Methodist Church appoints new national Safeguarding Adviser

Tim Carter has been appointed to the post of ConnexionalSafeguarding Adviser to the Methodist Church.

Tim has been involved in the safeguarding work of theMethodist Church for a number of years, most recently as a memberof the connexional Safeguarding Committee. He joins the team fromchildren's charity Barnardo's, where he is currently an AssistantDirector, and will take on leadership of the Church's vital work onsafeguarding, working in partnership with the Church ofEngland.

Tim said: "It's not every day that an opportunity likethis presents itself and I am really pleased to have been appointedto advise the Church through the next chapter in the on-going storyof how we rise to the challenge of making sure our work withchildren and vulnerable adults is safe and well supported. We knowthat our practice has made significant advances and yet the worlddoes not stand still and we have to be constantly reviewing oureffectiveness and adherence to new legislation and researchevidence. I am looking forward to leading this."

The future work of the Safeguarding team is particularlysignificant in light of the Church's Past SafeguardingReview, which reported in May thisyear. 

The report highlighted 23 recommendations, which includeimprovements to record keeping and storage, a review of all currentsafeguarding training materials and the identification of furtherresources to support victims and survivors of abuse. One of themost urgent concerns highlighted by the recommendations is the needfor greater levels of accountability and supervision, as well as aformal code of conduct, for ministers. Additionally, selectioncriteria for senior church positions will be developed to includeawareness of and ability to deal effectively with safeguardingissues. Until the Methodist Church has more robust accountabilityprocesses in place and fully operational, there will be an annualindependent audit of progress on the recommendations.

Tim will join the Safeguarding team on 23November.

Notes

1. A photo of Tim is available to download here.