Safeguarding Policy Statement
The following policy was agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 5 July 2026
In accordance with the Church of England Safeguarding Policy and the Church of England National Safeguarding Standards, our PCC and church is committed to:
Culture, leadership and capacity
1. Having a safe and healthy culture, effective leadership, resourcing and scrutiny arrangements necessary to delivery high quality safeguarding practices and outcomes
What this means in practice: We will
· Foster and promote a safe and healthy culture
· Engage with and promote the welfare and voice of children, vulnerable adults, victims and survivors of abuse, as well as those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse.
Prevention
2. Having a planned range of measure which together are effective in preventing abuse in the context of our church
What this means in practice: We will
· Follow ‘Safer Recruitment and People Management’ House of Bishops’ Guidance
· Discuss safeguarding understanding in individual reviews and/or supervision meetings
· Use a range of good materials and methods to promote safeguarding to all audiences (e.g., children and young people)
· Regularly discuss safeguarding at PCC, volunteer, congregational, and children and youth meetings and activities
· Develop, adopt and share good safeguarding practice
· Consider the needs, experiences and voices of children, vulnerable adults, and survivors in prevention planning
· Raise awareness of different kinds of abuse (e.g., domestic and spiritual abuse) and contemporary safeguarding issues (e.g. modern slavery, county lines)
· Manage risk for all church activities, identifying safeguarding risks to both those delivering and those receiving activities
· Avoid lone working (appropriate precautions are taken to keep everyone safe when it is necessary and unavoidable)
· Understand appropriate boundaries (e.g. touch, in respect of passing the peace and hugs by the Welcome Team)
· Be aware of the safeguarding risks that are associated with the layout of the church building (e.g., access to toilets and potential blind spots).
Recognising, assessing and managing risk
3. Undertaking risk assessments, safety plans and associated processes that are of high quality and result in positive outcomes. Ensuring the assessment and management of risk is underpinned by effective partnership working
What this looks like in practice: We will
· Identify, report and respond to concerns that constitute a safeguarding matter, in accordance with House of Bishops’ Guidance/Code and statutory guidelines
· Record all concerns in a clear and concise manner
· Store and share all personal information in ways which are compliant with data protection legislation and the GDPR
· Share safeguarding information through work-provided (non-personal) forms of communication
Victims and survivors
4. Ensuring victims and survivors experience the timeliness and quality of our response to disclosures and their subsequent report as positively meeting their needs, including their search for justice and helping their healing process
What this looks like in practice: We will
· Hear, respect, believe and genuinely care for those who are reporting abuse
· Respond to safeguarding disclosures in a victim-centred and trauma-informed way
· Ensure we are aware of the routes to disclosure and the processes that follow and can communicate that to those who report abuse
· Act on safeguarding concerns appropriately, transparently and in a timely manner
· Fulfil the support requirements set out in the ‘Responding Well to Victims and Survivors of Abuse’ House of Bishops’ Guidance
· Also support victims and survivors of non-Church based abuse, abuse within churches other than the Church of England, and those with broader safeguarding issues (e.g., mental health, homelessness) in accessing relevant support services
· Ensure that the Bible and Christian theology is used with victims and survivors sensitively and with their consent, to provide care and support.
Learning, supervision and support
5. Ensuring all those engaged in safeguarding related activities in our church receive the type and level of learning, professional development, support and supervision necessary to respond to safeguarding situation, victims and survivors, and respondents, effectively.
What this means in practice: We will
· Ensure church officers and volunteers are up to date with their safeguarding learning and development requirements.
· Support our Clergy and our Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) in their safeguarding roles
· Ensures that any new PSO has attended induction programmes.
We will review the implementation of our Safeguarding Policy, procedures and practices at least annually, in the light of guidance and support provided by the Church of England including Safeguarding Worksheets.
Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this Policy, our procedures and guidelines established by this church.
If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact any of these local contacts
• Clare Manuel, St Saviour’s safeguarding officer at safeguarding@stsaviours.church or 07874253444
• Ayozie Pollendine, St Saviour’s Churchwarden at churchwarden@stsaviours.church
• Jo Bingham, Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser at safeguarding@london.anglican.org or 020 7932 1224