Safeguarding

Here at St Peter's we take the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults very seriously and adhere to the policy of the Diocese of Peterborough. 

Every person has a value and dignity which comes directly from the creation of male and female in God’s own image and likeness. Christians see this as fulfilled by God’s re-creation of us in Christ. Among other things, this implies a duty to value all people as having the Holy Spirit within them and therefore to protect them from harm.

If you have any safeguarding concerns you must contact our Parish Safeguarding Officer Louise Foote (Deputy Kim Treverton) at safeguarding@stpetersoundle.co.uk

If you cannot get hold of Louise or KIm then please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer at safeguarding@peterborough-diocese.org.uk or 01733 887 040 or 01733 887041

Principles

We are committed to the:

• safeguarding and protection of all children, young people and adults, care and nurture of the children within our church communities
• care and nurture of, and respectful pastoral ministry with, children, young people and adults
• establishing of safe, caring communities which provide a loving environment where there is a culture of vigilance about the dangers of abuse.

Policy

We will:

• respond without delay to every complaint made which suggests that a child, young person or adult may have been harmed, co-operating with the police and local authority in any investigation
• carefully select and train all those with any responsibility within the church in line with safer recruitment principles, including the use of criminal records disclosure and registration with the relevant vetting and barring schemes
• seek to work with anyone who has suffered abuse, developing with them an appropriate ministry of informed pastoral care
• seek to challenge any abuse of power, especially by anyone in a position of trust
• seek to offer pastoral care and support, including supervision and referral to proper authorities, of any member of our church community known to have offended against a child, young person or vulnerable adult
• follow statute, guidance and recognised good practice.

Our Current Policies for:   (will need to add these later as I am snowed under at the moment!)

• Safeguarding - Safer Church Policy
• Data Privacy Policy

Training

Recognising that Safeguarding is everyone's concern at St Peter's we ensure that our staff and volunteer teams attend training on a regular basis in line with Church of England guidelines. The first level of basic awareness is C0; this is a prerequisite to the next level of training (C1) and we would encourage all members of our community to complete the training so that they can better understand the issues.

C0 training : Once you click on the link to the left you will be asked to register and then use the C0 Basic Awareness tab to access the 30-40 minute online training module.

Links to other organisations that you might find useful in relating to safeguarding in a wider context and useful links to online safety and information guides:

Peterborough Diocese Safeguarding Guidance
Northamptonshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
NSPCC Website & contact number 0808 800 5000 
Childline Website & contact number for children 0800 1111 
Kidscape 020 7823 5430  
Mind website & information line 03001 233393 
Action on Elder Abuse 08088 088141 
Church of England National Safeguarding Guidance
Netaware NSPCC Guide to the Digital World