Safeguarding Policy & Procedures

Issue date: 12/07/2019

The Derby City Centre Ringers are committed to providing a safe environment in the tower at St Peter's, Derby. These procedures have been agreed in conjunction with the church authorities at St Peters, and with the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor.

The Derby City Centre Ringers are committed to the safeguarding of all who ring at St Peter's, Derby, or attend events organised on behalf of the ringers, and also of any visitors to the tower. We will implement safeguarding and health & safety procedures in conjunction with the St Peter’s Parish Safeguarding Link in order to achieve this.

Note: definitions of some of the terms used in these procedures can be seen at the bottom of this section.

Vigilance and Reporting

1.1) All ringers are to be vigilant for signs of abuse during ringing activities, and must report any concerns, suspicions or allegations of abuse at the earliest opportunity.

1.2) The parish safeguarding reporting procedure flowchart is to be on display in the ringing room.

1.3) The person in overall charge of a DCCR event must be a DCCR member who has been DBS checked and has had safeguarding training to C2 level.

1.4) At least two adults must be present at any DCCR event where people under the age of 18 will be present without a parent. At least one of those adults must be DBS checked.

1.5) Where members of the general public are expected attend a DCCR event (e.g. an open day), and the event is held in multiple locations (e.g. ringing room & foyer) then each area is to be monitored by at least two adults, with at least one being a DCCR member who has been DBS checked.

Note: see later sections for details of checks and training.

1.6) Where people under the age of 18 are taking part in a DCCR event, then their parents are to be allowed to attend. Where a parent is present, then the parent is responsible for their own child’s welfare.

1.7) Where transport is organised to, from or during a DCCR event then parents must be advised of the arrangements and must provide written consent. If a person under the age of 18 travels in a car with just one adult then they must travel in the back seat.

Note: this does not cover transport arrangement made between a ringer and parents as a domestic/private arrangement, only where the transport is organised as part of the event.

1.8) Organisers of unofficial events must take responsibility for safeguarding at that event. If people under the age of 18 will be present then the organiser should provide the tower captain with a copy of the safeguarding procedures that will be used prior to the event taking place. If the tower captain has concerns over the procedures or no procedures are provided, then either the DCCR procedures must apply or the event must not take place.

1.9) A log is to be made of all DCCR events, and of unofficial events held in St Peter’s tower. This is to detail the event type, location, organiser and person in charge.

1.10) For DCCR events, a record of those attending (including non-ringers) is to be kept unless the event takes place in a public area. Records may be in written or photographic form.

1.11) If a person under the age of 18 arrives at a DCCR event unaccompanied by a parent and with no written consent, then they must not be turned away. If the person is a DCCR member, learner or a regular visitor, then the tower captain is to contact the parents as soon as possible to reduce the risk of a repeat of the incident.

1.12) If a person under the age of 18 arrives at a DCCR event when only one adult is present, then they must not be turned away. If practical they should remain with the adult in a public area until a second adult has arrived. If a second adult has not arrived within fifteen minutes of the expected time, then a parent must be contacted.

1.13) In both of the above cases, details must be recorded on the event log, and the tower captain is to review the details with the Parish Safeguarding Link to decide if amendments to these procedures or any other action is needed.

Risk Assessments

2.1) The tower captain is to carry out a risk assessment, with all DCCR members being consulted. This is to cover risks that might occur at any type of DCCR event.

2.2) The risk assessment is to be reviewed and updated if necessary on a regular basis, and at least once per year. This must also happen prior to organising any type of event not covered by the most recent risk assessment.

Teaching

3.1) Ringing teaching is only to be carried out by teachers who, in the opinion of the tower captain, have sufficient experience. They must also have current DBS checks and have completed safeguarding training as detailed elsewhere in this document.

3.2) The parents of a person under the age of 18 are to be encouraged to encouraged to attend their early ringing lessons.

3.3) Before a person under the age of 18 is given ringing lessons, their parents are to be supplied with written details of what is involved in the training process, and ringing in general. This is to include, but is not limited to, a description of the teaching process, including risks, physical contact that might be required (e.g. taking hold of the learner's hand or arm to take control of the bell rope), photography/videoing that might be required, suitable clothing, safeguarding and H&S procedures.

Parental Consent

4.1) Written consent must be obtained from the parents of any person under the age of 18 involved in ringing at DCCR events. This must detail the event date, time, location, type, organiser contact details and any transport arrangements.

4.2) A single consent document can be used for the standard practices and service ringing for a period of up to one year, or teaching sessions for a period of up to one month.

4.3) Details of all DCCR events are to be published in advance at an online location controlled by the DCCR, in order that parents have a means of checking that any event for which they are asked to give consent is genuine.

4.4) A parent may withdraw consent at any time by notifying the tower captain or DCCR secretary.

Photography

5.1) Still and video images may be taken of ringers at DCCR events in the following circumstances:

• To allow ringing teachers to identify problems with bell handling. Images are to be deleted at the end of the training session.

• To be kept in the tower archives or for publicity. Where these images are published (either in printed form or on websites) then the names of those in the images must not be included without the written consent of those named, and also of the parents of any person under the age of 18 named.

• To record attendance at ringing events. These images are to be stored securely.

• For general non-commercial use. This is allowed when no person under the age of 18 is in the image, where taken by a parent of the person under the age of 18, or where the photographer has the written consent of all people under the age of 18 included and of their parents.

• For commercial use. Prior to any images being taken, the photographer must provide written details of the nature of the images and their future use, and obtain the written consent of all those included, and also of the parents of any people under the age of 18 included.

Personal information

6.1) All DCCR members, learners and regular visitors to the tower will be asked to provide contact details, emergency contact information, and any medical information that they feel is relevant. This information is to be stored securely. For people under the age of 18, this information will be requested from a parent.

6.2) Personal information will be stored in line with the DCCR data protection procedures.

Safeguarding Training

7.1) DCCR members must complete diocesan safeguarding training courses as detailed in the following list, and must renew the training every three years.

• Tower Captain/Assistant Tower Captain: C0 'Basic Awareness', C1 'Safeguarding in a Church Context', C2 'Safeguarding for Leaders’.

• Ringing Teacher: C0 'Basic Awareness', C1 'Safeguarding in a Church Context'.

• There is no mandatory training requirement for other ringers, but it is recommended that they undertake the C0 'Basic Awareness' course if they have not previously had similar training.

Notes: Ringers are to book themselves onto the courses at dates and times to suit themselves. C0 and C1 training may be done as an online course accessed via: https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org/..

DBS Checks

8.1) The tower captain, assistant tower captain and ringing teachers must undertake a DBS check. The checks are to be on an ‘Enhanced disclosure plus barred list’ basis.

8.2) Additional DCCR members may be checked where needed to ensure that there are sufficient checked people to meet the requirements detailed elsewhere in this document.

8.3) DBS check certificate numbers must be provided to the Parish Safeguarding Link.

8.4) The checks must be renewed every three years.

Note: ringers should initially contact the Parish Safeguarding Link to obtain a DBS check.

The following definitions relate to the use of terms within this document.

DCCR: Derby City Centre Ringers, the group responsible for ringing at St Peter’s Church, Derby.

Tower Captain: The DCCR member with responsibility for the organisation of DCCR events, maintenance of the ringing room & bells, and oversight of DCCR policies and procedures in conjunction with the church authorities.

Ringing Teacher: A ringer who carries out (or is likely to carry out) one-to-one training in bell handling on a frequent basis, i.e. at least once a week, or 4 days or more in a 30-day period. Given the intensive nature of bell handling training, any ringer expecting to teach bell handling is likely to fall into this category. It does not include ringers who just offer advice to learners or carry out one-off teaching sessions.

Parent: A parent, guardian or carer of a person under the age of 18.

Ringing Event: Any event associated with ringing. The event does not necessarily need to include ringing, or to take place at St Peter’s. Events can include, but are not limited to: service ringing, training events, association meetings, peals, quarter-peals, ringing outings, maintenance sessions, social events, and recruitment events.

DCCR Event: A ringing event arranged for the DCCR by the tower captain, or by someone acting with the tower captain's authority.

Unofficial Event: Ringing events arranged by DCCR member acting in an unofficial capacity, or by someone who is not a DCCR member. These can include, but are not limited to: visiting bands from other towers, tower visits by non-ringing groups (e.g. school groups), association meetings, peals, quarter-peals, ringing outings