Mandatory requirements are found in:
- The safeguarding guidance issued by the House of Bishops; and
- The new Safeguarding Code.
The former is gradually being replaced by the latter, as explained below.
Guidance issued by the House of Bishops
The Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 imposes a legal duty on the clergy, readers and lay workers, churchwardens and parochial church councils to
"have due regard to guidance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults”.
The legal duty to "have due regard" means that the guidance must be followed unless there are clear, logical and convincing reasons for not doing so. It will be very rare for there to be such reasons for not following House of Bishops guidance on safeguarding.
Requirements of the Safeguarding Code
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) observed that the legal term "have due regard" was not well understood and that there was a need for greater clarity on the nature of the obligation.
Therefore the Safeguarding (Code of Practice) Measure 2021 made provision for the duty to "have due regard" to House of Bishops' guidance to be replaced with a duty to comply with the requirements in a new Safeguarding Code.
As guidance issued by the House of Bishops comes up for review, it is being replaced by new sections of the Safeguarding Code. Until then, the duty to have due regard to House of Bishop's guidance remains in force.
Dashboard levels
To help a parish prioritise their safeguarding work, a Safeguarding Dashboard has three levels::
Level 1 - Safer Foundations
Level 2 - Safer Activities
Level 3 - Safer Practices
A dashboard is automatically promoted to a higher level when most of the lights on a lower level have turned green.
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There are mandatory requirements at all three levels. Therefore, a parish should aim to reach Level 3 as soon as possible.