As Minster Communities form across the diocese, Parish Safeguarding Coordinators (PSCs) are coming together to support one another in a role that is never meant to be carried alone. By meeting regularly, they are building confidence, sharing good practice, and strengthening safeguarding across their parishes.
Julie Croysdale has been a Parish Safeguarding Coordinator for nine years in the rural parish of St Bartholomew, Quorndon – part of the Soar Valley Minster Community. She is also a member of the Diocesan Safeguarding Oversight Group (DSOG) which has oversight of, and scrutinises, safeguarding strategy and arrangements in the Diocese of Leicester.
“For me, being a PSC is one of the most practical ways I live out my faith. It is about helping to create spaces where people feel safe, valued, and protected, which is central to what the Church is called to be,” she explains.
“Safeguarding is not simply a process; safeguarding is one of the ways we show God’s love in action, by protecting those who need it most and creating spaces where everyone can feel safe and valued. I see the role as a ministry of service, guided by compassion and a desire to help everyone feel safe.”
The Soar Valley Minster Community is made up of 13 churches - each parish has its own PSC and its own safeguarding responsibilities. Their congregations vary in size, tradition, and local context, yet they share a commitment to nurturing safe and welcoming communities.
“The minster structure helps us work more collaboratively while still honouring the identity of each parish,” explains Julie. “The safeguarding culture across our minster is steadily maturing. People increasingly understand safeguarding as part of everyday ministry rather than something separate or administrative. There is a growing openness to learning, asking questions, and supporting one another. Clergy, lay leaders, and volunteers recognise their roles, and there is a shared understanding that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.”
During Phase 2 of minster community development, Julie and fellow PSCs set up a safeguarding group to provide a supportive space to share experience and build confidence. It does not replace parish responsibilities, but offers a community of practice where coordinators can learn together and feel less isolated.
“Engagement has been strong,” says Julie. “PSCs welcomed the opportunity to connect with others in the same role, especially those who were newer or feeling unsure. Clergy and pastoral carers have also joined us when relevant, which has strengthened relationships and shared understanding.”
The group meets quarterly, regular enough to maintain momentum while remaining manageable for volunteers. A WhatsApp group also helps members stay in touch, share updates, and seek clarity between meetings.
“The overall feeling has been one of encouragement and reassurance,” says Julie. “PSCs value having a safe, informal space to ask questions, share challenges, and learn from one another. Confidence is growing, and so is the sense of mutual support.”
Julie says the group has helped PSCs grow in confidence, raise concerns earlier, develop a more consistent approach across the 13 churches, and strengthen relationships with clergy and pastoral teams.
“There is a real sense that God is working through the relationships being built,” she says. “Trust is deepening, care for one another is growing, and our safeguarding culture is becoming more rooted in compassion rather than fear.”
Benefits of the group
- A supportive space focused on learning rather than assurance, as set out in the Terms of Reference.
- Shared learning on agreed topics, including the parish dashboard, safeguarding policies, safeguarding frameworks for bellringers, pastoral care boundaries and lone working, and the national safeguarding standards.
- Reduced duplication, as learning can be shared and applied locally.
- Stronger links between PSCs, clergy, and pastoral teams.
- A more consistent safeguarding culture across the minster.
Pete Coopey is Parish Safeguarding Coordinator in the parish of the Church of the Martyrs, Leicester and has been in the role for 10 years. He is also a member of the Diocesan Safeguarding Oversight Group.
“It’s an opportunity to serve God and the church I attend. Over the years my awareness that good safeguarding has a theological basis has grown and I have presented it to myself and the congregation as Safeguarding is simple – love your neighbour,” he says.
Pete is part of a forming minster community encompassing eight churches on the western edge of Leicester, set across a mixed inner‑city, suburban, village, and housing‑estate context. Together they reflect a diverse population, with pockets of strong intercultural and intergenerational life alongside congregations where the majority are older adults.
Pete says there is a shared understanding that safeguarding is important, must be done well, is about developing a culture, and is a whole-church responsibility.
Pete recently helped set up a minster safeguarding group in his area. He explains: “As a member of DSOG and having heard previous discussions about how isolating the role of PSCs can be, I felt it important to ask others in the minister community if getting together to at least meet each other would be useful. I had no particular authority to do this, but kept our vicar informed and he thought it a good idea.”
They’ve had one meeting so far, to which six people attended and three gave their apologies.
“There was no fixed agenda but an opportunity to get together and to see if we thought meeting as a group would be helpful, as the role is described as sometimes being lonely and worrying,” says Pete. “There was a consensus that it would be useful to meet quarterly but to feel able to contact each other for support. A successful meeting, all attendees contributed and one established PSC offered to support somebody new in the role.”
Benefits of the group
- Positive to meet and share.
- Concerns can be voiced in a safe place.
- Learning from each other and being challenged by each other.
- Identify where support is needed in the minster community.
Advice for Parish Safeguarding Coordinators
- You are not on your own. Reach out to the diocesan safeguarding team, they are wonderfully supportive, knowledgeable, and genuinely want to help.
- Use the parish dashboard. It may feel daunting at first, but it contains guidance, policy documents, and worksheets that are genuinely helpful at PCC.
- Find out who your fellow Parish Safeguarding Coordinators are and link up.
- Keep things simple and steady. Focus on the basics and build confidence over time.
- Ask questions early. Safeguarding is a shared responsibility.
- Look after yourself. Safeguarding can be emotionally demanding, and peer support really matters.
- Remember the purpose. Safeguarding is part of our ministry of care, welcome, and love.
- Give it a go, and mould it to work in your own community.
- Contact one of the reps on DSOG, for support and reassurance.
Rachael Spires, Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, says: “We deeply value the work parish safeguarding coordinators do, and whole heartedly support and encourage working together in partnership with other PSCs across our minster communities.”
Are you feeling called to the role of parish safeguarding coordinator?
Parish Safeguarding Coordinators play a vital role in the life of our worshipping communities, and we are grateful for the commitment, care and integrity they bring to this ministry.
Safeguarding is far more than a task or a title; it is a calling rooted in compassion, responsibility and a shared desire to ensure that our parishes are safe, welcoming places for everyone.
Those who step into this role do so with courage and generosity, often alongside many other commitments.
It is a practical demonstration of what it means to love our neighbour, and a practical expression of care for those within our churches and the communities around them.