CofE offers churches advice on employing youth workers

A practical guide for parishes considering employing someone to work with children or young people has been released by Church House Publishing today.

Sure Foundations: Employing Youth and Children's Workers offers guidance for every stage of the process of appointing a new parish worker, including understanding the process of appointing a children's or youth worker; preparing the process - a step-by-step guide to the process itself, with questions for parochial church council or other planning group to consider; appointment procedures - providing information on job descriptions, contracts and a guide to the recruitment process that places the safe care of young people as a paramount priority; and management issues - covering good management practice once a worker is in place.

The book is written by Nic Sheppard, who is the Youth Work Adviser for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and a Church Army Officer, and Paul Godfrey, who was the Children's Work Adviser for the Diocese of Chelmsford. Paul sadly died suddenly in August 2007, before the book was completed.

Employing Youth and Children's Workers draws on their experience and examples of good practice gathered from a range of church and non-church settings, presented alongside fictional case studies.

"Taking the principles of best practice, duty of care and good stewardship as their foundations, the authors have created a guide that helps churches think through what they are expecting from a paid appointment, offers guidance on how to plan for the appointment and gives consideration to the ongoing management and development of the worker," explain Peter Ball, National Youth Adviser for the Church of England and Mary Hawes, National Children's Adviser for the Church of England in their foreword to the book.

They continue: "This clear, accessible and above all, practical guide is a welcome addition to the Sure Foundations series and we warmly commend it to any church considering the possibility of employing a youth or children's worker."

The book also contains a wealth of helpful pointers to help churches make the best use of volunteer youth and children's workers.


On the web:
Sure Foundations: Employing Youth and Children's Workers, priced £8.99 (ISBN 978-07151-4058-1), is available from Christian bookshops, or by mail order via the web at www.chpublishing.co.uk