Parish
This page is for parishes and church officers looking for guidance and information about safeguarding, We are committed to ensuring that our churches and buildings are safe places for all. We hope you find all the information you need to support you, your parish or church group in this vital area.
Parish Safeguarding Handbook A parish's first step should be to take a look at the Parish Safeguarding Handbook. Produced by the National Safeguarding Team, it is a comprehensive guide, summarising the key areas a parish will need to address with regards to safeguarding. There are also useful templates and links to more detailed guidance and forms. Find it here.
Training Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. To support this, the House of Bishops has published Safeguarding Training and Development Practice Guidance for those undertaking any role - paid or unpaid - within the Church of England. The training is divided into Modules. Some are available online, others are delivered face-to-face. See an explaination of how it works here. We run training throughout the year. To find details of dates and modules, please click here.
Safeguarding on parish websites A parish's safeguarding arrangements should be clearly visible on the front page of the parish website: This means:
Here are some examples that you might find helpful: https://rainhamchurch.co.uk/ (safeguarding tab clearly displayed in top menu) http://www.augustineofcanterbury.co.uk/ (safeguarding tab clearly displayed in top menu)
If you do not have a website:
If you have further questions, please contact the Communications team (communications@rochester.anglican.org) who are regularly briefed about ACNY updates and are in contact with the national digital team. Policies We have developed a range of policies to support you with safeguarding in your parish. To find all our guidance, as well as material from the House of Bishops, and other relevant organisations. Please click one of the categories below.
Useful contacts and helplines
A full comprehensive list of numbers relating to children and young people can be found here
Liturgical resources
They have been put together and published by the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission and commended by the House of Bishops. Download them here We have also produced our own prayers. Written by the Venerable Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge - in consultation with a survivor - they were issued during the third heading of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. They can however, be used at any time. Find them here
Safeguarding Independent Audit In July 2017 the Diocese of Rochester’s safeguarding arrangements were independently audited by The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), as part of the National Church’s quality assurance programme. The final report was sent to the Diocese in November 2017. If you would like to read the report. Please click here
Contact usIf you would like to speak to someone in the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, please find their contacts hereFrom 5pm on Friday through to 9am on Monday Thirtyone:eight (previously CCPAS) has been contracted to take safeguarding telephone enquries, that cannot wait until the Diocesan office reopens on Monday morning. Telephone number 0303 003 11 11
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