Safeguarding training modules

Leadership Pathway course

The House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Learning and Development guidance issued in 2021 states that the Leadership Pathway is required for those people who play a lead role in shaping the culture of the Church body concerned. They will always include:

• All Clergy holding the Bishop's Licence, commission, authorisation or permission (including PTO where exemption has not been given) including Honorary / Assistant Bishops and Chaplains.
• All readers and licensed Lay Ministers holding the Bishops Licence (under Canons E6 & E8), together with all others who hold the Bishop’s commission. authorisation, or permission to carry out similar ministerial functions (including PTO where exemption has not been given).
• Non-executive members of Chapter (unless their role in the Diocese requires a higher level).
• Safeguarding Officers/Leads in all Church bodies.
• Teaching Staff at Theological Education Institutions who are delivering the Leadership Pathway.

 In this Diocese the safeguarding lead for the Bishop has determined that the following roles will also require attendance on the leadership training:

• Churchwardens
• those who have overall responsibility for children/vulnerable adult activities e.g.
  • Sunday school coordinator
  • leader of a pastoral care team
  • homelessness project leader
  • youth and children’s workers who have a significant role in leading/supervising/developing work with children and young people
• Bell Tower Captain
• Directors of Music where there are children’s choirs

Prior to completing the Leadership Pathway course participants should complete or have completed the Basic and Foundation course online. The Leadership Pathway course is a prerequisite for those to attend the Senior Leadership Pathway course.

This training is delivered by the Safeguarding Team via two zoom sessions. Please note that before and after the zoom training sessions there is some course preparation, reflections and reading to complete:

• Completing a workbook and returning this to the trainer by the specified deadline date which will be advised in the email containing the workbook
• Completing a further reflection and reading a case study prior to attending the second Zoom session
• Completion and submission of a self reflection and action plan after the second Zoom session.

Please note:  The Leadership Pathway course via zoom has now been in existence for three years.  The contents of this course have recently been updated by the National Safeguarding Team, so are different from the previous Leadership Pathway course.

A reading list of relevant policies and some other sources is also provided, the reading is not a requirement however attendees are encouraged to develop their knowledge by use of these resources.

Zoom Training Hub - We think there are real advantages for leaders in a Parish or other local group of churches to complete the course together in a Zoom Training Hub. Before the training, the hub participants complete the preliminary tasks collaboratively to reach a shared understanding of their own culture and practices. They gather in one place to join the Zoom sessions, forming a breakout group in their own right where they can discuss in person. 

Following the training, they continue to support each other in devising and driving a group action plan to bring about genuine transformation of culture and safeguarding practice where it is most needed in their Church community. This leaves just one thing for participants to complete individually - the self-reflection, which is generally done in writing, but where appropriate, we can arrange to receive this verbally.  Groups wishing to complete the training as a Zoom Training Hub should make this clear at the point of registration.

Book a course: To see all current available dates please visit our Events and Training page 

** Please note you are required to attend both of the two Zoom sessions for a particular course, these dates are not interchangeable.  You only need to book once to have a place on both Zoom sessions. Please do not book on behalf of others, as the preparation documents and Zoom session links will be sent to the email address supplied in the booking.

***Please note that the Leadership Pathway course involves two zoom sessions, for those who have no access to IT or for whom zoom is not suitable, the Safeguarding Team runs the occasional face-to-face course. This version is only for those who have a genuine need for training in this format, rather than just preferring not to attend via zoom. If you require the Leadership Pathway course in this format please contact safeguarding.admin@rochester.anglican.org or call 01634 560000.

Leadership Course - For those that have Permission to Officiate or Permission to Minister

A Bespoke Leadership PTO Pathway has been developed to reflect the level of involvement with the church that the individual has. Those that play a lead role in shaping the culture of the Church body concerned will be required to undertake the main Leadership Training Pathway as outlined above; others who do not fit the criteria will need to attend the Leadership PTO Pathway. This will be on a case-by-case basis and on the authority of the Archdeacon for clergy and the Warden of Lay Ministry for LLMs.

Prior to completing Leadership Training participants should complete or have completed the Basic and Foundation course online.

This training is delivered by the Safeguarding Team via one 3-hour zoom session. Please note that before and after the zoom training sessions there are some activities to complete.

• Prior to the Zoom Session participants are asked to reflect on three key questions, to identify what has influenced their values and beliefs regarding safeguarding and to read the Parish Safeguarding Handbook

• After the Zoom Session participants are asked to complete a self-reflection on their learning from the pathway.

A reading list of relevant policies and some other sources is also provided, the reading is not a requirement however attendees are encouraged to develop their knowledge by use of these resources. 

Safer Recruitment and People Management

This course aims to equip participants with an understanding of safer recruitment procedures, and the skills and practices necessary to promote positive safeguarding behaviour (and detect safeguarding risk) once a person is in role  (both paid staff and volunteers).

This course is now available online via the Church of England Safeguarding Portal: The Church of England Safeguarding Training Portal 

Those required to undertake the training are as follows

• Line managers and anyone involved in the recruitment of Church Officers (employees, elected members, and volunteers).
• Those with responsibility for administering DBS.
• Safeguarding Officers in all Church bodies.
• Ordinands during IME 1.

In addition to those required to complete the training, the course can be undertaken by any church officer to enable them to understand safer recruitment and people management within the Church.

**Please note: If your role is included in the list above and you have previously undertaken Safer Recruitment (S1) as a stand-alone course or incorporated as part of the Leadership (C2) or Clergy and Lay Ministers (C3) safeguarding modules, you will need to complete this brand new online training.

Follow our step by step instructions on how to login to the online courses