Diploma in Safeguarding of Minors

The Centre for Child Protection (CCP) is part of the Institute of Psychology, which belongs to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. The overall objective of the CCP is the academic and professional promotion of safeguarding through education, formation programmes, conferences, communication, and research. The Diploma in Safeguarding of Minors is one of the educational programmes offered by the CCP. It is a one-semester, on-site course geared towards training safeguarding professionals who reach Level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). [1]

At the CCP safeguarding is understood as the theoretical reflection and practical measures taken to promote the welfare of children, adolescents and all who need special protection from harm.

The following guiding principles are at the basis of all the work and courses at the CCP:

1. Victims first
   We base our reflection, commitment, and actions on listening to victims and survivors and learning from them.
2. Christian view of the human person
   We value every human being as created in God’s image and act correspondingly.
3. Spirituality
   We envisage safeguarding as a spiritual matter that directs us in our theological reflection and a faith-based response.
4. Cultural sensitivity
   We honour the variety of cultures, engage in a critical dialogue, and facilitate the culturally sound adaptation and implementation of safeguarding measures.
5. Multidisciplinarity
   We look at safeguarding simultaneously from the perspective of various disciplines such as psychology, sociology, canon and civil law, theology, etc.

[1] European Commission (ed.), Learning Opportunities and Qualifications Europe. For information about courses, work-based learning and qualifications, see: https://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/en/content/descriptors-page (retrieved 4/23/16).

Students accepted for the diploma hold at least a bachelor’s (1^st cycle university) degree. Recommended by an ecclesiastical or civil authority, they are – during the course – trained for future work in the field of safeguarding.

The students come from countries all over the world. Some are native speakers of English; others have acquired at least an intermediate level of proficiency. Some are religious or priests, others lay people. They also differ with regard to their relation to the Catholic Church as an institution and their personal theological and spiritual background. Some have just finished their bachelor’s; others hold doctoral degrees or have had ample work experiences inside or outside the field of safeguarding. Whereas some have their professional background in theology or (canon and civil) law, others have degrees in psychology, psychotherapy, education, medicine, etc. These vastly different learning histories lead to different resources the students can draw on, and different motivations, aims and expectations with regard to the Diploma in Safeguarding of Minors. After the completion of the course they are going to promote safeguarding in their home countries in a great variety of areas, usually linked to their basic education or professional experience. [1]

During their semester in Rome, students acquire comprehensive, specialized, factual and theoretical knowledge within the field of safeguarding. The aim of the diploma is thus a thorough basic introduction to the many issues at stake as well as to their interrelatedness, while equipping the students with the competences needed for further augmenting their skills after the completion of the course. In addition, students gain the necessary awareness of the boundaries of their knowledge, taking into account their previous studies and fields of expertise, as well as the new areas and disciplines they learn about.

All successful graduates develop a comprehensive range of cognitive and practical skills needed in the field of safeguarding, which allows them to solve the challenges they will encounter in their safeguarding activities and deal with them in creative ways. Diploma students will develop the competences needed to:

• recognize signs of abuse in victims and of risks in perpetrators
• assist and support victims of abuse and secondary victims
• reflect on and communicate the spiritual and theological implications of abuse
• engage spirituality in furthering safeguarding goals and measures
• create safeguarding networks in their regions, countries, local churches, religious communities and other circles of influence
• assist church leaders in appropriately handling allegations
• identify the instruments for adequate intervention
• adapt and support implementation of context-specific guidelines for safeguarding
• carry out safeguarding formation courses in schools, parishes, formation houses, etc.

These competences will allow them to collaborate successfully in the field of safeguarding in dioceses, religious congregations, educational work, etc. They will be assistants in the field of safeguarding (in seminaries, formation houses, dioceses, educational and pastoral works, etc.) who are capable of exercising management and supervision with regard to safeguarding works related to their primary education. In these areas or places, they can handle unpredictable change, serve as organizational development agents and review, develop and sustain their own performance and that of others.

[1]  Teachers might serve schools and other educational facilities, psychotherapists specialize in initial encounters or the therapeutic care of victims, canon lawyers lead diocesan preliminary investigations, etc.

The pedagogical framework and, thus, the course structure of the Diploma in Safeguarding of Minors take into account both the diverse student population and the various areas within the field of safeguarding that the graduates will later work in. Both framework and structure ensure that everyone gains sound basic knowledge in essential areas of safeguarding, but also allow for personal specialization.

The pedagogical concept consists of a student-centred approach aimed at providing students with a learning environment that continually challenges them to take their next step towards the lasting acquisition of knowledge, skills and necessary attitudes. They are thus enabled to gain, develop and strengthen the competences needed in the field of safeguarding, i.e. knowledge, methodological and social skills, personal, volitional and emotional competences as well as spiritual ones. The programme is geared towards the development of the entire person^[1] and presupposes the students’ willingness to take responsibility for their own learning as well as to engage in personal reflection, feedback processes, supervision, practical workshops and faith sharing. This student-centred approach also fosters the contextualization of the contents, as students are constantly invited to reflect on whether and how certain contents, skills, attitudes might or might not be applicable in their own culture and field of work.

The diploma course is a full-time and all-day programme. It is designed to allow for individualization and differentiation within the heterogenous group of learners.^[2] At the beginning of each new unit, the students are made aware of the respective objectives and the desired competencies. Assisted by teachers through materials, input and feedback, students plan, research, and carry out the mandatory as well as some of the elective tasks. Learning experiences are enhanced by the input of distinguished guest speakers, three weeks of practical workshops on some core issues, and access to the well-stocked library of the Gregorian University, including electronic resources. Students are constantly invited to relate the contents of the course to their own cultural reality and therefore learn to critically assess both. They are thus enabled to apply their knowledge to the unique situations they will encounter after their return to their home countries. A key formation tool in this course is an individualized learning portfolio that fosters self-reflection and feedback from peers and teachers who guide their learning processes. The learning portfolio allows students to customize their safeguarding formation to the needs of the ministry that awaits them in their home country. Supervision, pragmatic tasks and spiritual elements assist the students’ holistic growth. 

The learning portfolio is also the basis for the grades students receive as it documents both learning processes and results. Students are continuously graded on their efforts (learning process and class participation), their results (completion of tasks), and the level of their personal and professional reflection.

^[1]    This follows official church imperatives, as for example expressed in Pope Benedict’s (2009) encyclical Caritas in Veritate: “In reality, institutions by themselves are not enough, because integral human development is primarily a vocation, and therefore it involves a free assumption of responsibility in solidarity on the part of everyone.“ (CV 11)

^[2]    Whereas a psychologist might already be well aware of possible signs of abuse, other professionals need to spend time on this topic. A native speaker of Spanish might need a bit longer to understand a text and prefer to read Vatican documents in his or her own language. A shy student will be challenged by a task that requires a presentation; another one might have to work on his or her research skills.