Safeguarding in Scotland

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Safeguarding FAQ

What is Safer Recruitment?

Safer Recruitment is a set of practices that ensures we can continue to be a welcoming, inclusive community by having volunteers and staff holding suitable roles and aiming to deter, identify and reject unsuitable individuals. It involves background checks, interviews and references.

Criminal Record Checks, Disclosures & DDC

What the difference between Disclosure Scotland and DDC?

Disclosure Scotland is the government-adjacent organisation that administers criminal record checks for all organisations across Scotland. They also develop legislation for organisations to follow, to ensure standards are up to date and relevant. If you're ever told you 'have to' follow a particular Safeguarding policy, it's likely that Disclosure Scotland have set the rules. Don't blame us.

DDC stands for Due Diligence Checking. DDC is the third-party organisation that we use to collate information on our behalf and send it to Disclosure Scotland. It may seem a little confusing, but it's the best thing for the URC as we can see a record of all our staff and volunteers through a secure portal, and manage reminders appropriately.

Disclosure Scotland issue the certificates of checks. DDC process the information.

Which criminal record check shall I do?

If you volunteer for your Church in a named role, such as Elder, or Church Safeguarding Coordinator, the likelihood is that you are required to undertake a background check. This will be either a Level 1 Disclosure, or membership of the PVG Scheme.

If your role requires you to interact with children (people under the age of 18) and/or vulnerable adults, you should be a member of the PVG Scheme. If this is not involved in your role, you are recommended to hold a Level 1 Disclosure every five years.

A matrix document, approved by General Assembly in July 2025, is available to reference should you wish to see confirmation of which check is the most appropriate for your role.

IMPORTANT: If you are not required to undertake regulated activity within your role, you should NOT be a member of the PVG Scheme.

Why do I need a Level 1/PVG Membership?

Part of the Safer Recruitment Policy, Level 1s and PVG Memberships keep our Churches inclusive, safe and welcoming to all. Some volunteer roles recommend a Level 1 Disclosure, which is a snapshot of a person's history, and some require PVG Membership, which is a scheme that alerts interested parties (in this case, the URC Safeguarding Administrator) to allegations that may put our communities at risk of harm.

If your role requires you to interact with children (people under the age of 18) and/or vulnerable adults, you should be a member of the PVG Scheme. If this is not involved in your role, you are recommended to hold a Level 1 Disclosure every five years.

A matrix document, approved by General Assembly in July 2025, is available to reference should you wish to see confirmation of which check is the most appropriate for your role.

IMPORTANT: If you are not required to undertake regulated activity within your role, you should NOT be a member of the PVG Scheme.

Training

How often should I renew/refresh my training?

Every three years, at the highest level required for your role.

When is the next training session?

Safeguarding Training is provided to the URC Synod of Scotland by our friends at the Church of Scotland. This is because we do not have capacity to train our members, at present, and much of the training delivered by Church of Scotland is applicable to URC members. There are some differences, but these should be apparent within the training session if there are URC members present.

The training sessions, some online and some in person, are advertised here: https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/departments/safeguarding-service/training

What if I can't attend the next session?

We appreciate that sometimes prior obligations mean that it is tricky to find a training session that suits your schedule. We would advise trying to find a date as soon as is convenient.

The training sessions, some online and some in person, are advertised here: https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/departments/safeguarding-service/training

Can I still do my role without Safeguarding training?

If your role requires you to lead activities for vulnerable adults or children under the age of 18, without supervision, we would advise that you seek Safeguarding training before undergoing your role. You may assist someone in their role if they have attended training.

Other Safeguarding Queries

What's the Safeguarding Return?

The Safeguarding Return is an annual activity done by all URC Churches across England, Scotland and Wales. It gathers headline information on how many of our volunteers are up to date in their background checks and training, as well as noting good local Safeguarding practice.

The information from individual Church returns is collated into a Synod Report and submitted to Pastoral Committee and General Assembly.

The annual return offers Churches the opportunity to schedule any necessary training and prompt any refresher checks for volunteers who have been in their role for more than three years.

Got more questions?
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Synod Safeguarding Administrator:
📧 safeguarding@urcscotland.org.uk
📞 0141 248 5382
📱 07825 712173
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