Sunday School Safety - Accident Prevention

Safety First!

Sunday school safety is one of the most important issues where any parish should be concerned. Church should be one of those places where children know they are in a safe and secure environment, which includes both the safety of the building and the company of those surrounding them.

One of the first lessons of the year should be on the topic of Sunday school safety. This lesson should include a fire drill and proper evacuation procedures as well as ways to prevent accidents from happening in the classroom. Safe children are happy children, so take the time to learn both how to prevent accidents from happening and the first steps that should be taken when and if accidents do occur.

Imagining the Unimaginable

It used to be that accident prevention was a Sunday school teacher’s main concern. However, now the focus has shifted to ensuring children aren’t hurt or abused by other children or volunteers at the church. While this is a topic that isn’t easily approachable especially where children are concerned, it needs to be addressed first and foremost for the safety of the children, but also for the security of the church since one publicized incident, or even merely an allegation of child abuse can be enough to shut a church down.

When screening for volunteers to work with children at the church, use a team people from the parish with a variety of backgrounds. Sometimes a mother will be able to sense something about a potential volunteer that a minister or priest might not. It is becoming increasingly more common for churches to perform background checks with a law enforcement agency on all prospective volunteers.

The More, The Merrier

The simplest way to prevent harm befalling children at the hands of adult volunteers is to implement a two-adult policy. This means that there must be at least two adults present in the classroom or at any other activity where children are present. Not only does this policy protect the children from any harm, it also serves to protect an adult in the case of a false accusation.

There are situations, especially in smaller parishes, where the two-adult policy just isn’t always possible. In these cases, enforce an open-door policy, meaning that all doors are left open at all times. If the doors must be shut to keep children from wandering the halls or if they are playing a noisy game, make sure that an adult volunteer drops in periodically and unannounced throughout the class time.

When working with young children, bathroom-related issues can cause awkwardness for children and adults. In an ideal world, children would be accompanied to the bathroom by an adult of the same gender. However that’s not always possible. Adults should never enter bathroom stalls with children. Instead, they should wait just outside the stall for the child to finish.

Remember that most of these things are new to children, and sometimes they can interpret something small and innocent as something much larger. If teachers are adequately trained on these rules of proper conduct, they can help to protect themselves against false accusations of abuse. Following these simple steps will ensure the safety of the Sunday school students, which provides a more comfortable environment for absorbing the Lord’s teachings.

Need More Help With Sunday School?

Mary-Kate Warner is a Sunday School Director in Colorado who shares her personal Sunday School Lesson Plans with the world online. Feel free to visit her website to discover children's church games, lesson plans, and sign up for her free e-newsletter full of useful ideas: Sunday School Lesson Plans