1. I am a safeguarding professional; do I need to complete church training?
This is a question that has been specifically determined by the House of Bishops.
You will still need to do the Church of England training relevant for your role in the church.
The official answer can be found in the House of Bishops Safeguarding Learning and Development Practice Guidance 2021.
This is a quote from the practice guidance that explains the decision:
‘No accreditation is given against the core safeguarding training modules for prior learning that has not been provided by the Church of England framework.’
This is due to church core safeguarding training modules situating safeguarding practice within the unique context of the church and providing participants with the opportunity to relate their learning to their faith.’
2. What modules do I require for my role?
If you don’t know what level of training you require then click here to read December 2024 Training Newsletter
The tables in the December 2024 Safeguarding Training newsletter show the learning requirements for 2025 – 2028.
- Table 1 will assist you in looking up learning via a course.
- Table 2 will assist you looking up learning via a role.
- Table 3 gives the links to book a course.
The duration of each course is given at the time of booking.
3. Are all the courses run by the diocese?
No, things have changed a great deal since the implementation of the Safeguarding Learning and Development Practice Guidance in January 2022.
Some courses that used to be delivered by the diocese, and on occasion by ThirtyOne:Eight, have now been replaced with online courses which are designed and run by the National Safeguarding Team.
In addition, the length and make-up of some of the courses, how they are accessed, and the necessity to use IT has caused some confusion and uncertainty.
The courses on the national portal are:
- Basic Awareness (formerly module C0)
- Foundations (formerly module C1)
- Safer Recruitment and People Management (formerly module S1)
- Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse (formerly module S3)
The courses delivered by the diocese are:
- Leadership (formerly module C2)
- Parish Safeguarding Officer Induction Course (new)
- Leadership for PTO (formerly module C2)
Please note that anyone can find clear information about what modules you need to do for your role, how often, and how to access them, in the December 2024 Safeguarding Training Newsletter
4. How do I access the courses which are on the national training portal?
Click the following links for instructions on how to access the national online module you require:
5. Who do I contact if I have a problem with the national portal?
Please contact the national help desk at elearning@mail.safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org
Please note that as St Albans Diocese has no control over the national portal, please only direct your enquiries to the national help desk.
6. How do I know which online courses I have completed on the national portal?
If you have not been on the national training portal before then you will not have completed any of the courses on there. You will need to register the first time you go on there and you will be able to log in with your email and password from there on.
To check which online courses you have completed, once you have logged into the national portal, click on your profile (top right) and scroll down that page and ‘badges’ will be shown of the courses you have already done.
If there is no badge for a particular course, then it means you have not completed that course.
If you have a Basic Awareness or Foundations badge that underneath reads ‘expired’, you have still completed the course and there is no need for you to retake it. This expiration only applies to those who as part of their role have to retake Basic Awareness and Foundations every three years as refresher training.
7. Can the national online courses be done as a group?
Although the national expectation is that the national online courses should be completed as individuals, so that all completed modules are recorded, it is clear that for some, this is not possible.
The diocese do allow the national courses to be completed as a small group, but only for those who do not have access to IT or have insufficient understanding of IT to be able to complete it.
The small group work would ideally be completed by the Parish Safeguarding Officer, with the questions raised within the training being discussed as a group.
The date of the training, the module, person’s name, role and parish should be recorded locally and also sent to the Diocesan Safeguarding Administrator safeguardingtraining@stalbans.anglican.org
Certificates will only be issued to individuals who have registered online for a course.
8. How often do I need to refresh/renew my training?
Refresher learning should be completed at a three-yearly interval to keep knowledge and skills up to date. It is expected that everyone will have completed all required modules for their role before refresher learning being undertaken at the highest required level for the core pathways Basic Awareness, Foundations and Leadership. It is not necessary to complete every level more than once.
Safer Recruitment and People Management, as well as Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse must also be refreshed on a three-yearly cycle.
National learning modules will be updated as required by changes in practice and to supplement the programme of learning.
9. My Leadership Module is due for renewal. What should I do?
The Diocesan Safeguarding Administrator safeguardingtraining@stalbans.anglican.org is the administrator for all safeguarding learning in regard to the new frame and will be pleased to address any enquiries.
All individuals who need to complete this module will be contacted by the training team before they are due to and given instructions about how to book on a course.
The national online courses Basic Awareness (previously module C0) and Foundations (previously module C1) must have been completed before you book on any leadership course. They only need to have been done once before. You will not be able to take part on the leadership course if the prerequisite courses have not been completed.
10. How has the Leadership Module changed?
Sessions will be delivered via Teams or in person at Holywell Lodge.
This module will consist of pre-course work and two paired Teams sessions.
The sessions will be one to two weeks apart. You must be able to attend both sessions.
There will be further work required between the sessions.
Four to six weeks after the second session, delegates are required to submit a reflection about how they have applied their learning from this course. All work must be completed and submitted on the National Safeguarding Portal, where the course is booked.
Each session will be run by a theologically educated facilitator and a safeguarding trainer.
The same facilitator and trainer will deliver the same paired sessions.
Delegates are required to attend the same paired sessions to ensure continuity including pre and post course work.
A certificate will be awarded upon completion of the self-evaluation.
11. I am a member of Clergy, a Reader or a PSO and have taken the Leadership training, but it is not showing on my national portal account. Why?
The online portal only records the online courses taken within it and can’t record the Leadership course which is taken with us as a diocese. We record your Leadership training on your training record which we hold on our own diocesan database.
Leadership training completed from January 2025 onwards will show on the portal.
12. Does a person in charge of Sunday School need to do Leadership Training?
No – they used to, but under the new framework, leaders of such activities should now do Basic Awareness as a one off if they haven’t done it before, Foundations which needs to be refreshed every three years and Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse which needs to be refreshed every 3 years.
13. Who is a Church Officer?
According to House of Bishop’s Guidance, a “Church Officer” is anyone appointed/elected by or on behalf of the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or unpaid – it is deliberately wide – wider than the appointment authorised by the PCC. It wouldn’t cover someone who had undertaken something of their own initiative, but would apply to, for example, someone who was asked to do something by someone appointed by the PCC and was line managed by/reported to that person. An example of which may be a large church with a PCC appointed director of music has asked a member of their choir to take the lead on and be responsible for a particular project or event. It may be helpful to consider that when looking at whether someone has a role which would define them as a church officer. It is less about formality and more about continuing allocation of responsibility to them.
Please use your own judgement, in your own parishes to whom the term applies. If in doubt, then the safest option is to regard an individuals as a church officer and require that Basic Awareness training is completed.
It is recommended that volunteers who are not church officers complete Basic Awareness training. The more people in church who have an raised awareness of safeguarding the better, but it is not a requirement.
