United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
[email protected] www.urc.org.uk/safeguarding1
January 2026
2026 greetings to you all.
The first few months of each year
are always busy for us all with the
Annual Safeguarding Returns. Our
Synod Safeguarding Officers (SSOs)
will shortly start forensically looking
at the data collected. We also
welcome a new Synod Safeguarding Officer for Wales, Lee
Whyman.
‘God is our strength and refuge, our very present help in
time of trouble’ Psalm 46
Annual Safeguarding Returns
The online portal is now open for you to complete your
Annual Safeguarding Returns (ASR) online. It will close on
Saturday 28 February.
We understand that some people feel more comfortable
completing a printed version of the ASR and Synod offices
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
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have sent portal users a PDF version that can be printed off,
completed and then sent back to their Synod. Alternatively,
you can log into the portal and download a blank copy there.
Further guidance for the ASR is available on the URC
Website https://urc.org.uk/your-church/urc-church-update/ .
There you will find a downloadable blank copy of the ASR
and Synod contact details for further assistance.
Please do remember the ASRs are not a test but rather an
annual opportunity for us to see where we are at as a
denomination and how we can better support Synods,
churches and safeguarding coordinators. This helps the
safeguarding team to help keep our communities safe
through support where needed, including individual church
support, training and policy development.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for all you do.
Training Update
Training Matrix – General Assembly
2025 adopted an updated training
framework which has been shared
widely across the denomination and, so
far, is working well as it provides a
simple training pathway for each role
and includes ideas for supplementary
bite-sized training on specialist topics.
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
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It is broken down into England and Scotland and Wales for
ease of reference. We would encourage you to take time to
look at the framework to ensure that you have the correct
level of training. Mandatory courses are bookable via your
Synod.
Bespoke bite-sized courses – these are short
supplementary courses (2 hours delivered on Zoom)
available to anyone regardless of role or which synod they
are in. Places should be booked through Emma Pearce
stating your name/church/role and courses you wish to
attend. Please look at the current offering of sessions and
we’re sure you will find something of interest to your role or
church community.
Advanced training for Ministers – a key change from the
new training matrix is that active (including active retired)
Ministers are now mandated to complete advanced
safeguarding training.
Training is usually delivered by synods but to facilitate
ministers in England and Wales who do not currently have
advanced training (or last did training over 3 years ago) we
are running a number of Zoom delivered courses for these
ministers in England and Wales. Ministers are welcome to
elect to attend one of the online Zoom sessions below OR
attend a session delivered by their Synod.
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
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The online sessions are bookable as follows:
- Tuesday 3rd March 10am-12noon
and Tuesday 10th March 10am-
12.30pm – March booking form - Wednesday 6 May 1-3pm and
Wednesday 13th May 1-3.30pm
– May booking form - Monday 5th October 1-3pm and
Monday 12th October 1-3.30pm – October booking
form
Further information is available from our Training Officer,
Carrie Kaunda
Can you help us?
There have been instances where our SSOs have
attempted to contact a church safeguarding
coordinator or church secretary listed for a church on
the URC database but find the person has temporarily
ceased performing their church role.
If a church safeguarding coordinator is temporarily
unavailable (this could be due to sickness or an
extended trip), we would be grateful if you could either
let the Synod Safeguarding Officer know or update the
database via the church portal so we can ensure they
are not disturbed.
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
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Safeguarding Convenor – an opportunity
We are seeking applications for the role
Convenor of the United Reformed Church
Safeguarding Committee.
You will have a current or recent working knowledge of
safeguarding with children and/or adults at risk and have an
understanding of contextualised safeguarding within the
faith setting. You must be a member of the URC.
As the convenor of the committee, you will be instrumental
in overseeing the implementation of the URC’s safeguarding
polices and the strategic management of safeguarding
across the denomination. You will support the Head of
Safeguarding in their role as Secretary to the committee and
you will chair the committee.
Terms of Reference are downloadable here and please see
the job description and person specification. More
information on the role of a General Assembly Committee
convenor can be found here.
Interested?
If you want to find out more, please contact:
Sharon Barr – URC Head of Safeguarding and
Safeguarding Committee Secretary
[email protected] / 07776 178 246
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
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Safeguarding Symposium
We were delighted to host the biannual
Safeguarding Symposium in October 2025.
We presented the new training matrix and
DBS/PVG disclosure updates from the
safeguarding team, and were joined by
Carolina Kuzaks-Cardenas of Restored UK who gave an
overview of domestic abuse in churches and how our
responses to cases can affect the outcomes for victims of
this type of abuse. We will shortly make available the
recording of the event on our website – please do check
back in in the next week or so.
https://urc.org.uk/safeguarding/training-and-webinars/
To find more about domestic abuse in churches please visit
Restored UK website.
We will also be running a short 2 hour Zoom session later in
the year. Once a date has been finalized we will circulate it
widely.
United Reformed Church Safeguarding January 2026
[email protected] www.urc.org.uk/safeguarding7
Staff Changes
National Synod of Wales
We welcome Lee Whyman to the
United Reformed Church
Safeguarding Team. He joined us in
December and has settled within the
team super swiftly.
Lee says
‘Hello, I’m Lee Whyman,
Safeguarding Officer for the Welsh
Synod. With over 30 years in
policing, I bring a wealth of
experience to safeguarding. Most of my career was spent as
a Detective, including more than 15 years dedicated to child
and adult protection within the Public Protection Unit. In the
final five years of service, I led investigations as a Detective
Sergeant in the Major Crime Team.
I’m passionate about creating safe environments and
supporting those who need it most. If you’d like to get in
touch, you can reach me at
mailto:[email protected] or on my work
mobile 07883 361093.
I work part-time on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday
(9:30 AM – 5:00 PM), and I’m always happy to help with
safeguarding concerns or advice.’