Safeguarding
We all, as a chaplaincy, have a role to play in safeguarding our church community. It is important, therefore, that we know what constitutes abusive behaviour, what our duty is if we suspect that abuse is taking place and who to speak to or contact about this. We need to provide a safe and secure environment for all who meet here.
Safeguarding covers various groups of people; children, young adults, and vulnerable adults. It is worth remembering that at different times of our lives we can all be vulnerable to some extent. Hence it is our duty to care about one another. We encourage all our members to complete the short Basic Awareness course available on the diocesan website by clicking here.
The main groups of abuse are physical, sexual, emotional and neglect. However, there are less widely recognised groups, financial, organisational, spiritual, modern slavery, domestic violence and abuse, and self-neglect, so it covers a wide range of circumstances.
Anyone involved in chaplaincy-organised activities with children, young people or vulnerable adults is subjected to a safeguarding check.
If at any time you become aware of abuse taking place, no matter how slight your concern, you must bring it to the attention of the Chaplaincy Safeguarding Officer or the Chaplain, or you can report it directly to the Diocesan Office on a confidential reporting line. Contact details for all those are below. You do not have to have proof before you report a safeguarding concern. It is not your duty to investigate the situation.
Click here to see how to report a safeguarding concern to the Diocesan team.
Click here to view the Safeguarding Policy Statement that our chaplaincy has adopted. Also available there are the chaplaincy's Social Media and Recruitment of ex-Offenders Policies.
Safeguarding our fellow Christians is very important and we each need to take our responsibilities seriously and remember to do our duty should a problem arise.
Important Contact Details
Local Agencies
General information about children, young people and vulnerable adults: 04 67 67 67 67
Police, Emergency Services, Gendarmerie, Secours: 17
Local children’s services / social care: 04 67 67 65 62
Service Orientation Départemental de l’Enfance en danger: 04 67 67 54 63
Emergency Medical Treatment / Service d’ Urgence: 15 or 112
Out of Hours Referral / Numéro Vert National 119
UK Agencies
Help and information phone line to Diocesan office in working hours: +44 207898 1163 or +44 207898 1150
24hr Emergency line to Thirty-one Eight: +44 303 003 1111 (this is the Diocesan partner for out of office hours)
Chaplaincy and Diocesan
Chaplain, Revd Dr Roy Cole: 06 78 37 88 60, [email protected]
Chaplaincy Safeguarding Officer, Ian Thomas: 06 73 67 55 11, [email protected]
Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, Grace Fagan: +44 207898 1163, mobile +44 7425 536259,
[email protected]
Diocesan website: https://europe.anglican.org/safeguarding/who-to-contact