Domestic Abuse Training

The Domestic Abuse Pathway must be undertaken by Parish Safeguarding Officers, some churchwardens, and anyone working with children, young people or vulnerable adults.

Why?

Given the high levels of domestic abuse in the UK, it is important that people know how to recognise signs of potential domestic abuse, and what to do if they receive a disclosure or information.

Mandatory Requirements

The Basic Awareness Pathway must be completed before anyone undertakes the Domestic Abuse Pathway.

The Domestic Abuse Pathway is mandatory for:

Parish Safeguarding Officers
Some churchwardens (see below)
Anyone (volunteers and employees) in a church role that involves working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults.

The Domestic Abuse Pathway must be repeated every three years.

Notes of clarification

Parish Safeguarding Officers must complete the Domestic Abuse Pathway within six months of their appointment, and repeat it every three years. This requirement has not changed.

It is also mandatory for anyone serving as an officer of the bishop. Although churchwardens are officers of the bishop, there is a wide variation in the roles that churchwardens play across our parishes. On 13 November 2025, the National Safeguarding Team issued the following clarification:

"Dioceses already have discretion regarding which churchwardens must undertake Safeguarding Leadership Training, and only these churchwardens are required to undertake Domestic Abuse training.

Domestic Abuse training is also recommended (but not mandatory) for all other churchwardens. This is because all churchwardens are members of the PCC."

The Domestic Abuse Pathway is a new requirement for anyone working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults. However, the deadline for completing this training depends upon individual circumstances:

Anyone who has previously completed the Domestic Abuse Pathway must repeat this training every three years.
Anyone newly appointed to a relevant role from 1 January 2025 onwards must complete this training within six months of their appointment.
Everyone else (i.e. those appointed to a relevant role before 1 January 2025) should complete this training as soon as is practically possible, and certainly before 31 December 2027.

It is the responsibility of the diocese (rather than a parish) to ensure that clergy and Readers complete the required safeguarding training.

Good practice

The Domestic Abuse Pathway is recommended for PCC members (but it is no longer mandatory).

The Domestic Abuse Pathway is also recommended for everyone appointed to any church role (whether paid or unpaid).

Links to useful resources

The latest version of the Safeguarding Learning and Development Framework was approved by General Synod in July 2024. It came into force on 1 January 2025.

What's changed?

Section 4.2 of the new Framework includes the following changes that came into force on 1 January 2025:

The Domestic Abuse Pathway is mandatory for anyone working with children, young people or vulnerable adults. The deadline for completing this training depends upon individual circumstances (see the above Notes of clarification).
The Domestic Abuse Pathway is no longer mandatory for PCC members (although it is still recommended).

On 13 November 2025, the National Safeguarding Team clarified the mandatory requirement for churchwardens (see the above Notes of Clarification).

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