Professional Standards Update December 2020
As we move towards the end of 2020, it is hard to believe all that has taken place this year. We are thankful for the ongoing work of all church workers (volunteers and paid staff) during this pandemic.
Firstly, we would like to say an enormous thank you to all the SP3 Coordinators in our congregations. The tireless work of these individuals has been ongoing as restrictions and regulations constantly changed throughout the year, not just due to COVID, but also in response to royal commission outcomes and changes in legislation. We are grateful for the work and positive can-do attitudes of these volunteers and ask that you continue to support them and all who work with children and other vulnerable people.
In addition to this, we also extend our thanks to all church councils and congregations, as together we have worked through the change from national police clearances to Working with Children Checks (WWCCs). This has been a big change for many congregations and we greatly appreciate the work which has gone in from volunteers and staff as they engaged in the new process. For those who are yet to update your clearance, even if you do not directly work with children, WWCCs are now the clearance required for all leadership roles in our church. If you have any questions or to apply for one, please contact the District Office.
Face-to-face training sessions are now returning to congregations. Currently eight workshops are planned to take place before the end of the year. For details of these sessions, please see the LCA Safe Church Training page. Our team has also started planning for 2021 and we hope to be able to reach many of the congregations who planned to complete training in 2020. If your congregation would be interested in holding a full length and or refresher workshop in 2021, please let us know and we can begin to explore suitable dates. Online training will continue to be available throughout 2021.
The refresher has now been available for several months, primarily online due to face-to-face restrictions. We will be holding the first face-to-face refresher in late November. Please note, members whose Level 1 training expired any time during this year, will be able to update through the refresher until 31 December 2020. After that time, any member who is due to refresh their training will need to complete this within three months of their training expiring. If training is not updated through the refresher in this timeframe, individuals will need to recomplete full training.
Child Protection Officer, Mary-Ann Carver, has been making significant progress working through the recommendations and outcomes of the Royal Commission. An exciting development in the area of child safety area is that ‘LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations’ have been developed. These are closely based on the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations but have been reframed to consider congregational contexts. They will be released for consultation in the coming weeks. Implementation will be trialled in a few congregations in the SA-NT District during the early part of next year.
We thank congregations for all they have done to ensure good hygiene and social distancing practices and encourage these to continue going in to Christmas and the new year. Those practices are important parts of working together to keep all people safe. As we look forward to 2021 we are grateful for the ongoing dedication of all Church workers.
If you or your congregation require support or have any questions, please call Dave or Holly on 08 8267 5211 or email psd.sa-nt@lca.org.au for further assistance.
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