The Church of England are launching a campaign to raise awareness of how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns, keeping people at the centre.
The two-week pilot campaign, 'It's Not Just Policy, It's Personal', will run from Monday, June 1 to Sunday, June 14, sharing resources that are designed to build confidence in responding and taking appropriate action.
Safeguarding guidance and codes of conduct are statutory and must always be followed, but this campaign aims to remind us that these are not simply processes to be followed.
At the centre of every safeguarding concern is a person who has taken the difficult step of disclosing harm or risk.
Creating a safe space for people to report, and how we all respond to those reports, matters.
Two key recommendations from the Makin Report, published in 2024, focused on how the Church can have confidence that abuse, both current and non-recent, is being reported.
The National Safeguarding Team have developed a suite of resources available to download, which can be found here.
The resources are designed to be flexible and can be used in a way that suits all settings, whether digitally, in print, or as part of local conversations.
A guide to using the resources is included to help churches decide how best to use them in their contexts.
More on safeguarding in the Diocese of Leeds can be found here.