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This week I wasn’t sure what to focus on – the summer solstice and the longest day, or the football – but instead it’s the expression ‘nothing to look at here; move along’. I’m glad I didn’t choose the longest day as its only 12 degrees in South Yorkshire from where I am writing this piece, and I’m seriously thinking about the central heating. If you are an England fan there wasn’t much to write home about on Friday night either. So actually there isn’t much to look at in these topics anyway. ‘Nothing to look at here’ seems to be one of those expressions that are rolled out when those in office or power don’t want to admit that something is not quite as it should be and want us to move on to fresh pastures, to focus on something else. It may be the case that there is actually nothing to see whilst opponents will probably try to keep badgering away to demonstrate that there really is. But in the end the expression is deployed as a statement of finality. There’s nothing more to be seen nor said. But it’s not just politicians who want us to shift our gaze. Individuals and organisations who are convinced that all is well with their view of the world, will also get frustrated if others are trying to find out something that may tell a different story. That’s why some folk see safeguarders as people who shine the spotlight on nooks and crannies that we’d rather not explore. And not just the dark and dusty corners but the people or poor practice hiding in plain sight. Safeguarders don’t easily move on if they spot a concern and their tenacity can sometimes result in others trying to convince them that really, yes really, there is nothing here to be worried about. Can’t you see? If you are a London District reader your church and circuit will have just submitted your safeguarding audit. Thanks so much for doing so. It may have been hard work in places and maybe made you scratch your head at times. But the reason for completing it was so that the things that need to be done to keep our churches safe are in plain view. In so doing we avoid the hazards that lurk hidden away when others may tell us to ‘move along, nothing to see here’. If someone says that I invariably think there is. Grahame

It’s Father’s Day this coming Sunday. If you are familiar with our safeguarding training, you’ll know that we spend some time thinking about times of the year and recurring events that do not necessarily bring happy memories for everyone. We aim to promote sensitivity in our services and good pastoral care for those who may be impacted. So amongst all the myriad of email offers that I receive every day from numerous suppliers of goods I will probably never, ever buy, I was intrigued to receive one that offered the option of not receiving Father’s Day offer information because they ‘know Father’s Day can be a sensitive time for some.’ Given my job, I immediately thought how foresighted this company was, as I’d never seen such a statement before. But on sharing this at home, it was suggested this initiative was more of a Covid thing in recognition of the parents of both genders who have died, probably prematurely, as a result of the pandemic. Evidently a number of companies have done this. Whatever the reason for providing an opt-out, I think it was good that it was there. The company I noted was a speciality tea supplier, but neither of the two football clubs who bombard me with sartorial recommendations has applied this approach to their sales pitch. I don’t quite know what that says about tea drinkers or football fans and their safeguarding sensitivities but these are issues that transcend all social barriers as the footballer Ian Wright amply and movingly described in his documentary ‘Home Truths’ broadcast by the BBC last month. It’s well worth a watch on iPlayer if you missed it. The church tends to make more of Mothering Sunday given its scheduling within Lent and its association with the mother church as a place of baptism. Its only since 1910 that Father’s Day has been widely recognised, and despite commercialism, churches have used it as an opportunity to reflect on fatherhood and what that means. Whether on Sunday we are live in church, or zooming in, I would hope that our preachers are alert to both the joy and pain that honouring fathers can bring.

Such glorious weekend weather meant walks in the country with little mud. Garden family gatherings and the smell of bar-b-q’s. Music drifting over fences and the hubbub of increasingly shrill voices. What appeared to be a full scale family row just along the road, played out through an open front door. Summer is truly here again. It’s the time, therefore, when some churches might be planning outdoor (or indoor – you can’t always rely on British summer weather) children and family events. So in addition to all the usual planning and preparation, risk assessment and assigning responsibility, Covid protection measures will need to be taken. This column does not aim to supply all the details of what’s OK and not OK, but this week is simply offering a reminder that all the best laid plans can be undone if insufficient attention is applied to delivery. In other words ensuring that all that is meant to happen, happens. As ever its going to be about making sure that everyone charged with event organisation is on the same page, and that there is a shared understanding of what needs to be done and why. In particular knowing the risks and possible consequences of getting it wrong, and how the local church may held to account. So although this may sound a bit like telling your granny how to suck eggs, this year it’s going to be so important to get it absolutely right. Colleagues who work in schools or early years settings can probably provide good advice and guidance, alongside what’s available on Government, local authority and the Methodist Church website. Although at the time of writing we don’t know what changes may or not be possible from June 21st, we can hope to be confident about some good weather over the next three months. Let’s enjoy it safely.

‘Two riders were approaching and the wind began to howl’. When I hear those words sung I often get goose bumps. There is something magical, mysterious and eerie about them, as they feature right at the end of the song. There is no more. There is no ‘and then...’ You know they are coming and there is no next line, apart from the song’s title fading out. It’s like a scene from the Lord of the Rings, where riders are coming over a desolate plain, hooded and faceless. What’s their news? What will they do? Will all be well? Bob Dylan is 80 years old this week and his song ‘All along the watchtower’ from which these lyrics are taken, is the song he has performed live more than any other song in his back catalogue. For what reason is not clear, and if you were to ask, and get a reply, you would likely receive an equally enigmatic explanation. Much has been written about Dylan lyrics over the 60 years of his career, and this song has received its own good measure of interpretation. Other lines in the song suggest that the watchtower is part of a castle with a resident prince and barefoot servants. Dylan’s sustained interest in spiritual matters suggests a link with Isaiah chapter 21 verses 5-9 which describes a watchtower and riders approaching, but who knows? The song starts with the line ‘There must be some kind of way outta here’ and then’ there’s too much confusion’. It’s set in a conversation between a joker and a thief. Are the riders the answer, the onset of some resolution or certainty? Or are the riders the joker and thief looking to the castle for security? What seems to be shared by a number of commentators is that the song is all about cultural change. Something needs to happen to make a real difference to human life experience. Dylan’s words, over time, have been powerful, inspiring, confusing, challenging and controversial. No doubt they will continue to be pored over the next 80 years as well. But in the 1960s in particular he seemed to speak for a generation eager for change, and to them the time was now. Arguably it still is. For what is probably the best known version of the song, try listening to the 1968 version by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Look up the song title on YouTube and join the 190 million who have watched it already. Enjoy, and let your imagination run wild.

This is open up again week, but with a dollop of caution, it now seems. Depending on when you read this I will be preparing to go to or have just returned from watching Crystal Palace play Arsenal on Wednesday. 6,500 spectators are allowed and so I thought I would aim to go. I filled in my medical questionnaire a the weekend and so I hope to receive the print at home tickets shortly. We have got used to booking all sorts of things we would have taken for granted 15 months ago. Booking a space at the council’s recycling centre was the one that surprised me the most, especially as whenever I have been there, the staff did not appear generally to be wearing masks and people depositing their garden waste and landfill did not seem to be doing much social distancing. When you are carrying a heavy and precarious load of rubbish, I think you tend to go in a straight line and not circumnavigate your fellow dumper. Some churches also require you to book in, and if you have people come to do some repairs and maintenance at home, there are strict rules about masking, ventilation and staying in separate rooms. Cue a damp and cold May morning last week when we had a TV engineer call. With open windows, we sat with scarves and thick jumpers on. The thing that we probably all miss just now is spontaneity – although more things can now happen, we still need to make arrangements in advance and check the rules. The Government also expects us to take responsibility for looking after ourselves and others and no doubt we will all have our own take on what that looks and feels like. For those involved with promoting safeguarding in local churches, especially if operating a contract that enables an offender to worship safely, the idea of booking in to attend church under a set of laid down conditions will be familiar. Equally, these arrangement also rely on the subject of the contract taking personal responsibility for their own actions. In some cases, that can be challenging as boundaries can be pushed and what might seem like a reasonable request to adjust a feature of a contract, may herald the start of a process that waters down an agreement so that it no longer remains fit for purpose. The learning for safeguarding in general is to appreciate that the rules and guidance in our policies are there for a purpose, and so to seek to change or set aside particular requirements cannot be a spontaneous option however innocuous it may seem. Careful thought and a proper assessment of risk will always be required. Football, the Church or the council tip – its all about everyone staying safe.

Only 5 words, but key ones for those who tell their story of abuse for the first time. Firstly, a question posed by the storyteller; ‘What happens now?’ After summoning up the courage and determination to share, seeking the right person to tell, at the right time and in the right place, these three words are of critical importance. However, any immediate relief from having told, may be quickly replaced by anxiety about the various possible directions that could be taken by the person who has been listening, especially if they reply with the other two words; ‘ That depends.’ Hopefully the first responder will give a more assured response that describes exactly what will happen next and who might need to know depending on what’s been shared. The Church has provided advice and guidance to church leaders through the safeguarding training programmes and earlier this year published a leaflet designed to be picked up in churches by survivors that explains what response they should expect to receive. However, it’s also true to say that the outcome of making a disclosure may follow a number of pathways that are dependent, amongst other factors, on the application of the Church complaints procedure, safeguarding measures or the intervention of statutory authorities for example. The storyteller may also then feel anxious about the personal impact of the various processes that may be set in chain. But the first response remains critical. It’s why the gathered session for the refreshed online Advanced Module course starts with a listening exercise to emphasise the importance of listening, really hearing and understanding. Then, it’s about swapping two words for six; ‘This is what I’ll do now.’ None of the words are complex. They are all very simple and straightforward, which is how best to respond. Of course, the other three words that must follow are also really important: ‘Is that OK?’

If you’ve been watching the BBC drama series ‘Line of Duty’, which ended its current run on Sunday, you will know that you needed to keep up with all the alphabetic and numerical acronyms. Did you know your AFO from your CHIS and the OCG? What does AC 12 actually mean? I recall a glossary being published when this series started in March. I’m sure many viewers would have found it useful, but if you haven’t been following at all, this will all sound like gobbledegook. Like most organisations, the Methodist Church also has its own fair share of acronyms. Do you know your LP from your LEP and CPD? What about CC and CM? For organisational insiders, acronyms are a useful shorthand so that you can get a quick sense of what people are talking about and there is shared understanding of both appearance and function. But what about some of our fully written out words, such as steward, church council member or pastoral visitor? Is there a common understanding of what’s involved and what has to be done to fulfil the role? In some cases, the roles and expectations are defined in CPD (here we go again – for those not in the know, this is the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church), but in others there is scope for local variation. Pastoral visitors are a case in point, where careful definition is required because our safe recruitment policy and procedures rely on this clarity to confirm whether a post is eligible for a DBS (that’s Disclosure and Barring Service) check or not. Some tasks that a pastoral visitor could undertake, such as doing shopping and paying bills, or providing regular ferrying to and from medical appointments may well bring the role within the DBS orbit. Delivering the church magazine and a quick conversation on the doorstep will probably not. The Church is intending to re-publish refreshed safe recruitment policy and guidance later this summer, and it will aim to help local churches better understand their responsibilities in this area. Having a clear, written understanding of what all church roles involve will definitely help to identify where a DBS check is required by comparing the task with the regulations. Look out for it, and I’m pleased to say that it looks like it will be much shorter than the current version. Oh and if you have occasion to contact me, don’t try to talk to me about the outcome of ‘Line of Duty’. At the time of publication I have still to watch the final episode on catch up!

After last week’s reference to the chocolate caterpillar contest, it’s the turn of the Bay City Rollers, or more particularly Les McKeown, the band’s lead singer who died last week. In the mid 1970’s the Rollers pioneered cropped trousers with tartan trimmings and wowed their mainly teenage female fanbase with such memorable numbers as Shang-a-Lang and Bye-Bye Baby. McKeown was reportedly brought into the band on account of his good looks, but fortunately he could sing as well. But all was not well between him and fellow band members and he struggled to maintain the squeaky clean image their management team aspired them to have. In interviews reported in one obituary this weekend, he talked of the band’s manager introducing them all to drugs, likening his relationship with them to that of an abusive parent. He also had his own dark nights of the soul when shortly after passing his driving test he killed an elderly pedestrian in an accident. He disclosed in 2009, after the death of the band’s manager Tam Paton, that he had been raped by him. Paton had threatened to kill him if he told anyone. This was some time after Paton himself had been convicted in 1982 of sexually abusing 10 boys over a three year period. Not being a Rollers fan myself, much of this I didn’t know until I read McKeown’s obituary and learnt about the death of at least one other band member. In some ways the band’s trajectory over the decades was not dissimilar to many others, and so we may not be surprised by much of what I’ve just learnt about them. It’s also the case that often it’s only when people pass on that we get to know the detail about how life really was for them, or more positively, what they achieved and hid under a bushel. Obituaries can tell us much about a person, but sometimes it’s all a bit too late. If only we’d known we could have celebrated, or conversely gained a deeper understanding of why they were like how they were. Don’t let’s miss the moment to share when we can, but safely too.

Colin and Cuthbert caterpillars are at daggers drawn in court. Their respective owners, Marks and Spencer and Aldi, are in a legal battle about whose chocolate log, beloved at children’s parties, is the real thing. There is a price differential and so M&S are concerned that people might visit Aldi and pick up a cheaper alternative, believing it to be of similar quality. I’m not sure why Tesco’s Curly and Waitrose’s Cecil are not included in the legal action, and personally I feel ill-equipped to make any judgement as I am not really meant to eat any sugary confections at all. So getting to and appreciating the real deal is important. M&S clearly think there is potential reputational damage at stake here and people may be short-changed if the texture and taste is not as good as a similar appearance might suggest. Which is why the safeguarding audit programme developed and now being rolled out by the London District Safeguarding Team is so important. It’s a vital means of checking whether policy and practice at church and circuit level is the real deal. Do our local safeguarding arrangements have the depth of understanding and practical application that mean they have more than a skin deep appearance? Are we confident that the words we use and the images we project are matched by what we actually do? There is only one way to find out and that’s by testing and tasting. If you are involved in safeguarding in any way at your local church, please look out for the audit tool, help to complete it and play your part in making sure your church offers the real safeguarding deal. Our Advanced Module course has a section in it about ‘disguised compliance’ which is concerned with helping people who oversee individual safeguarding contracts reflect on behaviour that gives the appearance of compliance to determine if it is in fact the real thing. The audit programme is about enabling churches to get below the presenting surface to examine how well they are really doing. In Colin and Cuthbert’s case, this is as much about trademarks and profits as about reputation. If the church’s glossy safeguarding appearance masks poor practice then it won’t just be our reputation at stake. Someone may get hurt.

Amongst all the column inches devoted to Prince Philip over the weekend, much has been stated about his traumatic childhood. How he was smuggled out of Greece in an orange box on a British destroyer, went to live in France until, at about the age of 8, he was packed off to live with relatives in the UK as a result of his mother’s mental illness. He was then sent to a series of boarding schools, none of which sounded very nurturing, until through the offices of his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten he ended up at Dartmouth Naval College. After that we know the story of love that lasted until last Friday. Described in some quarters as ‘rootless’ and having lost contact with his immediate family at an early age, Prince Philip suffered a series of what we now term ‘adverse childhood experiences’ (ACEs). We know from research that these experiences, such as bereavement, broken family ties, being physically unsettled, having a parent with a mental health issue and transient relationships can have a potentially debilitating impact on wellbeing and life chances. Prince Philip clearly benefitted from a supportive and well to do extended family network who stepped in to support him, but it is difficult to know what effect these ‘ACEs’ may have had on him. His mantra seemed to be that you just had to get on with things – ‘One does’ he said. When child care professionals assess children who have been affected by difficult family circumstances they look to the prevalence of ACEs and either confirm how well they have coped with them or identify what therapeutic or support services may be required to heal or boost resilience and enhance life chances. To some extent that’s why the Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) Award scheme has been such a success. Millions of young people have taken part in the programme and many have testified to its value in keeping them on the straight and narrow or boosting their confidence and self esteem, often when one or more of those ACEs has knocked them for six in their earlier years. It was through the DoE scheme that I met Prince Philip, fleetingly, at a reception for gold award holders at St James’ Palace about 10 years ago. I was the senior manager with overall responsibility for the Youth Service in the local authority where I worked and a small delegation was invited to attend, along with many others from around the country. When Prince Philip reached me in the corner of one of the state rooms assigned to the event I think he asked the usual question: what do you do?. The trouble was my job title was lengthy and didn’t explain much so before I’d finished he was off to the next person whose role may well have been described in less impenetrable local government language. And that was it. As local church safeguarders we will probably never be asked to assess a child in the professional social work sense, but we can surely recognise one of those ACEs when we see one. As church, we can also offer to be part of any informal network of support that might just make a difference. The orange box may have been a piece of urgent improvisation, but our youth organisations in particular, uniformed or otherwise, really do offer some of the real life opportunities for personal growth that in due course Prince Philip had.

I hope all readers had a peaceful Easter and that chocolate was enjoyed, perhaps in moderation. The last blog made mention of the Everyone’s Invited website and since its publication, Ofsted have been tasked with conducting an inquiry into sexual abuse in schools, and the NSPCC have been commissioned to establish a helpline. A quick response that seems to have been welcomed by the Everyone’s Invited team. It’s always quite encouraging when there is well-timed response, but I am sure that we can all recall times when public bodies have been far more dilatory and, on occasions, appeared totally inactive, even when the situation and evidence to prompt action was so compelling. Another big story last week was the giant ship which ran aground in the Suez Canal. Now freed, it appears that a gust of wind helped the ship lodge itself in the sandy bank. We often hear about how much time and effort it takes to stop or turn a super tanker, but here was a ship weighing 200,000 tons knocked off course by a strong breeze. My background reading tells me that the stacks of containers aboard can act as gigantic sails and this is what caused the problem. At first sight there may not seem to be any parallels between the two stories. But in both cases, it was an apparently small development which made a big difference. A website that had served to provide a safe space for school students to log their stories suddenly found itself in the limelight as it caught the #Metoo wind. With favourable publicity, within just a week or two of it becoming more widely known, the Government (often criticised for being like a super tanker, cumbersome and slow to react) decreed something must be done and took action. Out in Egypt, a misdirected gust of wind in the middle of a sandstorm, and much of the world’s trade came to a standstill for a week. In Zoom calls it was quite a talking point. Was Europe’s supply of toilet paper and just in time furniture for a newly permitted garden party on board? From small beginnings come mighty consequences. You never know when a small dedicated project will make a major difference. But we do know that in safeguarding, if we pay full attention to the small details in our work, the record keeping, the risk assessments and just being observant, then we can avoid major personal catastrophes later on.

Everyonesinvited.uk is the name of the website very recently set up for girls to report incidents of sexual harassment and assault in their schools. As of last weekend over 5,000 submissions had been received detailing painful and deeply distressing accounts of abusive behaviour perpetrated within a ‘rape culture’ that seems to permeate high profile private as well as state schools. Descriptions of what has been experienced, in some cases in the face of the apparent reluctance of school staff to intervene if they see it happening, are graphic and disturbing. Intensive social media activity and a pattern of parties extends the reach of this behaviour so it intrudes, beyond the school gates, into all aspect of personal life. The founder of the website, Soma Sara, has stated that ‘this is a universal problem’ and not confined to particular schools, countries or cultures. She further states that peer-on- peer abuse is now so normalised that both victim and perpetrators don’t fully understand what is happening to and between them. The tragic death of Sarah Everard has propelled this issue to the fore and there is now a national debate emerging about how best to engage with boys and young men about consent and respectful behaviour. Helen Pyke, head of Magdelan College school Oxford, writing in the ‘Observer has said: ‘What interests me is how fundamentally decent boys, who want to do the right thing, get into situations where they don’t . One reason is alcohol and the other is porn. Both have an effect on boys and girls in terms of what they think is expected of them and what appropriate sexual behaviour is.’ The law firm Farrers has recently published some research into the harmful effect of porn on young people. This seems to confirm Pyke’s statement and shows that ease of access is a key factor. As we slowly emerge from lockdown and relish the new opportunities for (limited) socialising, how best can our churches respond? Without doubt the Methodist Church has a long and strong tradition of working positively with young people, promoting core values that are the ones we are striving to see applied more rigorously. With Ofsted now threatening to close schools that don’t maintain good safeguarding practice, it’s imperative that our churches continue to provide safe spaces for girls and young women to come to and an environment in which it’s equally safe to tell their stories and be listened to.