The preparation and submission of a child protection policy to CCPAS

This basic check list may be helpful in the preparation of a child protection policy or to assess whether an existing policy meets current requirements.

NB. This list is not conclusive and should be used alongside the CCPAS manuals ‘Guidance to Churches', ‘Safeguarding Children & Young People' or similar document.

Essential requirements
Church/Organisation (name, denomination, or other affiliations)
Statement of mission, particularly in relation to child protection
Statement on government document ‘Abuse of Trust'
Procedure for responding to and action to be taken where there are concerns or allegations of abuse including reporting to child protection co-ordinator or similar who will have clear responsibility when to discuss with statutory agencies and/or take advice from CCPAS
Recruitment and appointment process for workers (paid and voluntary)
Support for those affected by abuse
Supervision and pastoral care of offenders (inc. contracts)
Arrangements for supervision of activities and practice issues related to children's/youth activities
Application forms: Appointment of workers Voluntary disclosure form* Equal opportunities policy * Secure storage policy* Contract form for workers General parental consent form
Optional
In depth definitions of abuse
Recognising the signs of possible abuse
Responding to abuse – Workers Action Sheets
Consent forms (general, activities, transport, swimming, daytrips etc..)
Accident/Incident Reporting form
Discipline policy
Visiting children at home
Working with children from the street
Use of images of children
Use of the Internet

*Requirements of the Criminal Records Bureau if carrying out criminal Records checks

Can we register our policy with you?

We require copies of all documents produced from our material to be registered with us for copyright reasons and avoid any problems over policies claiming to carry CCPAS support where in reality there may be serious flaws that need sorting out. We are happy to hold any policy whether or not it is based on our model. We will keep it for two years because we work on the assumption that if we have not received a revision within that period of time, then it will be out of date anyway.

Can you check over our policy and provide detailed comments?

CCPAS does offer this service and if you would like to know more please ring our helpline. However, the list above (based on the CCPAS model) will help you check that your policy covers all the essential areas.

If there is anything you do not understand, or if you would like help in relation to any particular aspects in the preparation or review of your policy, then do not hesitate to contact us.