Differences Between the Statutory and the Voluntary Sector

Differences between the statutory and the voluntary sector in safeguarding children issues.

1. The church in its parishes is part of the voluntary sector and the main guidance document is the Diocesan Safeguarding Handbook.

2. Church schools are part of the statutory sector and will have their own child protection or safeguarding policies.

3. Churches through their PCCs are in the position of employers and are responsible for operating safer recruitment for their children’s workers, whether paid or volunteer.

4. Those working with children in the parish are expected to follow the Code of Conduct in the Good Practice Guide for Church Workers with Children and Young People, or the local church equivalent. (There is a parallel Good Practice Guide for work with vulnerable adults.)

5. Church workers who also work in the statutory sector should remember that they are more exposed in their church life, since they do not have the same infrastructure round them and their home addresses are more easily traced.

6. There is no difference between volunteers and paid staff in children’s work in terms of recruitment and conduct expectations. However, if making a referral to the local authority children’s social care service parish volunteers (but not paid staff) can ask to be treated as members of the public and not have their identity disclosed to families they have referred. (This point was covered in the government’s previous guidance document Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, paragraph 5.35 but the current 2013 version is silent on the issue.)

7. Those who hold confidential information about a child arising from more than one setting, e.g. parish and school, should handle this sensitively though information which may help protect a child or prevent a crime can always be shared.

For advice on safeguarding contact:

Stephen Barber, Safeguarding Adviser 01865 208290 [email protected]

Issued January 2014