Parish Safeguarding Officer Network
The Parish Safeguarding team have organised three Consultation & Information sharing events for Parish Safeguarding Officers in June
The events provide::
- An opportunity to meet and share with PSOs from other Parishes.
- Information about developments in safeguarding in the Diocese, inc. Dashboards.
- A forum to provide feedback regarding your concerns, challenges and the support you need as a PSO.
Dates and locations
- 11 June 2024 (7pm - 9pm) St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Nantwich CW5 5RG
- 18 June 2024 (7pm - 9pm) Church House, 5500 Daresbury Park, Warrington WA4 4GE
- 25 June 2024 (7pm - 9pm) The St Mary’s Handbridge Centre, Overleigh Road, Chester CH4 7HL
If you wish to attend please email: safeguarding@chester.anglican.org
Parish Safeguarding Dashboard update and introducing Safeguarding Hubs
Thank you to all Parish Safeguarding Officers and incumbents who have responded so positively to the launch of the Dashboards.
In the first four weeks, 147 (55.5%) of our Parishes have commenced using their Dashboard. A further 67 (25.3%) have signed up and we hope will get started using it as soon as possible.
Positive feedback has been received from those using their Dashboard, with one incumbent writing: ‘‘May I just say a huge thank you for all you've done in getting this up and running. I had a couple of week's delay as my PSO and I found time to meet, but we did so this week, and it was wonderful. We have already identified the gaps, generated reports, and I've set up further meetings with relevant people to discuss and action the next level. There is a good sense of satisfaction when the button turns green! The levels are really helpful in preventing you feeling overwhelmed when you start it.’’
Next Steps….
We are aiming that all Parishes in Chester will achieve completion of at least level one by October. Parishes should get in touch with the Diocese Safeguarding Team for support as needed.
Once a Parish completes level one, they will be invited to access the Safeguarding Hub tool (https://www.safeguardinghubs.org.uk/), which can assist a Parish in tracking their safer recruitment of volunteers. Invites to this will be sent in August to the 59 parishes that have already completed level one of their Dashboard and any others as you reach that stage.
Making life simpler for Incumbents, Parish Safeguarding Officers and PCCs
The Diocese Safeguarding Team realise that good safeguarding can involve a significant amount of work. Therefore, we are pleased to tell you about one of the ways in which we are making safeguarding easier for you.
The Parish Safeguarding Dashboard is a simple-to-use, online tool that helps you keep track of safeguarding in your church and keeps you up to date with local and national changes in safeguarding requirements.
The dashboard is really easy to use on a smartphone, tablet or computer enabling a healthy culture of safeguarding in our churches and giving assurance that you are supporting delivery of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Standards.
Every Parish in Chester Diocese will be required to use the Safeguarding Parish Dashboard to track their safeguarding practise.
During the next few months, it will be rolled out deanery by deanery across the Diocese. The Diocese Safeguarding Team and its delivery partners will support parishes during the startup process and deliver ongoing in life support of Dashboards.
As part of the process incumbents and Parish Safeguarding Officers will receive an invitation to register for their parish dashboard(s) at the point when a deanery is preparing to go live with dashboards.
The Dashboard has its own website where more information can be found including, FAQs and tutorials - Safeguarding Dashboards