To and from church activities

Advice for leaders and ministry team members

The Code of Conduct suggests: “You will not drive a child or young person unaccompanied.” The Code also states that in an emergency you may need to deviate from this and in this situation you need to be accountable to another leader and document this.

In adherence to the Code prioritise arranging transport in such a way that you do not drive a child or young person unaccompanied.

If a situation arises regularly in the course of your ministry where it is necessary that children or young people (hereafter referred to as “child” or “children”) attending the ministry events require transport by leaders or team members and you are concerned that you may occasionally find yourself in a situation where you are driving a child unaccompanied, then the use of a parental consent form is best. An example consent form can be found on the Safe Church website under the Resources page. You will also need to inform your Session that you believe you need to practice this kind of driving in your ministry and seek Session approval.

Helpful Tips:

• You could ask families to let you drop children off together at one child’s house so you are not driving a child alone.
• If you are driving 3 children home to 2 different locations, drop the single child home first and then drive the other 2 to their location.
• If you have your own child or children in thecar with you drop the child or children home who are not your children first.
• If you really have to drive a child home on their own, make sure you tell another leader. You could phone ahead to the child’s family and let them know you are just leaving to come home. You could get the child to text their parent from their own phone when you set out. You could text a fellow leader when you are alone with the child in the car and then again once you have dropped the child.

Remember the T.A.P. principle – Transparency, Accountability, Preparation – in managing this.