Important Information
On this page you can find all the information required about Safeguarding for Children in Life Groups and at Kids Church. Click on the buttons below to view each policy.
Signing The Consent Forms
Once you have read the Safeguarding Policy, you can proceed to sign the Consent forms. Click on the buttons below to access and sign the Consent Forms.
SAFEGUARDING FOR CHILDREN’S GROUPS
PARENT/CARER INFORMATION
King’s Church International seeks to do all it can to ensure that children and young people under the age of 18 are highly valued, given all necessary protection and are developed to their full potential. We strive to provide a safe and caring environment for children and young people taking part in all of our activities.
We also highly value our children and young people’s leaders and workers and recognise their consistently high levels of integrity and commitment in ministering to children.
We have therefore established the following principles and expectations for our children’s and youth small groups:
SUPERVISION
All of our children’s small group leaders have been approved by KCI’s Leadership, undergone an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (including Children’s Barred List) check and completed Safeguarding Training. DBS checks are repeated every three years and refresher Safeguarding Training is completed at least every three years in line with best practice.
Children’s small group leaders are always supported by a second adult who has undergone the same checks. The second adult will either be the host or an assistant leader.
Our leaders are responsible for supervising the children or young people in the small group for the duration of the meeting. They will keep the door of the room where they are leading the small group open and will follow our safeguarding rule to ‘never be alone with a child’.
While the adults in charge of the group will take all reasonable care of the children, they cannot necessarily be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury suffered by the children during, or as a result of, the activity.
OUR HOSTS
Small groups will either be hosted at the home of the small group leader, one of the small group members or at our offices at King’s House. You will be given the name and address of the host. From time to time small groups may also go out on social trips e.g. to the cinema. Any changes to venue or timings will be communicated to you by the small group leader in advance. Separate permission will be sought for certain activities, such as swimming.
CONTACTING YOU AND YOUR CHILD
Upon completion of the Consent Form, the small group leader will be given the contact details you have provided for your child, including your contact details, via a secure log-in to our database. This is for the purposes of arranging details of the regular meetings, and to encourage and provide pastoral support for your child. Some of this communication will happen via a parent Whatsapp group.
BEHAVIOUR
Small group leaders set clear rules for their small groups to enable activities to run smoothly and ensure the enjoyment of everyone in the group. Reminders will be given to the children as necessary. If your child’s behaviour becomes disruptive, the small group leader will speak to you to help resolve the situation. Should this persist, the leader will speak with you to consider whether it is still workable for your child to attend.
FOOD AND ALLERGIES
Food and drinks are often brought to small group meetings. We ask parents/carers to make us aware of any food allergies that their children have so that we can help avoid any allergic reactions. This information is collected via the Consent Form and held securely on KCI’s database. The adults leading and hosting the small group will be informed of any allergies the children may have.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES
We also ask parents/carers to make us aware of any medical conditions or special educational needs or disabilities their children have via the Consent Form so that we can understand how best to support them. We aim to make any reasonable adjustments to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities can be part of a small group. Our small group leaders are not usually trained in First Aid; however, they will be made aware of any medical conditions you have told us about. In the event of your child being ill or injured, they will contact you immediately.
TRANSPORT
We ask wherever possible that parents/carers transport their children to and from small groups. If this is not possible, we encourage parents/carers to work together to car share. On occasions, if there is another adult present in the car throughout, the small group leader may be able to assist with transport to and/or from the small group upon request. We obtain written permission from parents/carers for leaders to assist with occasional transportation on the Consent Form and we give them guidelines about transporting children. Please note, however, that giving consent does not imply that your child’s small group leader will necessarily be able to provide transport.
IMAGES
In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and safeguarding best practice, we obtain written permission to take photos or videos of children and young people during church activities via the Consent Form. Official images taken of small groups and other church activities will be used exclusively by KCI to promote our activities including via our website. Children and young people will not be identified by name or other personal details in such images. Informal photos may also be taken by small group leaders for the purpose of keeping parents informed of the small group activities. We ask that parents do not share these with anyone else as they will usually contain images of other children in the group.
HANDLING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will handle the personal information you have provided in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation. For further details about how we do this, please visit kcionline.org/privacy. Should you decide to withdraw your consent or if your child no longer wishes to attend, please inform the group leader and also email kids@kcionline.org
LAST UPDATED: 17th Nov 2023
Safeguarding for Kids Church
Parent/Carer Information
King’s Church International seeks to do all it can to ensure that children and young people under the age of 18 are highly valued, given all necessary protection and are developed to their full potential. We strive to provide a safe and caring environment for children and young people taking part in all of our activities.
We also highly value our children and young people’s leaders and workers and recognise their consistently high levels of integrity and commitment in ministering to children.
We have therefore established the following principles and expectations for our Kids Church activities:
Supervision and Security
All of our children’s workers have been approved by KCI’s Leadership, undergone an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (including Children’s Barred List) check and completed Safeguarding Training. DBS checks are repeated every three years and refresher Safeguarding Training is completed at least every three years in line with best practice.
Our children’s workers follow the safeguarding rule to ‘never be alone with a child’, including during toilet runs and other welfare support.
The registration desk and/or door are manned for the duration of Kids Church activities to ensure no children leave without permission and no unauthorised persons enter.
While the adults in charge of the group will take all reasonable care of the children, they cannot necessarily be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury suffered by the children during, or as a result of, the activity.
Registration
We register and dismiss children from each session using our secure ‘check in/out’ system. Parents and children are issued with a matching wristband displaying a unique number. Parents must present their matching wristband in order to collect their child.
Venues
Kids Church venues have been assessed for suitability. Ongoing risk assessments are carried out by the Kids Church team with regards to the venue and the activities planned. Any changes to venue or timings will be communicated to you in advance.
Contact Details
Parents are required to complete a Consent Form for children participating in regular Kids Church activities. This information will be stored securely on our database. We will use the
contact details provided to keep you updated with arrangements for regular activities and to provide pastoral support.
Behaviour
The Kids Church leaders set clear rules to enable activities to run smoothly and ensure everyone’s enjoyment. Reminders will be given to the children as necessary. If your child’s behaviour becomes disruptive, the Kids Church team will contact you to come and collect your child either by phone or by making an announcement in the adult church service citing your child’s unique number. Should disruptive behaviour persist, the Kids Church leader will speak with you to consider whether it is still workable for your child to attend.
Food and Allergies
Refreshments are usually provided for Kids Church activities. We ask parents/carers to make us aware of any food allergies that their children have so that we can help avoid any allergic reactions. This information is collected via the Consent Form and held securely on KCI’s database. The Kids Church team will be informed of any allergies the children may have.
Medical Conditions and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
We also ask parents/carers to make us aware of any medical conditions or special educational needs or disabilities their children have via the Consent Form so that we can understand how best to support them. We aim to make any reasonable adjustments to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities can be part of Kids Church activities. We have trained First Aiders present or on call at all of our Kids Church activities. In the event of your child being ill or injured, the Kids Church team will contact you immediately.
Images
In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and safeguarding best practice, we obtain written permission to take photos or videos of children during church activities via the Consent Form. Official images taken will be used exclusively by KCI to promote our activities including via our website. Children will not be identified by name or other personal details in such images.
Handling Your Personal Information
We will handle the personal information you have provided in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation. For further details about how we do this, please visit kcionline.org/privacy. Should you decide to withdraw your consent or if your child no longer wishes to attend, please inform the Kids Church team and also email communications@kcionline.org.
LAST UPDATED: 17th Nov 2023
Safeguarding for Youth Volunteering
Parent/Carer Information
King’s Church International seeks to do all it can to ensure that children and young people under the age of 18 are highly valued, given all necessary protection and are developed to their full potential. We strive to provide a safe and caring environment for children and young people taking part in all of our activities.
We also highly value our children and young people’s leaders and workers and recognise their consistently high levels of integrity and commitment in leading children.
We have therefore established the following principles and expectations for youth aged 13 to 17 years old who would like to volunteer in the church in a serving capacity:
Supervision
The designated leaders of teams where youth are permitted to volunteer have been approved by KCI’s Leadership, undergone an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (including Children’s Barred List) check and completed Safeguarding Training. DBS checks are repeated every three years and refresher Safeguarding Training is completed at least every three years in line with best practice.
Young people volunteering will only be scheduled to serve on teams where the designated team leader has undergone the above checks; however, parents should be aware that the events where they will be volunteering are public events and therefore young people will come into contact with other people who have not undergone safer recruitment checks, in the same way as they would when attending a church service/event.
The team leaders are responsible for supervising the young people for the duration of the volunteering session, which will usually be a church service (including set-up/set-down time) or other church event. While this will usually involve working in open plan spaces, if it should include working in smaller rooms, the team leader will always keep the doors of rooms open to follow our safeguarding rule to ‘never be alone with a child’.
The adults in charge of the group will take all reasonable care of the youth; however, they cannot necessarily be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury suffered by the youth during, or as a result of, the activity.
Contacting You and Your Child
Upon completion of the Consent Form, the team leader will be given the contact details you have provided for your child, including your contact details, via a secure log-in to our database. This is for the purposes of arranging times and dates for volunteering and other team communication. Some of this communication will happen via a Whatsapp group for team members, which you will also be added to as the parent.
Conduct and Training
Team leaders have clear expectations regarding the conduct of their serving teams to enable events to run smoothly and safely. Youth team members will be expected to abide by these in the same way as other team members in order to ensure the health and safety of all involved. They may also be required to attend training sessions to learn how to perform certain tasks safely which will form part of their voluntary role.
Medical Conditions, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Allergies
We ask parents/carers to make us aware of any medical conditions, special educational needs or disabilities or allergies their children have via the Consent Form so that we can understand how best to support them. We aim to make any reasonable adjustments to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities can participate in volunteering activities.
Our small group leaders are not usually trained in First Aid; however, they will be made aware of any medical conditions you have told us about. In the event of your child being ill or injured, they will contact you immediately. We have first aiders present at all of our public events and activities.
Transport and ‘Checking In’
We ask that parents/carers make the necessary transport arrangements for their children to be brought to and from any volunteering activities safely and on time. This is not the responsibility of the team leader.
It is also the responsibility of parents to ensure their children meet with the relevant team leader who will be supervising them while they volunteer and then to collect them at the end to avoid any confusion over who should be supervising the young person at any time.
Images
In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and safeguarding best practice, we obtain written permission to take photos or videos of children and young people during church activities via the Consent Form. Official images taken of church activities will be used exclusively by KCI to promote our activities including via our website. Children and young people will not be identified by name or other personal details in such images.
Handling Your Personal Information
We will handle the personal information you have provided in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation. For further details about how we do this, please visit kcionline.org/privacy. Should you decide to withdraw your consent or if your child no longer wishes to volunteer, please inform the team leader and also email events@kcionline.org.
LAST UPDATED: 17th Nov 2023
Contacts
Kids Team kids@kcionline.org
Events Team events@kcionline.org