Role Description – Sunday School Superintendent

This form is to be completed by Sunday School Superintendents in the PCV

Aim:

As a Sunday School Superintendent, you aim to:

Encourage and support the Sunday School teachers

Exhort the Sunday School teachers to teach the Bible faithfully and truthfully

Encourage and pray for Sunday School teachers and children

Responsibilities:

You are directly responsible to __________________________________________ [the Session and Minister]

Responsibilities include:

Appointing Sunday School teachers with the approval of Session, except in the case where Session directly appoints teachers

Selecting teaching material and submitting it to Session for approval

Making reports to Session about the Sunday School

Planning and implementing the Sunday School programme, delegating tasks as appropriate to Sunday School teachers

Being available to parents for answering queries about the Sunday School

Ensuring all Sunday School teachers hold current Victorian Working With Children Checks, are registered with the SCU and have undertaken to complete Safe Church Basic Training and the Online Refresher Course

Role Requirements:

You must:

Hold a current Victorian Working With Children Check card and provided the card number to the Session and the SCU

Be a member of the church or if not a member have been minuted in session records as an accepted Sunday School Superintendent

Have received and read the Safe Church Policy and Code of Conduct and have committed to act in accordance with these documents

Undertaken or agreed to undertake the Safe Church Basic Training Course and the Online Refresher Course

If new to this role, completed an Initial Registration Form, provided two referees and agreed to undergo screening and reference checks

Sign this role description as an indication of your acceptance of the responsibilities of the role

General Information:

It is important that all activities of the Sunday School are open to observation by the Minister, the Session and parents.

If you are training up younger leaders, it is important to pastorally care for them. When delegating tasks to them, it is important to work along side with them in the organising and implementing of the specific tasks.

Having an accessible first aid kit for the Sunday School is essential.

Child Protection Protocols for this role:

All children and others under your leadership, regardless of age, are covered by these protocols. Note: They do not replace the Safe Church Policy or Code of Conduct. Rather they are intended to provide helpful general protective protocol advice.

Do not allow yourself to be in any area alone with a child. Always have another teacher or the parent with you.

If a leader or child of the opposite sex comes to you for counselling, if possible take them to a fellow leader of the same sex as a person who can talk to them. It is preferable to counsel or talk through issues with a child or a leader of the same sex

If a child or teacher of the same sex comes to you for counselling, ensure you do so in an open area, never a closed room

If you should need to speak to a child or teacher about participating or helping out in a Sunday School session, ensure you do so in the vicinity of other people, with another teacher present

If a child is distressed and needs to be consoled, it is important that a person of the same gender does the consoling. Ensure that another teacher is with you at all times, and use your discretion when speaking and comforting the child

If a child or teacher discloses information to you regarding any kind of abuse or neglect, or you have concerns about these issues in relation to a child, you must pass on this information to the Session or Minister and then to the Safe Church Unit. However, be careful not to reveal this confidence to any other person

If a child or teacher discloses information to you regarding any kind of abuse or behaviour by a teacher or person in authority in the church which breaches the Safe Church Code of Conduct contact the Safe Church Unit – 0499 090 449.

I have read and understood this Role Description, the Safe Church Policy and Code of Conduct:

Signed:________________________________________________ Date: _____ /_____ / _____

Remember: the following forms are to be completed and forwarded to the SCU when a new person

applies to work with children under 18 in any capacity in the PCV – including in a voluntary capacity

1. Initial Registration with the SCU form

2. Signed copy of the Role Description form

3. Confidential Record of reference checks form

4. Evidence of holding a current Victorian Working With Children Check (ideally a photocopy of

the Working With Children Check card)

The SCU completes the screening procedure and will notify once the applicant is approved or not

approved.

A person can only commence in a role working with children under 18 in the PCV once the SCU has

notified the congregation/organisation of the approval.