An exploration of how good safeguarding practice stems directly from our understanding of the character of the God we worship and serve.

Peter is a Licensed Lay Minister in the three churches of Clifton Parish in York and acts as Deputy Warden of Lay Ministry for the York archdeaconry.  He is a tutor on various modules for York School of Ministry and is a regular co-chair of seminars on the safeguarding leadership pathway for the diocese.  His three passions are faith, family and football – although he worries that he may sometimes fail to place them in the correct order.

Spotting the signs of poor mental health including the dos and don’ts to having a supportive conversation.

Lisa is our Clergy Housing Coordinator.  She is a qualified person-centred counsellor and in her spare time she volunteers for York Samaritans and, more recently, for York Women’s Counselling Service following on from a two-year voluntary placement for the NHS in the York City Centre Primary Care Network Group.

In this session, we will explore what is meant by ‘neurodiversity’ and address some myths and misconceptions. We will consider how churches and communities can be safe and accessible for all.

Lou is the Communications Officer at the Diocese of York. She was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and is keen to raise awareness of neurodiversity, especially in churches.

The new addition to the Dashboard system – Safeguarding Hubs are making parishes safer by helping them to meet the Church of England’s safeguarding requirements. They are fully integrated with Safeguarding Dashboards, which are now being used in almost 6,000 parishes.

Graeme will take us through the system and explain how to get the most out of its features including:

Role Creator

People Manager

Recruitment Tracker

Graeme Pringle is the developer of the Safeguarding Dashboard system and a former director of communications for Coventry Diocese.

Good safeguarding can involve a significant amount of work, but the Diocese of York’s Safeguarding Team is pleased to launch Safeguarding Dashboards which will make the task much easier in every parish that adopts them.

Safeguarding Dashboards are designed with the help of Safeguarding Officers and incumbents in a wide range of parishes, both large and small. They are now in use by over 4,000 parishes across the Church of England, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 

This session will be covering Stalking and harassment, who is at risk, how to keep ourselves and others safe as well as ‘high risk’ stalking behaviours. It will be a really interesting and informative session, relevant to us all and particularly those who work closely / pastorally with others within our settings.

PC Helen Harris is a member of North Yorkshire Police’s Stalking and Harassment team. 

Jenny will present the group with a number of common safeguarding scenarios and promote conversation about what good practice looks like when dealing with a situation like this, but also explore what lessons we can learn if we don’t get it right first time.

Jenny Price will be familiar to many across the Diocese as the Diocesan Safeguarding Trainer.

Learning objectives for this session are to have:

• A good overview of how to manage online DBS applications, including checking ID Documents, completing section Y, tracking application, viewing results and creating reports
• A good understanding of the criteria for enhanced checks and how to use the Interactive Eligibility Guide to apply this to roles within your own organisation
• A full awareness of Basic Disclosures, and where these can be useful.
• A good knowledge of how to obtain criminal record checks from overseas and an awareness of the risks of not carrying these out. 

Anna Graver is one of our Disclosure Service Advisors and regular host of our DBS webinars. Outside of Thirtyone:eight Anna has experience working with children, in churches and being involved in music led worship.

Matthew Coady, has been with Thirtyone:eight for over a decade, he is the Disclosure Helpline Manager and Account Manager for the Diocese of York. Outside of Thirtyone:eight Matthew has experience leading a Sunday school team within an Anglican church.

During out time together we will look at some of the Mothers’ Union resources focusing on Domestic Violence. Hopefully these will help, support and encourage parishes so bringing a greater awareness as well as hopefully encouraging those affected by Domestic Violence to speak out and look for help. I will also supply you with names of contacts. material available and website address for further research and assistance.

Lynne is part of a Christian organisation, Mothers’ Union, which began in a parish in 1876. Today it is a global movement of women and men present in 83 countries worldwide, supporting clergy, working with people of faith and those with no faith, passionate about gender justice, empowerment and equality. Prayer is at the heart of the lives of our members. Putting our faith into action and protecting family life is vitally important to members. Lynne is also a Lay Canon at York Minster.

I have been a member of Mothers’ Union since 1979. I have served in many leadership roles within the Parish; Deanery & Diocese of Carlisle; President for the Province of York and also served 6 years as Worldwide President (2013-2018).

Lisa is joining us again this year – those who have seen her sessions in previous years know what a privilege it is to have her with us.  This year she will be sharing some of her research about what makes for a good trauma informed response.  This is a hugely important and current piece of work which has involved direct work with survivors.  This will be a hugely informative and interesting session.

Prof Lisa Oakley (C.Psychol). SFHEA. is chair of the BPS Safeguarding Advisory Group, PGR Tutor at University of Chester. She has been involved in research around church-related abuse since 2003.

Jenny Price in conversation with Bishop Eleanor.  Bishop Eleanor sits on the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) and is a key figure in the leadership of the Diocese, particularly in Safeguarding.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to get to know Bishop Eleanor a bit more, hear her thoughts on Safeguarding in the Diocese and what life is like for one of our Bishops.

The Rt Revd Dr Eleanor Sanderson is the Bishop of Hull in the Diocese of York.  She was Assistant Bishop of Wellington in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, from June 2017 until 2022. Eleanor was the first female bishop in the Diocese of Wellington and the fourth in New Zealand. She was born in Hinderwell, near Whitby in North Yorkshire in 1977, and spent her childhood at the family’s home of over four centuries in Tideswell, Derbyshire; the first Bishop of Hull, Robert Pursglove, was a native of Tideswell and is commemorated in the Parish Church.