SAFEGUARDING
Sunday 17th November 2024 was Safeguarding Sunday and it is a salutary coincidence that we have just recently learned of the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby over his handling of the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth against children within the Church. I appreciate that these revelations and the sufferings of the victims have been very upsetting for all of us along with the culpability of those in authority and the resignation of our Archbishop.
Diocesan Letter
I have made available to all members of our congregations a letter that has been sent to the clergy from our own Bishop, Jonathan Gibbs, Read HereYou are welcome to use the prayer below. If you have been affected by the content of these recent revelations then please do contact either myself or our Safeguarding Officer, see panel to the right for contact details.
Matthew
Almighty God, on this Safeguarding Sunday we pray that our churches may be places of respect, safety and wellbeing for all your people especially the young and vulnerable. Be with all those who have been hurt and damaged by the actions of others and may the life of all your churches reflect the kindness, love and gentleness of Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
About Safeguarding
The safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable adults is everyone’s responsibility; procedures and formal processes alone (though essential) will not protect them. The Church, including all its members, needs to be aware of dangers and be prepared to report concerns and take action if necessary. The child’s/adult’s welfare is paramount and where there is conflict between the welfare of the child/vulnerable adult and that of the adult, it is the welfare of the child/vulnerable adult that will be given priority.
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St Giles and St Nicholas Churches are communities of
volunteers, with members contributing to its life in
different ways. The Incumbents and the Parochial Church
Councils (PCCs) are responsible for all parish activities and
must satisfy themselves that everything is being done to
provide a safe environment for children, young people and
vulnerable adults. />
They are also responsible for making sure, as far as possible, that no false accusations can be made against their workers and volunteers. Our Safeguarding and Privacy statements can be downloaded from the Downloads page. |
In the Parish of Farnborough communication about safeguarding requirements and compliance is co-ordinated by Irene Dancer. Irene is also responsible for organising special forms of worship for children and young adults. See the panel to the right.
Safeguarding in our Parish.
Matthew and I recently completed our updated Leadership training as safeguarding leads within the parish. The main focus was on creating a positive culture in our churches, in relation to safeguarding. But what does this mean? In a nutshell, “creating environments in which everyone is safe and can flourish … modelling attitudes and behaviours to those around us” (Safeguarding Leadership Pathway - Participant Workbook), It is very much about what we DO to keep people safe, our attitudes, behaviours and practices.The Church of England recently published a new set of standards, The National Safeguarding Standards, that all churches are expected to work towards achieving. There are five standards:
1. Culture, leadership and capacity
2. Prevention
3. Recognising, assessing and managing risk
4. Victims and survivors
5. Learning, supervision and support
The focus of the current leadership training was based on the first, third and fourth standards. We discussed how well safeguarding is managed by church leaders, how we listen to one another, how power differentials are managed, how we communicate with one another and how we model our behaviours. All of these things constitute not just what we think about safeguarding, but how we demonstrate our commitment by what we say and what we do.
Greeting and getting to know those who sit beside us in the pews, listening to each other and showing empathy are all ways in which we can foster positive attitudes, including trust in one another. This is important for all of us to remember, but especially so for those in leadership roles. By getting to know those around us, we can spot when behaviours change. By being open and engaging we encourage communication. By demonstrating that we listen, we provide an avenue for anyone who might need to confide in us. By establishing good relationships between congregation and leaders, including clergy, where barriers are removed, we break down power structures and the possibility of anyone being taken advantage of.
The byline of the safeguarding notice in our pew sheet sums all of this up:
Nurture ~ Respect ~ Listen
Our safeguarding practice is backed up by our Parish Safeguarding Policy that documents the strategies, procedures and commitments that we have in place. This includes a commitment to training, as required by the Church of England, the implementation of safeguarding risk assessments and what we need to do if safeguarding issues arise. It contains much more, and I urge you to read it. There are copies in both churches, in the St Giles centre and on the website. It is about how we ALL need to behave in church.
The church offers different levels of safeguarding training, dependant on the role held. Leadership is for those of who manage groups or lead others, Foundation is for those working with the vulnerable and Basic is for those with no direct responsibilities but who do hold a role within church, for example, bell ringers and choir members. However, Basic training is open to all and if you are interested in finding out more, the module can be accessed by going to:
https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org
The course takes approximately one hour, and you can email me your certificate of completion once received. My details are in the back of the magazine.
Safeguarding Sunday is one day in the calendar that helps us to focus on an important aspect of church life. It is, however, something we need to work on all year round if our culture is to be truly inclusive and as safe as we can make it. I began by saying that the umbrella organisation for DBS, 31:8 promotes Safeguarding Sunday. Their call to us is to:
“Speak out for people who are vulnerable” (Proverbs 31:8)
Let’s work on this together.
Irene Dancer
Parish Safeguarding Officer
ABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH
Sateguarding Officer and
Family and Children's Worker
At St. Giles, we support all families, especially those with young
children, who attend our church. In addition we seek to encourage
those who haven’t attended regularly, to consider the many services
we have on offer and to ‘give us a try’
See Worship for Families and Children
For help, advice or information. please feel free to contact our Family and Children's Worker Irene Dancer. Irene has personal experience of family life, with a son and daughter. She was deputy head teacher of a local primary school before taking early retirement.
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Her contact details are: Irene Dancer Family and Children’s Worker 01689 854765 idstgiles@btinternet.com or via the Parsih Office |
Please don’t hesitate to contact Irene for any assistance or information, and please do introduce yourself to Irene if you haven’t yet had the chance to speak.