SAFEGUARDING POLICY

St Leonard’s Church 
Parish Safeguarding Policy 

The Parochial Church Council of St. Leonard’s Chesham Bois (alternatively referred to below as “St Leonard’s”, “the PCC” or “we”) has approved the following Parish Safeguarding Policy. 

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1. We are committed to: 

• The care, nurture of, and respectful pastoral ministry with, all children and all adults 

• The safeguarding and protection of all children, young people and adults when they are at risk 

• The establishing of safe, caring communities which provide a loving environment where there is a culture of ‘informed vigilance’ as to the dangers of abuse. 

 

2. We will carefully select and train all those with any responsibility within the Church, in line with safer recruitment principles, including the use of Disclosure and Barring Service criminal records checks. 

3. We respond without delay to every complaint made which suggests that an adult, child or young person may have been harmed, co-operating with the police and local authority in any investigation and we will have a clear reporting procedure in place. 

 

4. We will seek to work with anyone who has suffered abuse, developing with him or her an appropriate ministry of informed pastoral care. 

 

5. We will seek to challenge any abuse of power, especially by anyone in a position of trust. 

 

6. We will seek to offer pastoral care and support, including supervision and referral to the proper authorities, to any member of our church community known to have offended against a child, young person or vulnerable adult. 

 

7. In all these principles we will follow statute, guidance and recognised good practice. 

 

8. We will advise the Diocese which Registered Body we use to process applications for DBS Checks.

 

9. We will advise the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser if we receive a Disclosure which is ‘blemished’ or ‘positive’. 

 

10. We will review this policy annually, check that our policies are up to date, and supply a copy of the updated policy statement to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser. 

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Our Safeguarding Officer is:

Mrs Denise Kolb

07739458504

safeguarding@stleonardscb.org.uk 

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Our Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor is:

Richard Woodley

07391868478

richard.woodley@oxford.anglican.org

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Appendix - What to do if you have a safeguarding concern

 

If someone is in immediate danger

If you have information about a safeguarding situation where a child or adult is in immediate danger, or requires immediate medical attention, call emergency services on 999.

 

If there is no risk of immediate harm

If you do not think there is a risk of immediate harm, please speak to your PSO or a safeguarding professional about your concern as soon as possible. If you have significant concerns please report to children's social service or adult's social services without delay. When first reporting a concern, please be sure to make contact using the information shown below.

 

Outside office hours

For urgent safeguarding enquiries outside of office hours (see below), please call our partners Thirtyone:eight on 0303 003 1111 for confidential advice, guidance and support.

 

During office hours

Call 01865 208 295 or email safeguardingreferrals@oxford.anglican.org for urgent safeguarding concerns Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm.

You can also contact your area safeguarding adviser directly if you prefer:

Buckingham – Tsungai Muchegwa: 07435 550 685

 

Click to view the CofE Promoting a Safer Church Policy

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