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Policy On Protecting Vulnerable People
Bruntsfield Evangelical Church (BEC) aims to ensure that any
vulnerable people, whether children, young people or
vulnerable adults are protected and kept safe from harm
while they are with staff and volunteers from this Church.
In order to achieve this we will ensure that such staff and
volunteers are carefully selected, screened, trained and
supervised.
Selection:
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All new
volunteers/staff who could work with vulnerable people shall
complete an application form.
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Before
starting work, volunteers/staff will be asked to attend a
discussion or interview with either the leader(s) of the
activity; the child protection co-ordinator; or the elders.
Clearly the level of formality and the person(s) responsible
for the discussion or interview will depend on the role, and
the work involved with that role.
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Volunteers/staff may be asked to provide references.
Screening:
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Where
relevant to the post, the volunteer/staff member will be
asked to agree to an appropriate disclosure.
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These
disclosures should be requested from Disclosure Scotland
prior to the volunteer/staff member taking up their position
in the activity.
Training:
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Volunteers/Staff should have a knowledge and understanding
of the Church’s purpose, values, and structure, available at
www.bruntsfield.org.uk
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Training
on specific areas such as identifying and reporting abuse,
and confidentiality will be given to volunteers/staff. This
will be provided by either the leader/leaders of the
activity or the child protection co-ordinator.
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The child
protection co-ordinator is available to provide advice and
guidance on any area of concern regarding vulnerable people.
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It will be
the responsibility of any volunteer/staff who have
information of alleged/suspected abuse to pass this on to
the child protection co-ordinator. Where appropriate, the
child protection co-ordinator will refer the matter to the
relevant statutory authorities.
Supervision:
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Regular
feedback and support will be given by the leader/leaders of
the activity.
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It will be the
responsibility of the activity leader/leaders to pass on any concerns they
may have regarding the volunteer/staff member to either the child protection
co-ordinator or to the elders.
BEC
will endeavour to ensure that all those working with
vulnerable people are aware of this policy and are able and
willing to work to these guidelines.
Policy on the
Recruitment of Ex-Offenders
Bruntsfield Evangelical
Church (BEC) undertakes to treat all applicants for
positions (both paid and unpaid) within the Church fairly.
It is our policy not to discriminate unfairly against the
subject of a disclosure on the basis of conviction or other
information revealed.
We will request a
Standard or Enhanced disclosure where it is necessary and
relevant to the position sought.
Where a position requires a disclosure, this will be made
explicit by the leader of the activities, the child
protection co-ordinator or the elders of BEC.
Prior to agreeing that a volunteer starts work in a
particular activity, or at the interview stage for a paid
position, BEC will take into consideration the following
matters:-
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Whether any
conviction is relevant to the position requested.
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The seriousness of
any offence revealed.
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The length of time
since the offence took place.
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Whether there is a
pattern of offending behaviour.
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Whether the
applicant’s circumstances have changed since offending
took place.
We
undertake to make this policy available to any applicant who
requires a disclosure.
Policy on the Secure
Handling, Storage and Retention of Disclosure Information
In accordance
with the Scottish Executive Code of Practice for registered
persons and other recipients of Disclosure Information,
Bruntsfield Evangelical Church (BEC) will ensure the
following practice:
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Disclosures will only be requested when necessary and
relevant to a particular role and the information provided
on a disclosure certificate will only be used for
recruitment purposes.
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BEC will
ensure that an individual’s consent is given before seeking
a disclosure.
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Disclosure
information will only be shared with those authorised by the
elders to see it. This will normally be restricted to some
or all of the elders, the Child Protection Co-ordinator and
the leader or leaders of the relevant activity.
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Where
additional information is provided to BEC and not to the
disclosure applicant, BEC will not disclose this information
to the applicant, but will inform them of the fact that
additional information has been provided, should this
information affect the volunteer/staff taking on a
particular role in an activity.
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Disclosure
information will be stored in a locked container, for a
maximum of 6 months. Only those authorised to see this
information will have access to this container
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Disclosure
information will be destroyed by shredding.
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No image
or photocopy of the disclosure information will be made,
however the following details will be retained:-
- Date of
issue of disclosure.
- Name of subject.
- Disclosure
type.
- Role for
which disclosure was requested.
- Unique
reference number of disclosure.
- Decision
as to whether or not volunteer/staff is suitable for role.
BEC
will ensure that all those with access to disclosure
information are aware of this policy and have received
relevant training and support.
BEC
will undertake to make a copy of this policy available to
all potential volunteers/staff that wish to undertake a role
that requires a disclosure.
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