Safeguarding training modules

A range of core safeguarding training modules is a mandatory requirement for particular Church roles.

Safeguarding training should be updated every 3 years at the highest level only.

What training is available to parishes?

The national church currently offers the following modules of Safeguarding Training:

Basic Awareness
Foundation
Leadership
Leadership (PTO / PTM)
Safer recruitment and people management
Modern Slavery
Domestic Abuse Awareness Training
Parish Safeguarding Officer Induction

The Safeguarding Training Summary Matrix sets out the training requirements in the Safeguarding Learning and Development Framework 2024.

Parishes sometimes seek guidance about safeguarding training for specific roles, so Rochester’s Safeguarding Team has created a much more detailed matrix showing our interpretation of the training requirements for as many church roles as we can think of. This detailed document is available here. In using this document, please be aware that a common job title may be used to describe very different roles across the Diocese, so it would be wise to cross-reference training requirements with similar roles rather than accepting the training requirements blindly.

Basic Awareness course

The Basic Awareness course can be completed by anyone wanting or needing a Basic Awareness of Safeguarding. It is required to be completed by: All Church Officers and anyone going on to complete any other safeguarding learning pathway.

You can complete the course online at The Church of England Safeguarding Training Portal

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

How to access online courses

Click ‘Online Courses’
You will then be prompted to register:
*Create a username and password
*Enter your email address and confirm this
*First name
*Surname
*City
*Country
*Diocese – selected via a drop down list
*TEI – If not part of a training institution – please select ‘Not part of a training institution’ option 1 on the dropdown list.
Enter the name of your church and parish (or cathedral). If you work or volunteer in a parish and the cathedral, put both; it is important that your training is counted against the correct parish/cathedral.
Enter your church role. It is important that your training is counted against your role.
The above details will then be assigned for Basic Awareness and Foundation training.
Upon completion of this information, you will receive an email to the email address you have used to sign up; this email contains a link that must be followed to confirm your registration.
Once confirmed, you will be able to log in using the username and password you created and complete the course.
At the end of the course, you will be able to print a certificate and you will also receive a second email confirming your course completion.

Foundation course

The Foundation course builds on the learning gained from the Basic Awareness course. It is required by:

Anyone holding the Bishop's Licence, commission, authorisation, or permission (Clergy, PTO, Readers and LML's).
Anyone in a role that involves work with children, young people or vulnerable adults,
Churchwardens,
Anyone going on to complete any other safeguarding learning pathway.
Pre-ordination or license students, prior to BAP or selection Panel.
Vergers
PCC Members / Lay Chapter Members.
Staff at Theological Education Institutions with student-facing roles.
Members of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel.

The course is available to complete online at The Church of England Safeguarding Training Portal

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

How to access online courses

Click ‘Online Courses’
You will then be prompted to register:
*Create a username and password
*Enter your email address and confirm this
*First name
*Surname
*City
*Country
*Diocese – selected via a drop down list
*TEI – If not part of a training institution – please select ‘Not part of a training institution’ option 1 on the dropdown list.
Enter the name of your church and parish (or cathedral). If you work or volunteer in a parish and the cathedral, put both; it is important that your training is counted against the correct parish/cathedral.
Enter your church role. It is important that your training is counted against your role.
The above details will then be assigned for Basic Awareness and Foundation training.
Upon completion of this information, you will receive an email to the email address you have used to sign up; this email contains a link that must be followed to confirm your registration.
Once confirmed, you will be able to log in using the username and password you created and complete the course.
At the end of the course, you will be able to print a certificate and you will also receive a second email confirming your course completion.

Leadership Pathway course

The House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Learning and Development guidance issued in 2024 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.

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
Teaching Staff at Theological Education Institutions who are delivering the Leadership Pathway.

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 sessions, either via Zoom or in-person. Please note that before and after the 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 content of the Leadership Pathway is updated every three years, so participants renewing their certificate will be following new material.

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.

Collaboration during training
We think there are real advantages for leaders in a Parish or other local group of churches to complete the Leadership course together.

Before the training, participants may complete the preliminary tasks collaboratively to reach a shared understanding of their own culture and practices.

Following the training, they may 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, this can be arranged to be received verbally.

Support for learning – If you need help with the any aspect of the Leadership training, please contact our Safeguarding Trainer using the contact details at the foot of this page. They will be pleased to assist you.

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 sessions for a particular course, these dates are not interchangeable. You only need to book once to have a place on both sessions. Please do not book on behalf of others, as the preparation documents and any 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.

It is recognised that the exercise of Permission to Officiate can vary considerably for clergy. As the main Safeguarding Leadership Pathway is targeted at those ‘who play a lead role in shaping the culture of the church body concerned’, clergy with PTO whose role meets this criterion must participate in the main Safeguarding Leadership Pathway. For example, this would apply if you are covering a parish vacancy or absence. If you follow the PTO Pathway and subsequently take on additional responsibilities that involve shaping culture, you will then need to complete the full Leadership Pathway.

Clergy with PTO whose role does not meet the ‘shaping culture’ criterion may choose to participate in a bespoke PTO safeguarding learning pathway instead.

The Area Dean or Safeguarding Trainer may assist in identifying the level of involvement of an individual and therefore which pathway would be most appropriate.

Prior to completing Leadership PTO training, participants should have completed the Basic Awareness and Foundation courses online.

This PTO Pathway is delivered by the Safeguarding Team via two 2-hour sessions either on Zoom or in-person. Please note that before and after the training sessions there are some activities to complete in a PTO workbook.

Enquiries about the Leadership PTO Pathway should be directed to the Safeguarding Trainer by email to safeguarding.admin@rochester.anglican.org or by calling the Diocesan Office on 01634 560000.

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

How to access online courses

Click ‘Online Courses’
You will then be prompted to register:
*Create a username and password
*Enter your email address and confirm this
*First name
*Surname
*City
*Country
*Diocese – selected via a drop down list
*TEI – If not part of a training institution – please select ‘Not part of a training institution’ option 1 on the dropdown list.
Enter the name of your church and parish (or cathedral). If you work or volunteer in a parish and the cathedral, put both; it is important that your training is counted against the correct parish/cathedral.
Enter your church role. It is important that your training is counted against your role.
The above details will then be assigned for Basic Awareness and Foundation training.
Upon completion of this information, you will receive an email to the email address you have used to sign up; this email contains a link that must be followed to confirm your registration.
Once confirmed, you will be able to log in using the username and password you created and complete the course.
At the end of the course, you will be able to print a certificate and you will also receive a second email confirming your course completion.

Modern Slavery Awareness

In conjunction with The Clewer Initiative - the Church of England's Modern Slavery awareness-raising initiative - the Church of England has created two online courses around the issue of Modern Slavery.

You can complete this course via The Church of England Safeguarding Portal. Click on the top tab 'Resources', and the Safeguarding and Modern Day Slavery course is the third dropdown on the menu.

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

How to access online courses

Click ‘Online Courses’
You will then be prompted to register:
*Create a username and password
*Enter your email address and confirm this
*First name
*Surname
*City
*Country
*Diocese – selected via a drop down list
*TEI – If not part of a training institution – please select ‘Not part of a training institution’ option 1 on the dropdown list.
Enter the name of your church and parish (or cathedral). If you work or volunteer in a parish and the cathedral, put both; it is important that your training is counted against the correct parish/cathedral.
Enter your church role. It is important that your training is counted against your role.
The above details will then be assigned for Basic Awareness and Foundation training.
Upon completion of this information, you will receive an email to the email address you have used to sign up; this email contains a link that must be followed to confirm your registration.
Once confirmed, you will be able to log in using the username and password you created and complete the course.
At the end of the course, you will be able to print a certificate and you will also receive a second email confirming your course completion.

Domestic Abuse Awareness training

A course to equip participants to engage thoughtfully and proactively with the issue of domestic abuse and those affected, by developing a greater understanding of what Domestic Abuse is, who it affects, as well as its impact on individuals, children, the wider family, and the community.

Those required to undertake the training are as follows:

Anyone holding the bishop’s licence, commission, authorisation, or permission (including clergy, PTO, Readers, LLMs) or serving as an officer of the bishop (Note: Churchwardens are officers of the bishop)
Anyone (volunteers and employees) working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults, including Bishops Visitors and Pastoral Visitors
Safeguarding Officers / Safeguarding Leads including Designated Safeguarding Person in a Religious Community
Pre-ordination or licence students, prior to BAP or selection Panel

It is also recommended for all Church officers, PCC members, Chapter members and members of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel.

You can complete this course via The Church of England Safeguarding Portal and then the course can be found under Online Courses

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

How to access online courses

Click ‘Online Courses’
You will then be prompted to register:
*Create a username and password
*Enter your email address and confirm this
*First name
*Surname
*City
*Country
*Diocese – selected via a drop down list
*TEI – If not part of a training institution – please select ‘Not part of a training institution’ option 1 on the dropdown list.
Enter the name of your church and parish (or cathedral). If you work or volunteer in a parish and the cathedral, put both; it is important that your training is counted against the correct parish/cathedral.
Enter your church role. It is important that your training is counted against your role.
The above details will then be assigned for Basic Awareness and Foundation training.
Upon completion of this information, you will receive an email to the email address you have used to sign up; this email contains a link that must be followed to confirm your registration.
Once confirmed, you will be able to log in using the username and password you created and complete the course.
At the end of the course, you will be able to print a certificate and you will also receive a second email confirming your course completion.

Parish Safeguarding Officer Induction

Aims to equip learners with an understanding of the role of the PSO and induct them into key working practices and relationships. It is required to be completed by: