Safeguarding is at the heart of our Christian faith…. We will promote the welfare of children, young people and adults. We will work to prevent abuse from occurring. We will seek to protect those who are risk of being abused and respond well to those who have been abused. We will take care to identify where a person may present a risk to others, and offer support to them whilst taking steps to mitigate such risks. The Church will take appropriate steps to maintain a safer environment for all.
St James’ Church Ministry Team and PCC Commitments
- Promoting a safer environment and culture
- Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children and vulnerable adults
- Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse or other affected persons
- Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concern/allegations of abuse and other affected persons
- Responding to those that may pose a present risk
- Building good safeguarding practice by following the guidelines found within Church of England House of Bishops Parish Safeguarding Handbook ‘Promoting a Safer Church’:
www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding
www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding/policy-practice-guidance
Our safeguarding policies can be found here as well as noticeboards around the church. They are:
- Policy for Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults
- Child Protection Policy
- Policy on Domestic Abuse Awareness
- Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-
Offenders
Some contact details
National Helplines & Websites
- NSPCC: 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk
- Childline: 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk
- Stop It Now: 0808 100 0900 www.stopitnow.org.uk
- Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 www.womensaid.org.uk
- Action on Elder Abuse: 080 808 8141 www.elderabuse.org.uk
- The Samaritans: 116 123 www.samaritans.org
- Cruse bereavement support: 0808 808 1677 www.cruse.org.uk
- NAPAC support/advice to adult survivors of childhood abuse: 0808 801 0331
- MACSAS for people who have been abused by church officers: 0808 801 0340
Online sources of support for victims & families of abuse
- The Survivors Trust: thesurvivorstrust.org/national-helplines/
- Safeline: www.safeline.org.uk/what-can-friends-and-family-members-do-to-support-survivors-of-sexual-abuse
- SupportLine: www.supportline.org.uk/problems/rape_sexual-assault
- Victim Support: www.victimsuport.org.uk/crime-info/types-crime/childhood-abuse
- Spiritual Abuse Recovery Resources: www.spiritualabuse.com
Other relevant online links
- Diocese of Winchester: www.winchester.anglican.org/safeguarding/
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse: www.iicsa.org.uk/publications