Buckinghamshire review

OBRT staff to be included in the relevant pool to receive safeguarding training commensurate with their role. This was signed off on 19th June 2020 and assigned to a Superintendent and a Contract Management Manager for action.

Working protocols between Buckinghamshire Council and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust should be reviewed. This review has already commenced.

Promote safeguarding prevention, especially awareness of the impact of social isolation and loneliness, recognising the need for intimacy, and challenging ageism and attitudes towards sexuality, and promote this nationally within the CoE (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 7.1).

TVP Policing Strategy Unit to develop a Moodle Package to refresh knowledge of Operational guidance in relation to Unusual, Unexplained or Suspicious Deaths.

Buckinghamshire Council to promote home visits when undertaking safeguarding visits or assessments. This has also commenced.

Within the Diocese, work on LGBTI+ inclusivity, should focus on raising awareness of the safeguarding risks for some older people and the Diocese should promote this nationally within the Church of England. (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 7.1)

The importance of conducting proportionate secondary investigation when formulating an investigation plan should be re-visited in relation to student officer training and the IDP programme. Stronger emphasis needs to be embedded into the revised training in order to ensure understanding and competence.

Address any culture of ‘secrecy’ and promote an open culture in the context of duties to care and provision of community support for vulnerable adults so that safeguarding concerns can be expressed and addressed and promote this nationally within the Church of England (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 7.1).

Consideration should be given to converting the current secondary investigation guidance on the ‘Knowzone’ into dedicated Operational Guidance (http://knowzone/kz-inv-si). The Guidance needs to include the importance of checking primary information systems including Command and Control and CMP for investigative actions. Reference should be made to Endeavour principle 5 and particular emphasis given to the understanding of proportionality of secondary research and subsequent lines of enquiry.

Work with Parishes asking them to regularly audit their volunteering processes and practices against CoE and Charity Commission standards regarding safer practices in volunteer recruitment, training, monitoring, support and supervision, including expectations regarding volunteer conduct to establish if proper processes and practices are being consistently delivered and are effective in identifying risks, volunteer support and development needs. (This could include reporting through the Archdeacons visits and peer review processes with other local groups) (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 7.4).

Consider how to improve awareness of the complexities of risks for people with care and support needs who may be at risk of abuse or neglect, in particular: •issues of mental capacity and safeguarding adults; •issues when carers prevent/hinder access to people they provide care for; •having difficult conversations with people who may be subject to harm and advocate for inclusion of these areas in the national safeguarding training programme (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 7.5)

A concerted effort to be made to reduce the stigma of being gay within the wider Church of England communion, so that it can provide a safer place for LGBTQ+ men and women to worship, as is its intent (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 5.10)

Training that develops the knowledge and core skills of PSO’s and other Church Leaders e.g. holding difficult conversations, offering feedback and routine inquiry (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 5.12)

The CoE to develop a process to audit whether the recruitment, management and support of volunteers are consistently following the Church of England’s guidance on Safer Recruitment and other relevant policies, as well as meeting the Charity Commissioners’ standards. The audit would also need to check whether the mechanisms for safe recruitment, training, monitoring, support and supervision, including expectations expressed in codes of conduct, regarding volunteer roles are effective (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 5.40).

Training to be devised and delivered to include raising awareness of mental capacity, the impact of coercive control, identifying signs of abuse in changes of behaviour and temperament, and where there are concerns about ‘unwise decisions’ that are out of character, and what can help the person and those around them understand what is occurring. This can be included in basic awareness, foundation, and leadership levels of training as appropriate to the roles and responsibilities of those attending. Particular focus should be on the prevention aspects of safeguarding as well as the reactive protection aspects and should be covered at all levels of training (Dr. Cooper 2020, para 5.48).