1 Sep 2025
2025 Safeguarding Policy with updates and English, Scottish & Welsh Appendices
Our template policies have now been updated. Churches and charities with a paid membership at Gold level can access them…
Read moreThe Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Coordinator
It’s quite possible that you have been given this role or you volunteered and maybe you feel a little out of your depth. Don’t panic, support and training is available.
There are a number of titles for this role, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), Safeguarding Coordinator, Safeguarding Lead etc but whatever the title, the functions of the role are the same.
As churches are so diverse, it’s quite possible for churches dependent on their size to have just one coordinator for both children & adults or two coordinators, one for each area.
Recording & Reporting
You are the main point of contact for safeguarding concerns and it your role to ensure that all the volunteers working with children or adults at risk are competent and confident in knowing what to do if they have a concern.
The safeguarding coordinator role has the main responsibility in reporting concerns to children or adults social care.
Main areas of responsibility
There are 4 areas you are responsible for in your role as a coordinator:
📍Awareness raising
📍Training your volunteers and staff
📍Managing referrals
📍Advising on and supporting development policies and procedures and other non-delegated responsibilities
It is not your job to write the safeguarding policy, unless its been delegated to you by the trustees. The responsibility for the oversight sits at governance level as they are the legal body.
You usually report to the trustees on an annual basis, (unless your policy states something different) if there are any safeguarding referrals to statutory services. Trustees don’t need to know the detail just statistics and reassurance that the matter is being dealt with. Its good practice to have a safeguarding trustee who would have more detail.
Competency
It’s also your role to ensure that your volunteers or your staff know exactly what to do if they are worried about a child, a young person or an adult at risk of abuse. You need to know your that staff and volunteers know what to do and how to report, otherwise you can’t do your job. Each volunteer should be given training on the church’s policy and procedures. Below there is a downloadable guide the volunteers should read through. This isn’t to replace any formal training but its good practice that your volunteers should have an understanding what to do if they are worried about a child/young person.
Training
We can provide training especially for safeguarding coordinators, take a look at our events page or email us training@thecss.co.uk . A safeguarding lead should undertake refresher training every 2 years.
What to do if you are worried about a child/young person
