Safeguarding
St Michael's Church is committed to offering an environment where everyone is able to flourish and grow in safety and without fear.
This means an obligation, at all levels of the Church, to ensure that good procedures and practices are in
place. This requires training and awareness raising among everyone, so that
there is vigilance and understanding in recognising and appropriately
responding to risks and signs of potential abuse.
In particular, there is a duty towards those who are most vulnerable to abuse, whether as a result of age (young or elderly), disability, illness or any other factor which might heighten risk.
Parish Safeguarding Policy Statement
Parish of St Mary and St Michael, Sittingbourne
This parochial church council has adopted the safeguarding policies and procedures of the Church of England. In particular we are committed to:
· the safeguarding of all children, young people and vulnerable adults
· carefully selecting and training paid and voluntary staff who might come into contact with children or vulnerable adults, using the Disclosure and Barring Service amongst other tools, to check their suitability
· responding without delay to every complaint made which suggests that an adult, child or young person may have been harmed
· cooperating fully with the police, local authority and any other appropriate statutory body in any investigation
· ministering appropriately to anyone, child or adult, who has experienced abuse
· extending pastoral care to those known to have offended against children or vulnerable adults whilst ensuring that children and vulnerable adults are protected from them
We have appointed Tracy Williams as the Parish Safeguarding Coordinator
Approved by the Parochial Church Council on 25 June 2023
Any child wishing to talk about a problem can contact Childline on 0800 1111
Any parent or carer wishing to talk about parenting problems can contact Family Lives on 0808 800 2222
The Parish Safeguarding Coordinator is available to speak with adults or children.
