Safe recruitment

Information and forms to assist in safely recruiting employees and volunteers for roles within a congregation.

PVG Scheme - Application Process

The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Disclosure Act) helps ensure that those working with vulnerable groups are safe to do so.

All volunteers and paid staff engaged in regulated roles with the Church of Scotland, and as defined in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Disclosure Act) must become members of the PVG scheme.

The process starts at the recruitment stage. During that stage, your Safeguarding Coordinator will complete and send to us a Coversheet (and job description if a paid role). The applicant will be asked to complete an SG03 PVG Information Request & Self Disclosure Form and return to us with any relevant police checks, as required.Both of these forms can be found on our publications page.

Please refer to our PVG Application FAQ document for further information on how the process works.
Guidance is also available for regulated roles here.

Should you have any queries about the process, please do not hesitate to contact the Safeguarding Service

Change to PVG Scheme Member Details

Please inform Disclosure Scotland of any changes to your personal details such as your address or phone number.

By law you need to tell Disclosure Scotland about certain changes. If you're a PVG scheme member and you change your name or gender, you must tell Disclosure Scotland within three months of doing so.

Disclosure Scotland's instructions on how to manage your PVG membership can be found here

Guidance on Basic Disclosure

Kirk Sessions (including posts in the Presbytery of England) are required to conduct Basic Disclosure checks on all individuals (regardless of their employment status) in their congregation in leadership roles and/or positions of trust. A Basic Disclosure check is for roles that do not involve regulated work/regulated activity. If the role requires regulated work with children and/or protected adults, then a PVG check is required - please refer to the section above.

An applicant should apply for a new Basic Disclosure check at the time of recruitment, even if they already have a Basic Disclosure check from a previous employment. A new Basic Disclosure check should be completed every two years.

Further information about Basic Disclosure checks can be found in the guidance below.

Disclosure Scotland contact details: Disclosure Scotland, PO Box 250, Glasgow, G51 1YU.
E: DSupdate@disclosurescotland.gov.scot T: 0300 020 0040

Safeguarding Service contact details: The Church of Scotland, Safeguarding Service, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN
E: safeguarding@churchofscotland.org.uk T: 0131 240 2256