Throughout 2024, the National PSO group has been developing a variety of resources designed to support PSOs and their roles. In collaboration with PSOs and safeguarding professionals across all dioceses, they identified some key priorities.
A central message across all of their work was the emphasis that safeguarding should be viewed as the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), rather than being solely the responsibility of the PSO.
PSO role and recruitment:
You can access the revised PSO role description here: Parish Safeguarding Officer role description | The Church of England.
An Information and Welcome pack have been created to support PCCs and PSOs coming into role.
Safeguarding Dashboard:
There is a series of six two-minute videos (12 mins in total) to support PSOs in understanding the features and benefits of the Safeguarding Dashboard which absolutely does help make the PSO role more manageable. This video is located on the Safeguarding Virtual Library on our eLearning portal. You can also view the video here.
If your parish is not yet using the Safeguarding Dashboard please reach out to Sharon Welbourne Sharon.Welbourne@peterborough-diocese.org.uk for more information on how to access this valuable resource.
Primary Information Hub:
The national group recognised the need to have one central place for information and guidance to support the PSO in their role. They agreed this aim would best be met via the Safeguarding e-manual Safeguarding e-manual | The Church of England and the Safeguarding Dashboard.
Both of these offer easy and timely access to information and tools relevant to the PSO and their role.
Another great resource for key documents - Templates and resources | The Church of England
PSO Induction/Refresher training:
The National Safeguarding Team is currently reviewing the existing training package, and a new programme will be launched in early 2025. Once the materials are ready, training dates will be shared through the diocese newsletter.
The ongoing projects from the PSO National Group are as follows:
The PSO national group is currently developing a comprehensive collection of safeguarding resources, including 25 A4 leaflets covering various safeguarding topics, along with corresponding A6 bitesize cards designed for sharing brief messages individually or in groups. These materials can also be used for announcements or newsletters in churches. Additionally, an updated PSO Induction pack and a series of short self-directed learning modules are being prepared. We will inform you as soon as these resources are available.
Thank you for your continued support and all the valuable contributions you make to the Diocese.