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child
protection policy
within
the Province an Jurisdiction for On Call Ministry
Experience has
shown that churches, church organisations and religious groups are
often an open target for those with paedophile tendencies and that
the protection of the children entrusted to the care of any Christian
community, group or individual must have maximum priority.
It is the
Order’s responsibility to ensure that where any member of the
Order is involved in any capacity children are protected in terms of
both policy and practice. This is to be achieved by raising awareness
of good practice throughout the Order in regard to the protection of
children and young people.
These Guidelines
set out the Order’s interim child protection policy and code of
good practice for members of the Order working with children and
young people, whether on a ‘one to one’ basis or with a group.
For the purposes
of this interim policy, a child or young person is deemed to be under
the age of 18.
The
Order’s child protection policy overview.
Children and young
people are just as much a part of the Christian community as adults.
They have as much to give as well as to receive and when they reach
adult hood will be entrusted with the future of God’s church.
It is therefore
important that children are given opportunity to speak and to be
listened to and are not ignored. God speaks through all His people,
children included.
It is also
important that the Christian community as a whole respects the wishes
and feeling of children and young people - we should not forget that
we are commissioned to receive children in Jesus’ name as Christ
himself (Matt 18, v2-6).
With this in mind
as members of the Order, we are committed to the nurturing,
protection and safekeeping of all members of the Christian community,
but especially of children and young people.
It is then the
responsibility of each member of the Order to prevent physical,
sexual and emotional abuse happening to any person and to report any
abuse discovered or suspected, children and young people in
particular because of their vulnerability
The Order is
committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with
children and young people, and to providing some form of supervision
and accountability even though its resources are limited.
Each member of the
Order shall be given a copy of the Order's interim child protection
policy and must be aware of and observe the recommendations made.
This interim policy takes effect from 6th February, 2005.
The
Order’s interim child protection policy:
General
requirements and recommendations.
1.
Criminal Record Searches: a tough and unavoidable decision in the
current social climate
Any member of the
Order who works with or intends to work with children or young people
on a regular basis is required to have an appropriate and current
enhanced CRB certificate (not a copy) which has been seen and
validated by a member of the Executive, preferably by +Michael,
before authorisation is given.
An additional
external search by an authorised and approved organisation may be
requested by the Executive.
If there are any
doubts or concerns, even if a valid enhanced CRB certificate is
presented, authorisation to work with children or young people may be
denied or withdrawn by the executive if there are reasonable concerns.
2.
Good practice with colleagues
Members of the
Order should encourage an atmosphere of mutual support and care which
allows the open discussion of inappropriate attitudes and behaviour
and their appropriate resolution.
If a member of the
Order or another adult is seen acting in ways that might be
misconstrued, it is important and right that these concerns are
sensitively relayed back to them in the first instance, and if they
continue or are of serious concern, relayed to a member of the
Executive or to +Michael with some immediacy.
3.
Touch
Touch is an
important part of human relationships and Christian ministry, but
those working with children and young people should be sensitive to
what is appropriate and inappropriate physical contact, both in
general terms, and in relation to specific individuals.
Members of the
Order should be conscious of situations in which their actions and
those of other people, however well intended, could be misconstrued
by others or be harmful or damaging.
4.
Time Alone
Time spent alone
with any child or young person should be minimised.
If it is
absolutely necessary to be alone with an individual, ensure that
another member of the Order or reliable adult is informed of where
you will be and why.
If possible, try
to avoid being alone (e.g. behind a closed door and out of sight of
other adults) with a child or young person.
5.
Transport
If at all possible
do not give lifts to children and young people on their own other
than for short journeys and with the permission and knowledge of
their parents or guardians.
If children and
young people are alone then it is appropriate to ask them sit in the
back seat.
Check that
insurance covers the both vehicle and passengers appropriately.
Seat belts must be worn.
Make sure that you
have the prior permission of parents or guardians wherever possible,
even in an emergency.
Group
activities involving children and young people.
All members of the
Order who work with groups of children and young people, whether
regularly or occasionally, are subject to the following:
1.
Health and Safety issues where arranged group activities are taking place
A responsible
adult should make sure that any premises being used are open in good
time and that children under 11 are collected at the end of a meeting
by parents or guardians or other responsible adults who have been
authorised to collect specific children.
A child should
never be allowed to go home on their own unless specific arrangements
have been made with the parents and a risk assessment has been made
and agreed by the parents and the person responsible for the group.
All leaders must
know the location of the nearest telephone or be in possession of a
working mobile phone that is sufficiently charged and will be able to
send and receive calls from that geographical area.
All adults must be
aware of the safety / fire procedure and how to evacuate any premises
being used.
Group leaders must
ensure that fire extinguishers are available and in good working condition.
No smoking is
permitted in or near the areas children will be in, immediately
before, during or after children are present.
Children must
submit a health form before a residential or hazardous activity.
These health forms
must be taken with the leaders when going off-site.
All accidents and
incidents must be recorded in an accident book, making note of any
action taken and signed by the leader involved.
A first aid kit
must be available in any premises used by children or young people,
and its location must be well-known.
No medication must
be administered (including plasters, disinfectant wipes and
antiseptic creams and lotions) without written parental consent.
2.
Adult to Child Ratio during organised group activities
The suggested
ratio of leaders to children according to their age is:
For 0-2 years - 1
leader to every 3 children (1:3)
For 2-3 years - 1
leader to every 4 children (1:4)
For 3-8 years - 1
leader to every 8 children (1:8)
For over 8's - 1
leader for the first 8 children followed by 1:12
Unless there are
exceptional circumstances, for example an emergency where a child is
endangered, these should be adhered to.
There must always
be more than one leader for any group, no matter the group size.
If only one leader
is available, then the group must not take place unless the children
involved will be put at greater risk.
If such an event
happens then the parents of the children should be informed of these
circumstances immediately.
3.
Administration of group activities
An up to date
register and record of children, their parents and contact phone
numbers, attendance and other specific information (such as medical
conditions) will be kept .
The person in
charge/leader of each group will be responsible for ensuring this
information is kept safely and is readily available.
A register,
completed whenever a group meets, must be kept and be easily
accessible in an emergency.
The register must
be kept in a safe place whenever the group is not meeting.
4.
Insurance
Each member of the
Order who is in charge or has responsibility for a group should
ensure activities are adequately insured and not make assumptions
about what is covered by existing insurance policies.
If in doubt, they
should consult the insurance providers prior to any planned events.
The Order does not
provide insurance cover for any activities and will not accept
liability for individual member’s actions
5.
Money
If money is
collected as part of a group’s activity, accounts should be kept
and made available on demand.
6.
Volunteers
Volunteers working
under the direction of members of the Order, particularly those under
the age of 18, must never work unsupervised and must be given clear
guidance and support at all times.
7.
Casual Visitors
Casual visitors
must not have access to children without the presence of an adult who
is deemed responsible for the group.
If there is any
doubt as to the validity of a casual visitor having access or trying
to gain access to a group of children or young people then they
should be asked to leave immediately and appropriate action taken if
they refuse or delay.
8.
Adequate communication with parents
Parents and
guardians must be clearly informed about all the activities in which
children and young people take part and any alternatives if plans
have to be changed through bad weather etc.
Do not assume
parents and guardians have given permission for their children to
take part in these activities, even if they are aware of them. Always
check you have their permission, preferably in writing.
Formal risk
assessments should be completed before any activity takes place and
previous records of risk assessments should be made available as a
matter of course.
9.
Management issues during group meetings
All children and
young people must be treated with the respect and dignity befitting
their age; special attention must be given to language, tone of voice
and use of the body. Leaders and helpers must not engage in any of
the following:
· 	
invading the privacy of children when they are showering or toileting;
· 	
rough, physical or sexually provocative games;
· 	
making sexually suggestive comments about or to a young person, even
in fun;
· 	
inappropriate and intrusive touching of any form;
· 	
any scapegoating, ridiculing or rejecting a child or young person.
Leaders and
helpers must control and discipline children without using physical punishment.
No child or young
person should be involved in excessive attention seeking that is
overtly sexual or physical in nature.
No child or young
person may be invited to a leaders home on their own, only a group
may be invited. The leader must ensure someone else is in the house,
and the parents know where the children or young persons are and the
purpose of the meeting.
A leader must not
share sleeping accommodation with children or young people if a group
is taken away.
Dealing
with disclosure
If there is the
probability or immediate possibility of a child or young person
disclosing abuse, the threat of harm or actual endangerment, then it
will be necessary to tell the child or young person that you may need
to share that information with other people to make sure that further
abuse can be stopped. Make this clear at the outset and then problems
can be avoided regarding the sacred seal of confession.
Once a disclosure
has been made, it has to be dealt with quickly. Please contact
+Michael if you are in any doubt as to how to deal with this.
It important when
a child is disclosing not to put words in their mouths but to let
them explain in their own time and using their own words. Record the
details as soon afterwards as possible. Remain impartial and do not
become unnecessarily emotionally involved.
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