Practitioners Safeguarding Signposting

Practitioners Safeguarding Advice

Fresh Expressions (FX) is a movement made up of autonomous, practitioner-led missional communities. As a charity, FX serves to support and resource these communities, but does not provide formal oversight or governance.

It is the responsibility of each community, whether operating independently or under the leadership of an existing denomination, to establish and maintain robust safeguarding policies and procedures that ensure the safety of all participants, particularly vulnerable individuals.

Key Principles:

• Autonomy & Accountability: Each Fresh Expressions community is responsible for its own safeguarding practices and must develop policies appropriate to its context.
• Denominational Policies: Communities that are part of an established church or denomination are expected to follow the safeguarding policies of their respective denomination or network.
• Encouragement of Best Practice: FX strongly encourages all communities to uphold the highest standards of safeguarding, ensuring that proper measures are in place for preventing abuse, handling concerns, and protecting vulnerable individuals.

National Safeguarding Resources:

For communities operating within a denominational structure, we recommend following the safeguarding guidance and policies provided by your denomination. Here are links to the safeguarding leads for the major Christian denominations in the UK:

• • Church of England Safeguarding:
    https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding 
  • Church of Scotland Safeguarding:
    https://churchofscotland.org.uk/resources/safeguarding-service 
  • Roman Catholic Church (England & Wales) Safeguarding:
    https://www.cbcew.org.uk/safeguarding/ 
  • Roman Catholic Church (Scotland) Safeguarding:
    https://www.scsafeguarding.org.uk/
  • Methodist Church Safeguarding:
    https://www.methodist.org.uk/safeguarding/ 
  • United Reformed Church Safeguarding:
    https://urc.org.uk/your-church/safeguarding/ 
  • Baptist Union of Great Britain Safeguarding:
    https://www.baptist.org.uk/Groups/220867/Safeguarding.aspx 
  • The Salvation Army Safeguarding:
    https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/safeguarding 

Independent Communities:

For Fresh Expressions communities operating independently, we recommend working with ThirtyOne:Eight , an independent Christian safeguarding charity that offers support, training, and advice on safeguarding across all church and community contexts.

ThirtyOne:Eight provides

• • Safeguarding training and consultancy to help churches and faith-based organizations establish effective safeguarding practices.
  • A 24-hour helpline offering confidential safeguarding advice.
  • DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks for staff and volunteers.

We encourage all independent communities to contact Thirtyone to ensure they have appropriate safeguarding measures in place.

ThirtyOne:Eight Website – thirtyoneeight.or

Conclusion:

Fresh Expressions is committed to promoting safe, respectful, and accountable environments across the movement. We urge all communities to take safeguarding seriously and ensure that appropriate policies and procedures are developed, followed, and reviewed regularly.