SAFEGUARDING

1 WHAT IS SAFEGUARDING ABOUT?

As we say on the homepage of our website, we at St John’s, Whorlton, are committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults from harm. In this statement we aim to set out how we go about this, assisted by the guidance and policies of the Church of England nationally and the Newcastle Diocese locally. You yourselves can also supplement our efforts.

We acknowledge that readers of our website will wish to help us achieve our aim and hope that the following advice will help you do so.

2 IF YOU THINK A CHILD OR ADULT IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER OF HARM OR NEEDS EMERGENCY MEDICAL ATTENTION

Contact the emergency services on 999 and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

3 THE SITUATION YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IS NOT AN EMERGENCY

We hope that the following advice will help you to deal with any concerns you may have about safeguarding.

4 LOCAL CHURCH CONTACTS AVAILABLE TO GIVE YOU ADVICE

Role: Parish Safeguarding Officer

Name: Anne Morris

Telephone: 07841 024 034

E-mail: [email protected]

Role: Diocesan Safety Advisor [NB Interim support arrangements  - please see below.*] 

Name: Lisa Wardlaw (Safeguarding Case Worker)

Telephone: 07825 167 016

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: Thirtyone:eight can be contacted on 0303 003 1111, then select option 2

E-mail: [email protected]

Role: Priest-in-Charge of St John's

Name: The Reverend Matthew Hunter

Telephone 07394 239 772

E-mail [email protected]

5 THE ST JOHN’S PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) SAFEGUARDING POLICY STATEMENT

Safeguarding Policy Promoting a safer Church

The following policy was reviewed and agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 18thMarch 2024

In accordance with the Church of England Safeguarding Policy our church is committed to:

· Promoting a safer environment and culture.

· Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church.

· Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation.

· Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons.

· Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons.

· Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others.

The Parish will:

· Create a safe and caring place for all.

· Have a named Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) to work with the incumbent and the PCC to implement policy and procedures.

· Safely recruit, train and support all those with any responsibility for children, young people and adults to have the confidence and skills to recognise and respond to abuse.

· Ensure that there is appropriate insurance cover for all activities involving children and adults undertaken in the name of the parish.

· Display in church premises and on the Parish website the details of who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns or support needs.

· Listen to and take seriously all those who disclose abuse.

· Take steps to protect children and adults when a safeguarding concern of any kind arises, following House of Bishops guidance, including notifying the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and statutory agencies immediately.

· Offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred.

· Care for and monitor any member of the church community who may pose a risk to children and adults whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality and the safety of all parties.

· Ensure that health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments are in place and that these are reviewed annually.

· Review the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices at least annually.

Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this policy and the guidelines established by this church.

This church appoints Mrs Anne Morris as the Parish Safeguarding Officer and DBS Administrator.

Incumbent: Revd Matthew Hunter.

Churchwardens: Mrs Sandra Robson and Mrs Lesley Tait

Date: 18th March 2024

6 WHAT THE NEWCASTLE DIOCESE SAYS ABOUT SAFEGUARDING

If you would like to see what the Diocese of Newcastle says about safeguarding click on www.newcastle.anglican.org/safeguarding and have a look at the information on the right-hand side of the screen.

Note that by clicking on “Reporting abuse and Finding Support” on the left-hand side you will see a list of contact details for local authority statutory services in Newcastle Diocese, for guidance or to report on a safeguarding concern about a vulnerable adult or a child or young person.

A helpful list of National Services is also available to you there.

There is also information about “Safe Spaces”: an independent service supporting survivors of church-related abuse.

7 CHURCH OF ENGLAND SAFEGUARDING POLICY AND PRACTICE

For the Church of England's National Safeguarding Information please click on www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding.

Here, too, there is a list of sources of support from non-church organisations.

8 WORRIED ABOUT A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON IN YOUR CHURCH?

If you’re worried that a child or young person in your church might be suffering from some kind of ABUSE:

DO NOT try to diagnose, investigate or sort it out yourself.

THINK HARD about what it is about the child’s appearance or behaviour that is making you worried or suspicious.

DO NOT promise confidentiality if someone talks to you about what might be abuse.

DECIDE whom you should talk to, and

TALK TO THEM – within 24 hours. The person to talk to might be the Parish Safeguarding Officer (Anne Morris tel.07841 024 034) or the Safeguarding Advisor for the Diocese of Newcastle (Carole Butler tel. 07825167 016)

9 CONTACT DETAILS FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY STATUTORY SERVICES IN NEWCASTLE DIOCESE FOR GUIDANCE OR TO REPORT ON A SAFEGUARDING CONCERN FOR A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON

click on any of these links -

· Newcastle: Report a concern about a child or young person

· https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Children/Safeguarding.aspx

· https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/488/are-you-worried-about-child

You can also obtain help by telephoning any of the following organisations

· Northumberland Social Services on 01670 623978 (0845 600 5252 out of hours).

· the NSPCC Child Protection Helpline on 0808 800 5000 - lines free and open 24 hours. Phone if you are worried about a child.

· Childline on 0800 1111 - lines free and open 24 hours. Phone if you are a child or young person and are worried about anything.

· Family Lives on 0808 800 2222.

10 ORGANISATIONS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH WHO CAN HELP WITH CONCERNS ABOUT YOURSELF OR A VULNERABLE ADULT

As for children and young persons (see above), you can contact the three local authority statutory services in Newcastle Diocese about vulnerable adults. Click on any of the following links:

· Newcastle: https://www.newcastlesafeguarding.org.uk/report-a-concern/

· Northumberland: Report suspected adult abuse and neglect

· North Tyneside: Report suspected adult abuse and neglect

You can also telephone any of the following bodies for help:

· The National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247 - lines free and open 24 hours, Phone if you are experiencing domestic abuse;

· Samaritans Helpline on 116 123 - lines open 24 hours. Phone if you feel you are struggling to cope and need someone to talk to

· Action on Elder Abuse Helpline on 080 8808 8141 - free phone Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

11 IF YOU FIND THAT ANYTHING IN THIS STATEMENT IS UNCLEAR

You could contact Anne Morris or the Reverend Matthew Hunter (see under heading 4 above) or click on the "Get in touch" tab on the left-hand side of the website screen and follow the guidance there about sending a message to the church.

* UPDATE (27.11.24):

Whilst the Diocese is reviewing its safeguarding provision, we are pleased to announce a number of new arrangements to strengthen our safeguarding capabilities.

Appointment of a new Safeguarding Case Worker

Bishop Helen-Ann is pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Wardlaw as Safeguarding Case Worker for Newcastle Diocese, who will join us on 5th December.

An experienced social worker, Lisa will provide interim support for our safeguarding team following the recent announcement that our Safeguarding Adviser, Carol Butler has moved on from the Diocese.

Lisa has worked with children and families for many years. She joins the Diocese for an initial six-month period, during which she will work two days per week. Her role will be to support the safeguarding team in maintaining and promoting the highest standards of safeguarding across our church communities.

She will work with clergy and laity, including PSOs and churchwardens, as well as the Church of England safeguarding team, ensuring that all reports of abuse or other safeguarding concerns are appropriately actioned in line with national guidance.

Lisa said: "I am looking forward to joining the diocesan safeguarding team at this transformative time, to help to consolidate and develop the important ongoing work of making the church community a safer place for everyone."

Bishop Helen-Ann said: “We are delighted to welcome Lisa to our diocese. We want all of our church communities to be safe and welcoming places for everyone and it is absolutely essential that we meet the highest standards in safeguarding – thus protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults from any form of abuse or neglect. Lisa’s experience and expertise will be a great asset to our diocese as we implement the recommendations of the Safeguarding Audit and restructure how we deliver in this area of utmost importance”.

New safeguarding helpline

The Diocese has partnered with Thirtyone:eight in accessing their Safeguarding Helpline service. The service is available now and will initially run until the end of December 2024.

PSOs, clergy and volunteers with safeguarding queries can call the Thirtyone:eight helpline to receive safeguarding advice from a team of experts. You will also receive the verbal advice in writing via email.

The partnership includes an Information Sharing Agreement. This allows the Diocese’s safeguarding team to access advice provided to Newcastle diocesan callers, enabling them to offer further support and ensure the recommendations from Thirtyone:eight are implemented. When using the helpline, please provide your name, church name, and the name of the Diocese.

The helpline is available during normal working hours (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm).

For emergency safeguarding queries, out-of-hours cover is available as follows:

Thirtyone:eight can be contacted on 0303 003 1111, then select option 2.

New safeguarding email

Furthermore, for those who prefer to use email, a new address has been created to raise all your safeguarding queries: [email protected]

Safeguarding training

And finally, to let you know that Donna Brown, our Diocesan Safeguarding Operations Officer, is moving on from the Diocese. Her last working day will be 10thDecember. We want to wish her all the very best for the future. Safeguarding training will continue to be available through the diocesan website and the Church of England’s learning portal.

Chris Elder

Interim Diocesan Secretary