26 October 2017
Methodist Church makes further progress on safeguarding
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The Methodist Council has heard of the progress made by theChurch in addressing the concerns of the
The independent review, which reported in May this year, made 23recommendations about how the Church could become a safer space forall, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults.
The Council, meeting from 12 to 13 October in Hoddeston, heardthat significant progress had already been made in implementing therecommendations of the report. This includes the creation of adraft supervision policy for ministers, guidance on best practicefor record-keeping and storage and a review of the Church'ssafeguarding training material. Until the Methodist Church has morerobust accountability processes in place, there will be an annualindependent audit of progress on the recommendations.
"The recommendations invite us to explore ways of developingexcellence in our practice in accountable ways," said the RevdHelen Cameron, Assistant Secretary of the Methodist Conference anda member of the Past Cases Review implementation Group. "They alsoinvite us to ensure that ministries offered in the name of theMethodist Church promote the fullness of life for which Christcame."
The Methodist Council also received a report from the MethodistAcademies and Schools Trust (MAST) and which detailed how MASTmight work to more effectively help its schools to navigate theprocess of academisation.
The report stated that; "If the Methodist schools can becomesuccessful academies with a confident witness to theChristian/Methodist ethos at their core...the Church will befulfilling its responsibilities to nourish and celebrate strong andproductive schools."
Other matters discussed by the Council included the Church'sresponse to the refugee crisis, property matters and a report fromthe Methodist Heritage Committee.