Safeguarding

Promoting a Safer Church

Support & Comfort
“We cannot place a high enough importance on safeguarding issues. It is vital that lessons are learned throughout the whole of the Church of England. Every day, the vulnerable come to us for shelter, for support and for comfort. Their trust cannot be taken for granted.” - Archbishop Justin Welby

"The good shepherd rescues, feeds, seeks the lost, binds the injured, strengthens the weak, seeks justice." - Ezekiel 34:16

It Matters
The Church is called to share the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. The life of our communities and institutions is integral to how we address this task. The good news speaks of welcome for all, including those who are most vulnerable, into a community where the value and dignity of every person is affirmed and those in positions of responsibility and authority are truly trustworthy. Being faithful to our call to share the gospel therefore compels us to take with the utmost seriousness the challenge of preventing abuse from happening and responding well where it has. From ‘Promoting a Safer Church’, The Church of England’s Safeguarding Policy Statement.

Our Policy
The following policy was agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 14th January 2019. 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 sets out to:

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 Glenys Bayliss as the Parish Safeguarding Officer. Signed by the following on behalf of the PCC: Incumbent: Adam Bayliss. Head of Kid's Ministry; Veronica Spielman Date: 14.1.2019

Key information
The Parish Handbook aims to further strengthen the Church’s approach to safeguarding by bringing into one place the safeguarding responsibilities for parishes as outlined in the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policies and Practice Guidance. It has been designed to support the day to day work of all parishes in relation to safeguarding and those that have a key role to play with children, young people and adults who may be vulnerable. Parish Safeguarding Handbook.

Safeguarding in the church community is everyone’s responsibility and we would like for the whole congregation to have at least a basic level of understanding. The Church of England have produced a helpful short online module-C0, which you can access using this link https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org Please take time to brief yourself. Those of us who specifically work with children and vulnerable adults receive further training.

Contacts
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Glenys Bayliss. (Phone Number) safeguarding@thetownchurch.org.uk
Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser: First Name Surname. (Phone Number) safeguarding@thediocese.org.uk website: Diocese of The Region

If you are concerned that someone you know is at risk of, or is being abused, or presents a risk to others, please seek advice from a Safeguarding Adviser or if necessary report the matter to the Local Authority Social Care Services (Phone Number) or the Police without delay. If there is immediate risk or danger please contact the Police on 101.

• NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
• Childline: 0800 1111
• Stop It Now: 0808 1000 900
• NAPAC: 0808 801 0331
• Samaritans: 116 123
• Family Lives: 0808 800 2222
• National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247
• Action On Elder Abuse: 080 8808 8141

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 9.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits from 9am, before the service begins. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 9.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

catalyst

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/carer at all times.
Mini Me's (4-7 years)
Jazzy Juniors (8-11 years)

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. Whilst you are dropping your kids off at their groups, we pause to take time to chat to someone sitting near or next to us, giving folk a chance to come back before the sermon begins.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

kids

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Interest Groups

We have a wide range of activity groups throughout the month to choose from. These range from craft groups, book club and missions prayer. Please take a look at the available groups we are running.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Senior Leaders


Adam		Glenys
Adam is married to Glenys and they have 4 children. Adam likes fishing, golf and strong black coffee.		Glenys loves to go for long walks, when she can get a break from the kids!

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes
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