Governance - the nuts and bolts of Eldership

3. What are Elders responsible for?

3.1. Safeguarding

The serving Elders of United Reformed Churches are responsible for overseeing all aspects of safeguarding as they relate to all vulnerable people, children and adults. 

These duties include responding appropriately and quickly to any incidents of abuse/alleged abuse, ensuring appropriate and sufficient pastoral care and support is in place, overseeing children’s, youth and community work, assessing risks and implementing and following safer recruitment procedures – basically ensuring everyone who engages with the life of the local church is kept safe.

The URC's safeguarding guidance is enshrined in Good Practice 6 which offers full details of how to respond to safeguarding issues. 

The URC safeguarding team has produced foundation-level safeguarding training course that is available to everyone here on the URC Learning Hub. 

You are encouraged to look at these materials. The course can be accessed by clicking here or from the Safeguarding tab on your Hub dashboard.