Every parish church, cathedral, church plant or other local church body has a safeguarding policy, and a volunteer appointed to act as safeguarding officer. The safeguarding officer is supported at a local level by a diocesan safeguarding adviser (DSA) and at a national level by the National Safeguarding Team (NST).

I asked Rebecca Kelly, the Safeguarding Officer for St. Peter’s, if she could tell us a little more about her role.

I asked her why she felt that the Safeguarding Officer’s role was so important. She said “Keeping people safe in St Peter's Church is everyone's responsibility. I want people who come to St Peter's, for church services, special events, groups and hobbies, to feel welcome and know that people are looking out for them. As safeguarding officer at St Peter's, I want people who come into the church to feel loved, cared for and for it to be a safe place to talk, be listened to and advice given if appropriate.

If safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone at St. Peter’s I asked what the church is doing to empower individuals within the church family. Her answer was “people who come to church services and do voluntary roles within the church are encouraged to do safeguarding training. The training sessions are provided by the Church of England and are done online. We learn about safeguarding adults and children and different kinds of abuse. There is additional training of domestic abuse awareness, safer recruitment and leadership training for some roles, and I keep track of what training is needed and let people know what is recommended for their role.”

“Some roles in church, including those with children and/or vulnerable adults and members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are also required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. As safeguarding officer, this is something I do and keep track of who needs what and when.”

“At a local level, we, as a church, are working really hard to look after people and provide a safe space in our community.”

As well as being responsible for training and background checks the Safeguarding Officer also acts as the first point of contact for people with concerns about safeguarding issues at St. Peter’s. I asked Rebecca what individuals that are worried about a situation in the church environment should do about it

“If you have safeguarding concerns for yourself or someone else at church or in a church led group, please contact me and we can have a chat. If you would rather talk to someone else in church that is fine too. You will be heard. There are support services in Leeds which are here to help us if we open up, reach out and ask. As Jesus said in the Bible in Matthew 7:7 ‘knock and the door will be opened to you’.”

If you or somebody you know would like to have a chat about a safeguarding issue within St. Peters’ here are some useful contact details

Rebecca Kelly Parish Safeguarding Officer St Peter's Church 07779 393834

Leeds Anglican Diocese Safeguarding Team 0113 353 0257

Adult Social Care 0113 222 4401

Children's Social Care 0113 222 4403

( Cover image: Icon by the best icon)