Safeguarding

The Safeguarding Officer for Beetham St Michael & All Angels is Sue Smalley, who has attended the Carlisle Diocese Foundation and Leadership Safeguarding Training courses and the Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinators Briefings.  Sue can be contacted on 015395 64778.  The Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser is Joanna Van Lachertop who can be contacted on 07458 016884.

The new and revised Church of England Safeguarding Policy arrived in September 2018 and we have been busy updating and attempting to get on top of all the requirements.  As it is important for as many people as possible to be made aware of the implications of the new policy, we organised a workshop for all interested parties and invited other parishes in the Kent Estuary Mission Community to join us.  Kaley Vaughton, the Diocesan Safeguarding Training Officer, agreed to come and lead the workshop which was organised for January 2019.   

All members of the PCC and other church ‘welcomers’ have now been awarded their C0 and C1 level certificates.  In addition, your Churchwardens and Safeguarding Officer have completed their C02 training.  We are now ensuring that all paperwork is relevant and up-to-date and is kept secure. 

Many thanks to the 22 members of the congregation who attended the training course and others who have completed their training on-line.

The PCC have adopted the Diocesan model policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and for Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults.  I will continue to monitor and review the provisions of the relevant policies and do my best to ensure that the PCC is aware of its responsibilities and that it puts in place effective procedures to ensure that the requirements of the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy are met.

The full copy of the House of Bishop's Policy Document "Promoting a Safer Church" can be viewed by clicking here.

Sue Smalley, Safeguarding Officer

 

 

Applicability of Legislation (extracted from Practice Guidance: Safeguarding Training and Development)

 This policy and practice guidance applies to all Church bodies and officers6. Full understanding of, and adherence to, this policy and guidance 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.  The care and protection of children, young people and adults 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 practice guidance applies to all Church officers and failure to comply with the House of Bishops policy and practice guidance may result in disciplinary action. In addition under the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 20167, all clergy and relevant church officers (e.g. churchwardens, licensed readers, PCCs) must have ‘due regard’ to safeguarding guidance (which will includes both policy and practice guidance) issued by the House of Bishops. 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 such guidance unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so, (e.g. because it is out of date). Failure to comply with this provision may result in disciplinary action.  The Ecclesiastical Insurance Group has made it clear that their insurance cover is only valid where House of Bishops safeguarding policy and practice guidance is being followed.