Church launches safeguarding course for all members

All church members are being encouraged to undergo a safeguarding awareness course to ensure churches are safe places for everyone.

A new safeguarding awareness course is being launched online for all those involved in church life – from leaders to congregation members. It is being delivered by St Padarn’s Institute, the training arm of the Church in Wales.

The course takes people through a series of animated films to explain the role of safeguarding in church life as clearly as possible. It covers subjects such as how to recognise signs of emotional, physical or sexual abuse and what to do if you suspect abuse is taking place. Once signed on, the course takes about 90 minutes to complete. It features two quizzes which people have to pass before being awarded a certificate.

Dr Julie Davies, safeguarding tutor at St Padarn’s Institute, says, “Safeguarding is the responsibility of us all – not just those officers with particular training. We all need to be aware of how safe those around us really are and what we need to do if we have concerns about them.

“Our aim is to see every member of the Church in Wales and our wider communities complete this course and so make our churches safer places for everyone. We need to ensure that good safeguarding practices are an essential part of our mission and ministry.

The church has no good news to share if it isn’t a safe place. To talk about God as a giver of hope and security, requires the church to be a safe place and a giver of hope and security.”

The Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, said, “Each one of us has a duty to be aware of the needs of vulnerable people. Church communities, as places where everyone should be both welcome and safe, have a particular responsibility to ensure they have clear policies and procedures to ensure vulnerable people are protected and cared for and never find themselves abused or damaged in any way.

“So I warmly endorse the work that is being done to ensure this and, in doing so, I commend all those in our church communities who undertake responsibility for overseeing that its aims are both understood and implemented.”

To access this course, click the link below and select New User which will take you to the registration page. Select the course from the top right of the page.

Plans are in place for the course to be available in Welsh.