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One hundred colleagues attended the London District Safeguarding Conference on Saturday 16 March. It was a good number in itself but it helped our keynote presenter to demonstrate quite graphically a series of statistical percentages about, for example, how many people self-identify as happy or anxious. If we were a reasonable cross section of London Methodist folk then getting groups of 5 to stand up brought a human aspect to the academic research findings. Clearly some of the findings would also have been true for some people in the room at the time. Our theme was ‘Emotional Wellbeing and Safeguarding’ and our thoughts were led by Professor Malcolm Payne, a renowned expert in the field who doubles as a circuit safeguarding coordinator in South London. This was an attempt to explore an area of our work where we have perhaps less certainty and working knowledge, and yet we know that all abuse has an element of emotional abuse as an integral part. Through a stimulating presentation and reflective group work, we edged towards a deeper understanding of the topic and tried to apply our new learning to our own situations. In a further session we used a slimmed down version of the Quakers’ Boundary Game, which is a training exercise that looks at a series of church-based scenarios relating to wellbeing, to see how we as safeguarders or church leaders can respond appropriately and with proportionality. There was so much to consider on the day that we could have done with twice the time, not least because a section in the presentation about the relationship between wellbeing and spiritual abuse raised a number of theological questions that really merited further conversation. I was, and no doubt others were, left with a chance to mull over my own life experience to date, and what has shaped my own general emotional state. Times of great happiness can be matched with incidents that provoked feelings of anxiety, uncertainty or fear. The physical and emotional journeys and life experiences of many in the room will have no doubt contributed to their general sense of wellbeing. Faith of course will also be a factor in how we see ourselves. The final message of the day was about how we should always be vigilant about each others’ emotional wellbeing and try to understand if the cause of any anxiety or fear results from an adverse set of circumstances where good safeguarding practice can be applied. Randomly standing up in a group of one hundred to demonstrate a statistic may have felt uncomfortable for some, but as an illustration of the power of numbers and the story they tell, it was a sobering and yet revelatory experience.

So last week it was Michael Jackson’s turn to be in the spotlight with some powerful descriptions of the abuse reportedly experienced at his hands by two boys, now young men. The TV coverage was lengthy and then some of the media follow up focussed again on why it is difficult for people to tell what is happening to them at the time, and equally why people around Jackson who could see what was going on, did not call time on his behaviour. Jimmy Saville’s name resurfaced in these reports and how the cult of celebrity can mask abusive behaviour and blind observers from taking appropriate action. In our safeguarding training at all levels, we focus on the difficulties that victims and observers alike can experience when aiming to tell their stories, and the powerful forces that often get in the way. As trainers we hope and pray that by raising the issue we will have enabled individuals in churches to be more confident about reporting and that a fresh culture of openness and transparency will signal an end to secrecy and innuendo. But how can we be sure that this is the case? Audits of our practice against the Church’s policy standards are a good start, but the challenge is how to judge the deeper quality of what we do and how well we respond when a matter is brought to our attention. Going further, however, can we be confident that all matters which should be reported or are suspected are being heard in the first place? Again and again we return to the question of our culture, and whether it allows for painful truths to surface. Organisational safeguarding casework reviews have often pointed to examples where those who wished to speak out were prevented from doing so or their stories either batted away or like the proverbial can, kicked along the road. This is despite fine sounding policy statements. There is no simple test that we can apply here, and even when people’s voices are heard counter narratives generally appear to discredit those who speak up. In Jackson’s case people are now conflicted over whether they can still appreciate his musical legacy. Can we separate art from the artist’s actions? I leave that one for you to ponder. The message to our churches from this is to keep plugging away. Don’t be disheartened. Call out resistance to hearing. Keep a log of what you see and hear. Get support from people who get the agenda. An emerging IICSA theme is that ‘organisational (and societal) culture gets in the way of open discussion about child sexual abuse that can help to raise awareness and increase understanding and make it easier for people to disclose.’ There is still work for us to do no doubt.

It would seem rather like the elephant in the room not to mention the unseasonably warm weather this week. Most conversations over the last few days have been punctuated with weather references, but we could also say ‘what’s new?’ as the weather is a perennial source of material for our British discourse. The fact that we have this bright, dry and warm weather in February also means that we are experiencing quite cold nights in comparison, so the question for early morning commuters is what to wear so as to be both warm and cool within just a few hours. Being prepared for all eventualities is what we carry in our safeguarding backpacks. Thirty-one eight (formerly CCPAS) used to call its basic foundation level safeguarding course ‘Facing the Unthinkable’ and that’s what this February weather is making us do. Winter temperature records being broken is pretty unthinkable when compared with last year’s ‘Beast from the East’. For me though, when I carry my backpack into work or on a country walk, I want to travel light, carrying as little as possible that will weigh me down, hold me back or make me feel uncomfortable. So how do we square the circle of travelling light yet prepared for all contingencies in our safeguarding world? At this point I could say that I’ll turn the question over to you, readers, as resolving this dilemma may prove challenging. So answers on a postcard! However there are a number of principles that we can adopt that should help us. Knowing and understanding your church or circuit landscape, having some awareness of where there are strengths you can rely on, and equally where there are risk areas. Sharing the load with a team of people who understand the agenda and will work as a team. Maintaining good (GDPR compliant) records of who we are and the training we have completed. Having a robust policy in place so that people know what to do and from whom to seek advice. Believing that something could happen and so not being fazed when it does, whilst rejoicing when all is calm. None of these are new ideas nor are they the proverbial rocket science, but when you can’t decide if it’s a woolly hat and scarf, or shorts and a t-shirt day, knowing that you’ve got the basic layers right with other items to hand you can slip on and off easily, will go some way to making you feel comfortable all day. Grahame is writing in a personal capacity. Views expressed may not reflect those of the Methodist Church.

Did you send or receive a Valentine card last week? If you received one you may have guessed who sent it, but was it welcome? Were you expecting one and would you have been put out if it hadn’t arrived? On Thursday last, 60 or more delegates to the annual Methodist Safeguarding Conference were grappling with a series of statements about behaviour in church settings as part of an exercise called the Boundary Game, led for us by a team from the Quakers. The conference theme was Mental Health and Safeguarding and our friends the Quakers (pun intended) have invested time and energy in developing resources to help their meetings understand better and safely meet the needs of individuals whose emotional wellbeing is less good. In the Boundary Game, which is a training aid, participants are asked to consider whether the 30 or so statements represent behaviours that are either OK, or not OK. One of the statements simply said ’send a card’. No context was provided and the group I was in quickly thought it was OK for a church or an individual to send a card to someone who was perhaps unwell. Time did not allow for all 8 tables to compare their results, and besides some groups considered each statement for a much longer period than we did so may not have reached this particular statement. So I don’t know if we all reached the same conclusion. As I drove home through the glorious Cotswold landscape, I wondered if we had got it right, and also whether we are consistent with our card sending. Sending a card to someone who is physically unwell or has suffered an injury, is perhaps easier than sending one to someone with depression, an eating disorder or schizophrenia for example. We know when and where to send a card and the message will be either suitably upbeat or sympathetic. Mental illness, often hidden, is more difficult to spot and so sending a card at the wrong time or with an ill-judged sentiment may just make matters worse. Equally sending cards of a more personal nature, such as a Valentine card, may be indicative of an unhealthy or unrequested interest in another person. This may also be indicative of poor judgement derived from being unwell. In the long term, obsessional, stalking behaviour is clearly a safeguarding concern. So this is a reminder to think through with care some of those things that we do in church that many of us take for granted as being part of showing love for our neighbours, in case they are not always received as intended. Grahame is writing in a personal capacity. Views expressed may not reflect those of the Methodist Church

Although our policies generally recommend that we leave the full investigation of reported abuse to statutory authorities, we cannot help but make our initial inquiries to determine what we should do next. It’s the failure of not maintaining respectful uncertainty and turning away from what we see or sweeping a matter under the carpet that is being highlighted here by the IICSA. It’s the failure to ask the right questions and shine a light on a dark place, or acquiescing to a pattern of behaviour that we know is wrong that will significantly damage our organisational reputation or that of an individual. For a person identified publically as not having given due consideration to a matter brought to their attention, and then not taking action, the impact can be personally devastating. So a robust approach to professional curiosity, addressing promptly any concerns that come to our attention, and in a manner consistent with our policies, will demonstrate that we can make defensible decisions in the eyes of those who scrutinise our practice, be they the public, the IICSA or any other judicial or regulatory body. However this is not about striking out on our own to solve a puzzle but it’s more about sharing concerns with your local safeguarding officer in the first instance and then checking things out with the DSO as a good next step. Survivors tell us that if the Church had investigated their concerns when they first told their stories then in some cases many more children, young people or vulnerable adults would have been kept safe from harm. Initial investigation, getting the story, to find out what’s been happening is an essential part of our safeguarding work. Writing it down and then passing on to Church Safeguarding staff, however trivial it may sound, is a key requirement in fulfilling our policy. It’s also about demonstrating our duty of care towards the individuals involved, and equally showing our Christian witness to those who are in need.

I guess I wrote my first blog, as it were, in 1977, when I described a reggae sound system clash in the youth centre I ran in West London. A sight and sound to behold with bass beats causing a minor earthquake on Acton High Street. On one occasion I recall we managed to book the Sir Jessus system with their now legendary selector Ras Digby who seemed to have forged an umbilical link between Kingston Jamaica studios and his shop on Goldhawk Road, to get the very best new sounds. With a small army of ‘boxboys’ who lugged the green, gold and red painted wardrobe sized speakers from the removal van, the whole event was an amazing experience. The piece I wrote was published in New Society magazine. At that time many young people, especially black young people, feel foul of the ‘Sus’ laws. Derived from post Napoleonic wars legislation enshrined in the 1829 Vagrancy Act and designed to control displaced ex-army personnel who roved the country causing a nuisance to local authorities, the offence of ‘being a suspected person loitering to commit an arrestable offence’ became an unwelcome aspect of police tactics until its repeal. Affected young people often found themselves with an offence to their name for seemingly doing nothing except being on the streets. Criminalising young people at an early age in the process and causing a collective mistrust of authority. Processing blemished DBS checks can throw up offences that date back to times in life when an association with a youth subcultural group could mean being swept up in behaviour that could be construed as contributing to one of society’s regular moral panics. Think Teddy Boys, Mods and Rockers, Punks, Skinheads, Rude Boys, Goths and 1980s’ ravers. There was also a rich literature about youth offending in the early 1980s that pointed out the fact of adolescents in history having always pushed the boundaries and inspiring horror in the adult population by their behaviour and adopted rituals of fashion, music and attitude. Crucially the research evidence also emphasised that the vast majority of these young people would grow out of a pattern of peer related youthful misdemeanour and go on to live rich fulfilling lives. So when DBS applicants self-declare or a certificate comes back with a youthful blemish, not only do we need to understand that person’s own journey but, where appropriate, we should appreciate context and the story of youthful resistance. In current times we would do well to think again about what our young people do now and how it can affect them in much later life. How best can we advise and support them? The message about leaving online trails, for example, is perhaps beginning to get through. But equally young people’s expressionism is part of growing up and saying something about who they want to be. Arguably now though, some group behaviours can be seen as far more challenging and harmful than earlier, so the task of future DBS processors will continue to be guided by careful judgements and a 360 degree analysis of what happened.

Have you ever missed a bus or train that you were intending to catch after changing from another bus or train? Or perhaps a plane? It’s especially infuriating when the schedule suggested or even confirmed a connection was possible, as your entire trip may have depended on it all working smoothly. There are places where it seems to work well, like in Switzerland with its seemingly well-developed integrated transport system, and in fairness my experiences of onward travel have been pretty positive – well apart from that jog around Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport late last year; oh and that time running to catch a connecting plane at Washington after lengthy immigration queues. Neither were pretty sights. Making connections relies on different parts of the same or partner organisations working together. This can be a simple process of just making sure two things align or more often it’s the product of several complex inter-related operations. The Victoria Climbie inquiry report, which is now almost 20 years old but still provides us with valuable learning, identified how different agencies did not make the right connections. They did not join up the dots of what they were seeing and hearing and as a result a little girl died in tragic circumstances. Other child death inquiries, and now adult serious case reviews, too often tell a similar story of failures to see the bigger picture and missing the connections that were so obviously there. In these cases it was not the sense of temporary seething frustration or inconvenience of a missed train – it was a life that could have been saved. But the complexity of making good connections is a real challenge. The plane that is delayed inbound that takes off late and misses the next connecting flight may itself have been overtaken by poor weather on another continent just a few hours ago, such is the tightness of turnarounds. Business is currently concerned that post Brexit customs checks will adversely impact on just in time deliveries of parts and raw materials. So in our world of safeguarding, what is to be done to make sure we make those connections or join up the dots, and what might blow us off course? A small aspect of the Victoria Climbie case features as a case study in our Foundation Module. The little girl craving biscuits set alarm bells ringing in one Sunday School in North London. A Sunday School teacher was curious, concerned and took notice. She reported it and that’s where it starts. It’s about understanding the systems that work together to protect children and adults, from the very first inkling of a worry, so we appreciate who needs to know what, when and how. GDPR does not, of course, stop us sharing information if we believe there is risk of harm. Our courses aim to spell out the reporting journeys that will hopefully lead through pooled intelligence to a good individual outcome. Next time the train is pulling out of the station as you puff onto the platform, and you start to scream and shout (inwardly I trust!) bear in mind the range of mechanical, weather related and human variables that can make a difference between a made or missed connection. Grab a coffee whilst you wait, philosophically, for the next one. When you see something that’s not right in church life as it applies to safeguarding however, don’t dwell, just tell, and help make the jigsaw complete.

The Safeguarding Steward at a a certain south London football ground has been earning his keep again. Last week the visitors were a top side with a team packed with (football) household names. Before kick off, whilst the players were warming up, the mascots (whose parents may have paid a few hundred pounds for the privilege of their son or daughter leading the teams out) were having a bit of a kickabout with a team coach. Dressed in their team colours there are generally about 6 or 7 6-9 year olds, one of whom is normally from the away club. The team managers don’t usually appear on the pitch before a game leaving the stretching and running exercises for others to organise, but on this occasion the visiting manager unexpectedly appeared pitchside and the visiting team mascot suddenly ran towards him. This particular mascot was physically much bigger than the others and his kit seemed a little tight, but he had glimpsed his hero and he clearly wanted to say hello. It’s not really clear what happened next but the consensus from those around me was that the mascot got the verbal brush off from the manager and he was left in tears. Step forward the Safeguarding Steward who, helpfully, was nearby to provide an arm of comfort and some distraction enabling the boy to rejoin the kickabout with the other mascots. Meeting your hero can be daunting - how will they take the adulation and attention? How will they behave? What do you say to them that’s not going to sound like goobledegook? What’s the correct protocol? - But being let down or rejected by your hero can be a damaging experience especially if you have waited a long time, pinned your hopes on meeting them and, in this case probably paid a lot of money to do so. No doubt for some young people in the 1960s, 70s and 80s meeting Jimmy Saville, who would visit or fix things for them, was a similar experience. An eager and lengthy buildup to a day beyond your wildest dreams quite possibly ruined forever by a hurt and a memory you can’t erase. The sheer incomprehension and disbelief that your hero, the person in whom you invested so much energy and attention, has let you down so badly. Being a hero carries profound responsibilities, and abusing the role is doubly distressing for those who may have been hurt by their idol. This is not just about the sexually predatory behaviour of Saville and others – its also about ignoring, discarding, belittling, and avoiding. David Bowie sang that we can all be heroes, so if that is our gift, we just need to behave like one and be wise to how we come across. When the teams were led out the visiting mascot looked as pleased as punch, you will be relieved to hear. No ill effects seemingly but such a shame his team had to win.

Well, happy new year and here we are again. It seems that we carry on where we left off with vicious stabbings and consequent family tragedies. So much for the period of goodwill to all people; and we may well ask where is our glimmer of light in the darkness? But hopefully many of us will have personal good memories of a Christmas well spent with friends and relatives to keep us optimistic in the dark January days. Having a January birthday I do however, rather resent the fact that one year an academic calculated that the most depressing day of the year was my actual birth date. We often try to turn over a new leaf or make a fresh start at the beginning of the new year. We may be well-intentioned to do things differently, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in our own personal organisation. Getting our own houses in order through better filing, knowing where things are, not procrastinating, doing things on time, and feeling generally more efficient is a worthy goal; and I would suggest this is also the time to get our safeguarding houses in order as well. Getting that DBS check done, recording that a piece of training has been completed, checking that every post holder has a simple job description, would be timely ambitions; especially after we make our commitment to callings and duties at our annual covenant services. Ministers, local church leaders and safeguarding officers all have a part to play here, but this is also a reminder that keeping the task simple is the key to successful execution. So let's start with a quick spring clean of the safer recruitment records. Where are they? Who looks after them? Are they up to date? Is every post holder included on your local church schedule? Who needs a DBS and in some cases are they still valid? Has everyone who has a job in the church got a job description that describes what they do in 4 or 5 key lines or uses the Connexional templates ? Has everyone signed a self declaration? Why not make this your January plan of action and you can get advice about best practice here on the national safeguarding website https://www.methodist.org.uk/for-ministers-and-office-holders/safeguarding/recruitment-dbspvg-forms-etc/. Next month why not tackle training records and in March, updating policies and reviewing safe practice through updated risk assessments? If you try to do it all at once it can be pretty overwhelming! So break it down and take a measured approach! For me the start of this year means a new role but I'm now aiming to deliver a weekly blog that will go out not only across London. but to Beds Essex and Herts and Northampton Districts as well. I guess I'll start to look out for geographic and other reference points from these areas to pepper future blogs. Whatever the new year brings I hope it's a happy one for you.

I have a confession. Every Christmas Eve, if I spot a big truck driving by, I try to spot where they have come from. If the address on the side is one from the far reaches of the UK (well, away from London) or even from abroad, I pause and think to myself that I hope that the driver will get home in time for Christmas. I don’t know why I think this, but it’s one of those tear prick moments. It’s the same feeling I get when I hear the line ‘the boys of the NYPD choir are singing Galway Bay’ from the Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ that’s played endlessly this time of year. The plaintive minor key modulation speaks of a wistfulness for home whilst the main protagonists find themselves in the drunk tank. I’m not Scottish, but I get a spine tingle if I emerge from Edinburgh Waverley Station and hear a lone piper playing. For Scots it no doubt says ‘I’m home’. I’m afraid Chris Rea’s ‘Driving Home for Christmas doesn’t quite do it for me. Home at Christmas with rich family traditions is a familiar trope and one which advertisers also play on to get us to buy into products that will enhance this sense of mutual wellbeing . But we know that family time spent together in an atmosphere of forced conviviality can be stressful and that the season is ripe for fallouts and in some cases worse. Let’s also not forget the excuse of ‘come on it’s Christmas’ for unwanted touch. This column doesn’t offer any solutions however, and if you are seeking advice about a stress-free Christmas any number of lifestyle magazines or websites can provide this. The sights, sounds and even smells of Christmas can have real poignancy, especially if a particular person is no longer at home through absence or passing away. Or simply that that there is another home to go to in the complex world of twenty-first century family life. But being home and close to loved ones at this time is important and people make great efforts to be there, flying around the world in some cases for a few precious hours. I think my most tear-pricking moments at Christmas are when I see an elderly person, on their own with a small old fashioned suitcase and a stick looking around in bewilderment at the crowds swirling around the concourse of a London main line station, as they seek to identify the correct platform for their train. They are probably far more resilient than I imagine, but I still hope they get to wherever they are going safely, that all will be well when they arrive, and that they will be loved and cared for. I’m probably channelling Paddington Bear the movie here, but what immediately pops into my head are lines from Away in a Manger – ‘Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay; close by me for ever and love me I pray’. This is the gulp moment that can take me unawares. Wherever home is for you this Christmas have a good one. This is the final blog for 2018. In the new year I start a new role with the Connexional Safeguarding Team, but I hope to continue in similar vein. If you have been a regular or just occasional reader, thanks for reading – I hope you’ve at least found the odd nugget of food for thought.

As Christmas approaches so do nativity plays and the question of photographs. It’s a time when our church media policies can be tested, so digging out the policy and making sure that we understand how it’s meant to operate may be a good idea. Here’s another example of when the ‘safeguarding brigade’ are sometimes seen as ‘killjoys’, getting in the way of people taking pictures both for the family album and church posterity. Which of course is not the intention at all. It’s about making sure proper consent is agreed and that images are carefully produced, their publication managed and storage secured so as to minimise the potential for abuse or inappropriate viewing. It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So pictures that tell a story of church life are a valuable means of enabling our communities to learn more about who we are, what we believe and what we can offer. Hiding our lights under bushels is not what we should be about, and shining our light can also mean illuminating dark places too. The Christmas story is all about the coming of light to our uncertain world and our now well embedded PCR and training symbol is a candle that has brought light to the darkened world of some survivors. But of course sometimes shining a light will also unearth some facts we would rather not know about as well. We need to be prepared for this when it happens. So the photo of costumed children, taken with consent, gathered round a wooden crib can speak to many truths about church life and testify our message to the world. It can describe in one shot how we care about the safety and security of our children, how we value and respect them and are also proud of their contribution. We want people to see and know that we take our responsibilities for safeguarding seriously. With riots on Paris boulevards, the further conviction for murder of an already convicted paedophile, the murder of a gap year student in New Zealand and our own nation’s unease about its relationship with its nearest neighbours, December currently feels rather bleak. But with the proper safeguards in place let’s record our joyful church events to remind ourselves about the promise of the future.

The Hebrews lectionary reading for Advent Sunday told the story of Abraham upping sticks and moving away from the home comforts of Ur to live in a tent. The story lays the foundation for our tradition of being a pilgrim people, passing through the landscape in search of a deeper truth. Whether Abraham walked backwards is not recorded and the Old Testament tells one story about the impact on one person of their looking back when told not to – Lot’s wife became a permanent landscape feature. New Zealand Maori culture on the other hand promotes the idea of walking backwards to make progress. For Maoris this means facing and focusing on the wisdom of their ancestors to provide advice about how best to make the journey, with occasional glances over the virtual shoulder to make sure trip hazards ahead are avoided. In the safeguarding world we do well to reflect on our journey of knowledge and cumulated experience to guide our future practice. But we do need to go forward with our eyes wide open to see the challenges ahead and be alert to the potential pitfalls. We know that if a small number of people with ill intent try to inveigle their way into church life, or existing members suddenly find themselves tempted by opportunity, our walking backwards, not looking forward and running the straight race, will not really help at all. Conceptually however, the idea of seeking advice and guidance from a wise person is a long standing tradition and mentoring in particular is a well-established learning method. The key quality for a mentor though is to recognise that the lived experience of the person being mentored – the ‘mentee?’- is probably markedly different to the life and work experience of the mentor. It’s generally not helpful to reference what happened back in the day as the answer to today’s issues. But the Maori tradition does teach us one thing that can help us in our safeguarding task. Churches have been there before and the PCR showed us sadly that there is a history that we cannot choose to ignore. If we step forward blindly without understanding where we have come from, it’s going to be difficult to make that pilgrim journey with the assurance and confidence we need.