Child protection
Churches in the UK must not be complacent about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, according to new research.
The Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) published findings based on ten safeguarding standards for places of worship. Carried out by Brierley Consultancy on behalf of CCPAS, the report showed that practice needs vast improvement.
More than 50 per cent of those recruited to work with children have not been asked to complete application forms or supply referees. Nor are they interviewed, contrary to government recommendations since 1993.
According to CCPAS, churches have not ensured that all those in regular contact with children have been on safeguarding training, while 40 per cent of workers across all church denominations had no named supervisor to manage and support them.
The report added that churches are over-relying on CRB checks. It said: ‘These checks are the last stage in a safe recruitment process, not the only stage. We need to remember that most offenders are not caught and would not therefore be known to the authorities’.
