St Columba's Anglican
Church, Scarborough
Connecting Christ and community
HELPER SCREENING POLICY
Strategy to minimise harm to children
The Parish Council of the Anglican Parish of
Scarborough, as part of its mission to bring the
love of Christ to all, and out of duty of care, has
a Strategy to minimise the possibility of
paedophilia and other forms of child abuse. The
Strategy has four components:
1.
Train those who work closely with children in
protective behaviours.
2.
Require a police clearance for employees of the
Anglican Church who will be working closely with
children.
3.
Require a Confidential Declaration from parents and
volunteers who will be working closely with
children.
4.
Require a person with a police clearance to be
present at all times with volunteers who work with
children in Parish events.
Police Clearance
Those who are required to have a police clearance
are:
1.
Licensed clergy or employees who work closely with
Parish children or youth.
2.
Employees of the Anglican Church who are invited to
work with children or youth in the Parish.
3.
Visitors, parents and volunteers who will work
closely with Parish children or youth, where the
Parish Priest wishes to verify the information
supplied in the Confidential Declaration.
4.
Members of the Children’s and Youth Committee,
unless specifically exempted by the Parish Priest.
Those exempted are required to complete a
Confidential Declaration Form.
Confidential Declaration
Those who are required to complete a Confidential
Declaration are those who will be working closely
with children or youth. For example, this includes
parents & volunteers who assist with children’s
programs such as Sunday School and Kids Plus+, Teen
discussion groups and ColumbaYouth. The kind of
assistance includes providing transport,
supervision, helping with craft, leading Godly Play,
and leading discussions.
A sample Confidential Declaration Form is attached.
Criminal Convictions Selection Criteria
Clergy, employees of the Anglican Church, visitors,
parents or volunteers who have a conviction for the
following offences may be precluded from working
closely with children and youth in the Parish:
· A conviction of a violent or sexual nature
· A conviction for dealing or trafficking in illegal
drugs
· A conviction which results in a gaol sentence
· A conviction for an offence which would normally
result in dismissal if committed by a person
licensed or employed in the Anglican Church.
If an offence is not so serious as to warrant
automatic exclusion the Parish Priest will review
the conviction (s) against the following criteria.
· The nature and seriousness of the offence.
· Relevance of the offence to activity in a Parish.
· The age of the applicant when the offence was
committed.
· The recent of the offence; the number of years
since the last offence.
· Any mitigating circumstances.
Confidentiality
Unless statutory obligations require otherwise, the
information on the completed Confidential
Declaration Form will not be used without the
person’s consent for any purpose other than in
relation to their direct involvement in children’s
and youth ministry.
The form shall be submitted to the Parish Priest,
who shall note the responses and take appropriate
action. The completed form will be treated with the
utmost confidentially at all times.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the assistance by the Department of
Education and Training, Western Australia in giving
us advice and permission to adapt their forms and
policies for our purposes.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFIDENTIAL DECLARATION FORM
What the form is about
The Parish Council of the Anglican Parish of
Scarborough has a Strategy to minimise the
possibility of paedophilia and other forms of child
abuse. This CONFIDENTIAL DECLARATION form is part of
this strategy.
The CONFIDENTIAL DECLARATION form is to be completed
by persons will be working closely with children and
youth, for example, parents & volunteers who assist
with children’s programs such as Sunday School and
Kids Plus+.
You may be asked to provide a police clearance if
the Parish Priest considers it necessary to verify
the information you provide.
Only persons who are clear of certain police
convictions will be permitted to work closely with
children.
By completing this form you will help us to ensure
that the Parish and its activities are safe for our
children.
Confidentiality
Please be assured that unless statutory obligations
require otherwise, the information on the completed
form will not be used without your consent for any
purpose other than in relation to your direct
involvement in children’s ministry.
The completed form will be treated with the utmost
confidentially at all times.
If you would like to know more about our helper
screening policy, please contact the Parish Priest,
the Reverend Gail Faulkener, on email
scarborough@perth.anglican.org
Thank you for taking the time to read this
information. Please pass the completed form on to
the Parish Priest in a sealed envelope marked
Confidential.
CONFIDENTIAL DECLARATION
This form is for persons who have access to Parish
buildings and activities and will be working closely
with children, for example, parents & volunteers
assisting with children’s programs such as Sunday
School and Kids Plus+.
Please read carefully & tick one of the boxes below.
1.
I declare that I do not have any convictions,
circumstances or reasons that might preclude my
working with or near children.
or
2.
I declare that I do have convictions,
circumstances or reasons that might preclude my
working with or near children. The nature of these
convictions, circumstances or reasons is outlined
below.
I certify the accuracy of the above information. I
am aware that I may be required to provide a police
clearance if it is considered necessary to verify
the information provided.
