes of practice and standards
Guidance and Resources
The Church of England Safeguarding Gateway is a hub for a wide range of safeguarding guidance and resources. Below are links to some of the most frequently used. If you can't find the Church of England guidance or resources you are looking for below, please visit the Gateway
Safeguarding Templates and Forms
Posters & Publicity Materials
If your parish doesn’t have the facilities to print posters contact our Print Unit for a quote
Towards a Safer Church - Liturgical Resources
In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus tells his followers, ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill top cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5. 14)
Christians are called to be a transformative presence in society bringing light and hope to others. That includes being a beacon of good practice in the care and protection of children and vulnerable adults. As Jesus says uncompromisingly, ‘If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea’ (Matthew 18.6).
The Church needs to be at the vanguard of fostering a change of culture across society. Safeguarding is at the forefront of public consciousness and the Church needs to embody best practice in safeguarding in our network of parishes, schools and chaplaincies as part of our commitment to excellence in pastoral care. In recent years we have become acutely aware of the way in which historic incidents of abuse were sometimes hidden or even tolerated. There must be zero tolerance to such behaviour. As an organisation, it is vital that we keep people safe, repent and apologise for the wrongs of the past, and learn from our mistakes, including when we have added insult to injury by not responding well when people have disclosed abuse. We need to support survivors better and enable them to flourish.
This suite of liturgical resources is designed to suit a variety of pastoral circumstances. They range from a safeguarding prayer that could be posted on a church noticeboard or be used to conclude a day of safeguarding training, to a litany of penitence for past failures.
Duty to have 'due regard' to House of Bishops safeguarding guidance
The Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 places a legal duty on all authorised clergy, licensed readers and lay workers, churchwardens and PCCs to have 'due regard' to safeguarding guidance issued by the House of Bishops.
This means the guidance should be given great weight and followed unless there are cogent reasons not to. Any decision to depart from the guidance should only be made after specific advice from the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer and the Diocesan Registrar.
Consequences of non-compliance
- Clergy: failure to comply is misconduct under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003
- Readers or lay workers: grounds for revocation of licence by the bishop
- Churchwardens or PCCs: could result in a Charity Commission investigation and disqualification as charity trustees
- Ecclesiastical insurance cover is only valid where House of Bishops safeguarding guidance is followed
- Government Legislation: Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016