SAFEGUARDING

We aim to be a church where everyone feels safe and taken care of. “Safeguarding” means looking after each other, it is the responsibility of everyone in the church community and we take it extremely seriously. We have a friendly and dedicated team of safeguarding officers and champions for children, young people, vulnerable adults and people with disabilities.

This page tells you who to contact if you have a safeguarding concern and the processes we follow. You will also find a list of all our safeguarding policies should you want to find out more.

If you have a concern the first person to contact is the Parish Safeguarding Officer Mrs Thandi Lopes, if your concern is about any member of the congregation, volunteer or a paid member of staff please contact the Rector Fr Michael Gill. If your concern is about Fr Michael Gill or a member of the clergy then please contact Caryn Weber, the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor. All these contact details are below.

If there is immediate risk of harm, please contact the emergency services on 999.

Safeguarding officer:

Mrs Thandi Lopes

[email protected]

020 8707 7373

Our parish safeguarding officer is the first person to contact if you have any concerns around the welfare of a child or adult at risk.

Diocesan Safeguarding Team:

If you would prefer to speak to someone outside of our church, please contact the London Diocesan Safeguarding Team on: 020 7932 1224 or [email protected].

Our Kensington Area Safeguarding officer is Caryn Weber.

The London Diocesan Safeguarding page is https://www.london.anglican.org/church-and-parish-support/safeguarding/

Other Organisations:

If you’re struggling right now:

Samaritans Helpline: Call 116 123 - if you’d like to talk with someone on the phone. Shout: Text ‘Shout’ to 85258 - if you’d like to talk by text instead of phone.

Organisations offering help and support:

London Boroughs of Hounslow and Hillingdon NSPCC – 0808 800 5000 – nspcc.org.uk - specialising in child protection, with statutory powers, which means we can take action to safeguard children at risk of abuse. Stop it Now – 0808 1000 900 – stopitnow.org.uk - anonymous support and advice to anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse Childline: 0800 1111, www.childline.org.uk - for any children who feel unsafe in any situation. Family Lives: 0808 800 2222, www.familylives.org.uk - help & support for families.

· Thirtyone:Eight: 0303 003 1111

NAPAC – 0808 801 0331 – https://napac.org.uk/ National Association for People Abused in Childhood Action on Elder Abuse – 0808 808 8141 Hub of Hope - https://hubofhope.co.uk/ - UK’s largest mental health support directory

Domestic Violence Support:

For women: 0808 2000 247 - The National Domestic Abuse Helpline For men: 0808 801 0327, www.mensadviceline.org.uk

The Diocese of London website has links to other organisations, such as ones which can support Survivors of violence and abuse. See https://www.london.anglican.org/church-and-parish-support/safeguarding/useful-safeguarding-links/links-to-other-organisations/