to not do Safeguarding training?

[Sausagenbacon]

I belong to a church, and occasionally serve coffee at the end of the service. I am being asked to take Safeguarding training, which I think is utterly pointless.
I have expressed this and been told that it's policy, and I have to do it.
AIBU to just stop doing coffee?

@Beginningless Well the OP does not come across as angry to me at all. There are other emotions. She comes across as cynical about this tick box exercise.

And OP is just helping out because someone has to do it.

@Ormally I have said she should tell someone who can follow it up. I have never said she should walk on by. But I am realistic that this is probably more a pastoral issue where a good church will offer help and support, rather than a safeguarding one as it is unlikely anything will come from a safeguarding referral.

I guess this is the problem with Social Media. Perceptions from words on a screen carried through to certainty about a poster's character.

If safeguarding training is nonsense to you then I don’t think you should be working with anyone vulnerable.

If you remain convinced it's pointless, then tell the person who organises your volunteering that you refuse. They will then decide whether that means you're no longer suitable to volunteer or not. Seems very straightforward to me and not really worth all the mulling over and debate, given your mind was made up anyway.

Why are you making such a big deal out of this? If you don't want to do the safeguarding training, stop serving coffee. You only do it occasionally anyway, so it's not going to make any real difference to your life and I'm sure the church will find someone else.

You've already made your decision anyway. The only reason you're posting on Mumsnet is because you want to show off about what a rebel you are and how you 'question authority' and kick up a fuss about nothing all the time. You sound like a sullen, pointlessly contrarian teenager desperate to prove how individual they are.

It's very much your opinions, not the words you express them in, that are revealing your character.

Good grief, yes you absolutely should not volunteer. If you were working at my church with this attitude I would be horrified.

Safeguarding is so much more than knowing who the lead is, that should be part of it of course but looking for signs/ signals, knowing how to ask questions appropriately and knowing that it is 100% your job, and no one can turn a blind eye is a big part of it too.

But sounds like that would be wasted on the OP who has decided that this is a load of nonsense and not worth the couple of hours training.

May I suggest you could serve coffee to Warwickshire council instead?

I think also OP, your attitude is typical of a certain sort of volunteer who believes that because they're doing something for free, they get to call the shots and have their every preference prioritised. While it's true that volunteers need to be considered and kept happy in their roles if they are to continue, there's a balance. And with some individuals the time they take from an organisation in terms of having to deal with their i know best attitudes, complaints, obstruction and expectations of special treatment tips the balance so they are more trouble than they're worth. These people frequently use the threat of withdrawing their services to try to get procedures bent to their wishes (because they're very special and not like the other volunteers) and would be shocked by the collective sighs of relief if they ever made good on that threat.

I do not think this is about calling the shots. It is about being expected to spend 90 minutes going through a tick box exercise.

I'd just stop volunteering op. I used to volunteer a lot and but stopped bothering with red tape and paperwork. If somebody hasn't got the decency or common sense to raise it if they discover somebody is potentially being abused then safe guarding training isn't going to suddenly make them a good person or more likely to do the right thing. They can find somebody else. Value your time appropriately.

Surely this is the exact time people might end up saying something casually and making a disclosure?

You're probably far more likely to hear something about someone's life than the person taking the church service when no-one's talking.

@LonginesPrime read the thread. In the role there is no time to talk except thank you and here you are. Line of people queuing for coffee, OP hands them out and washes up. That is it.

I think it sounds like a very good course to do, you never know when it may come in useful.

If you want an example of utterly pointless mandatory training, I have to do a course every year about what to do in the case of a gunman in the office. Despite the fact that I’m UK based and work from my spare room on a private development. It’s an American company and it’s compulsory worldwide.

OP only thing I would say is you seem worried about passing. As long as you can read okay it really is basic. And if you answer a question wrong you can take it again .

We had to do a “gunman in the building” training every year and drills every 3 months. Many people complained it was pointless because it’s highly unlikely there would be someone with a gun. They changed the name to “intruder in the building” training instead🤣

I had to do safeguarding training when I worked for a charity. I worked from home doing admin and only had zoom meetings with colleagues. Some of my colleagues worked with very vulnerable people, but I had zero contact with the public.

This - I have already been on a SG course at the church. OK, several years ago, but I can't see why I have to do it again.
Because it's good practice to review safeguarding training and it's standard for volunteers in a range of contexts to do safeguarding refreshers.

Honestly I'd say someone stamping their feet that they already know it all and shouldn't have to do it is probably a good sign that they probably need to do a refresher because anyone who knows the score with safeguarding will understand why the regular refreshers are needed.

@LolaSmiles I have been a safeguarding lead and that needs a refresher because things do change. The basic 90 minute course the OP does not really change. Its all about how to recognise abuse, what to do, and then talk to safeguarding lead. The last update I remember to very basic safeguarding training was about county lines and extremism grooming, and an incredibly brief mention has been in for quite a few years now.
The training is aimed so that anyone with zero prior knowledge can understand it. So it does not go into any depth.

And I do have to do the basic safeguarding training every year. I am not stamping my feet - what a childish accusation. But I do know it all. I last did it in December and there was not one new thing there and nothing that I had forgotten. Because it is basic.

Haven't done safeguards but we all had to do, health, hygiene, to serve food and drink in our club. We couldn't prepare food at home anymore. It was annoying. The ovens were erratic so we did the course but still baked at home. As a volunteer fundraising I'm not budging.

You give tea and coffee and maybe a chat to older people therefore you are in an ideal position to highlight if you become aware of something which does not sit well with you e.g. financial abuse, physical abuse, neglect. You would learn how to make an appropriate safeguarding lead aware of issues. Your input may be the difference between the welfare of a person or their oppression by another. And people generally disclose abuse when they feel they know someone else after a number of occasions. You may be pivotal in the life of a person and you underestimate your value

OP didn't say that stuff about her role though, you said it about yours.

herewegoagainy
But as a safeguarding lead you'll also know how easy it is for people to switch into autopilot, to not notice because they're used to not noticing or "nothing much happens here" / "I've done the training already" and it slips to the back of people's minds, or less good practice creeps in because everyone knows everyone.

One of the organisations I volunteer with is very diligent with their safeguarding training and one of the things I like about how they handle it is that it's grounded in their context and the different roles people have.

In a volunteer role, I had do do basic safeguarding training yearly. Fair enough I thought, maybe there are new developments. However, it was the exact same powerpoint presentation each time, word for word! Just different trainers. Now that is pointless red tape!