If you are concerned that someone you know is at risk of, or is being abused, or presents a risk to others, please seek advise from a Safeguarding Adviser or if necessary report the metter to the Local Authority Social Care Services or the Police without delay.
St Peter’s Hillfields Safeguarding Officer
Lorna Spina : lorna.spina@stpetershillfields.org
Local Authority Social Services : 024 7658 8816
As part of the Christian Church living in the spirit of the Gospel, we are committed to protect and care for everyone in the church community, but especially adults at risk and children.
We are committed to:
• The care of, the nurture of, and respectful pastoral ministry with all children and adults.
• The safeguarding and protection of all children and adults.
• The establishing of a safe, caring community which provides a loving environment where victims of abuse can report or disclose abuse and where they can find support and best practice that contributes to the prevention of abuse.
To this end we will:
• Carefully select, support and train all those with any responsibility within the church, in line with the Church of England’s Practice Guidance for Safer Recruitment.
• Respond without delay to every complaint made that a child or adult may have been harmed, cooperating with the police and local authority in any investigation.
• Seek to offer informed pastoral care and support to anyone who has suffered abuse, developing with them an appropriate ministry that recognises the importance of understanding the needs of those who have been abused, including their feelings of alienation and/or isolation.
• Seek to protect survivors of abuse from the possibility of further harm and abuse.
• Seek to challenge any abuse of power, especially by anyone in a position of respect and responsibility, where they are trusted by others.
• Seek to offer pastoral care and support, including supervision, and referral to the appropriate authorities, to any member of our church community known to have offended against a child or adult.
In all of the above:
• We will follow legislation, guidance and recognised good practice.
• We will monitor and regularly review our safeguarding procedures.
If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact…
Rev Matt Spina – Curate. Lorna Spina – St Peter’s Hillfields Safeguarding Officer
matt.spina@stpetershillfields.org, lorna.spina@stpetershillfields.org
If you would prefer to speak with someone else, please contact:
Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser: Sarah Price 024 7652 134 or sarah.price@covcofe.org
NSPCC: Helpline 0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk
Police: Non-emergency Service 101
For more information about safeguarding…
Please contact either of the above people, or visit www.dioceseofcoventry.org.uk/safeguarding
The care and protection of children, young people1 and vulnerable adults2 involved in Church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church. Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a safer church for all.
This document sets out the safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adult’s policy of the Church of England. It has been informed by the Joint Safeguarding Statement between the Church of England and the Methodist Church, with whom we work jointly on many aspects of safeguarding policy on a covenant basis.
The Church of England safeguarding policy statement is based on five foundations and offers six overarching policy commitments:
This policy applies to all Church Bodies3 and Church Officers.4 Full understanding of, and adherence to, this policy should lead to a deepening in the understanding of, and respect for, the rights of children, young people and vulnerable adults as people of faith in the life of the Church.
1 Young people/person – means any individual(s) aged 14 to 17 years old.
2 Vulnerable adult – Section 6 Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 defines a ‘vulnerable adult’ as “a person aged 18 or over whose ability to protect himself or herself from violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation is significantly impaired through physical or mental disability or illness, old age, emotional fragility or distress, or otherwise; and for that purpose, the reference to being impaired is to being temporarily or indefinitely impaired”.
The full text of the 2016 Measure is found at… https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201516/jtselect/jtecc/79.pdf
3 Church Bodies – include PCCs, diocesan bodies, cathedrals, religious communities, theological training institutions and the National Church Institutions. This policy will apply to the whole of the provinces of Canterbury and York (including the Diocese in Europe subject to local variations/modifications). There is also an expectation that the policy will apply to the Channel Islands and Sodor and Man unless there is specific local legislation in a jurisdiction that would prevent adoption.
4 Church Officer – anyone appointed/elected by or on behalf of the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or unpaid.
Under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, all authorised clergy, bishops,
archdeacons, licensed readers and lay workers, churchwardens and PCCs must have ‘due regard’ to safeguarding guidance issued by the House of Bishops (this will include both policy and practice guidance). 5 A duty to have
‘due regard’ to guidance means that the person under the duty is not free to disregard it but is required to follow it unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so. (‘Cogent’ for this purpose means clear, logical and convincing.) Failure by clergy to comply with the duty imposed by the 2016 Measure may result in disciplinary action.
This Policy Statement is supported by more detailed Practice Guidance and Reference documents which can be downloaded from: www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding
Building on this, Church bodies may provide additional local procedures and guidance in line with the House of Bishops policy and practice guidance.