Liberal Judaism and the Movement for Reform Judaism continue to support our family of communities up and down the country in maintaining and improving safeguarding standards, in both practice and safer recruitment training.

Establishing safer procedures is not just a task but a responsibility we all share in our professional and voluntary roles. Achieving the goal is essential and also a testament to our determination to get things right.

Gilly Shulman, Director of HR at the Movement for Reform Judaism, said: “We have run a series of online training sessions, and the response and attendance have been so encouraging. The sessions cover how volunteers and professional staff should be recruited, how to deal with potential problems if the right processes are not in place, and the number one priority: preventing abuse in all its forms.”

Director of Community Partnership Sarita Robinson added: “Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility, which is why in addition to safer recruitment, we have created separate online teaching for Designated Safeguarding Leads as well as one next month tailored to the specific responsibilities of being a synagogue trustee and we are encouraging all to attend.

“It’s also our policy that all communities self-audit their safeguarding practices every year to the required national guidance standards. In addition to the training programmes, we’ve developed audit tools, which will enable each community to understand where we are and how we can continually strive to improve.”

With attendance at all three seminars so high, the programmes will be run again early next year.