Safeguarding Guidance during COVID-19
This page was last updated at 09:00 on Thursday 25 June
(The * denotes a link to an external organisation. Please note that the London District is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
Promoting effective safeguarding practices coming out of lockdown - a briefing
As churches start to plan their reopening, the Connexional Safeguarding Team have produced a briefing to support circuit and church safeguarding officers through this process.
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Download the briefing here (revised edition published on Thursday 18 June)
Temporary change to Safeguarding Training requirements.
Due to the travel and contact restrictions that have been imposed to cope with the spread of Covid 19, the Methodist Church has had to make many changes to its normal programmes and plans.
This has also had an impact for those members, officers and ministers who are required to undertake Foundation and Advanced Module safeguarding training every four years, due to the cancellation of some training courses.
It has therefore been agreed that, for all those who have reached the four year point since they last undertook the relevant training, a temporary six month extension will be applied in order to allow for the current lockdown period and allow new training dates to be planned for in the Autumn.
Jonathan Hustler, Secretary of Conference
Henry Lewis, Chair Safeguarding Committee
Domestic violence during the coronavirus lockdown
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The Safeguarding Resources and Links page of the website features details of organisations which can offer support and guidance during the coronavirus lockdown.
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Hestia has also launched a campaign to provide victims of domestic violence with safe spaces within Boots pharmacies. Read more on the campaign here.
The following documents offer advice and information on current COVID-19 scams, DBS information and an update on safeguarding training.
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*National Trading Standards: Beware of COVID-19 scams targeting older and vulnerable members of our communities
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Update on safeguarding training from the Connexional Safeguarding Team
Guidance for Safeguarding Monitoring and Support Groups
Guidance pertaining to the work of Monitoring and Support Groups has been circulated to all Superintendents and can also be found on the Safeguarding News page.
*Government announcement on changes to DBS processes
To ensure that DBS checks can still be carried out, the government has announced some changes to the way in which documents can be verified. This includes viewing documents over video link. For the full announcement, please visit the government website. This information, along with other safeguarding notifications can also be found on our Safeguarding News page.