We want everyone in our church to feel safe, supported, and welcomed
If you are worried, unhappy, or have seen or heard something about a child or adult that concerns you - Don't stay silent - come and talk to us
At St Philip’s Church we take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously and are committed to making St Philip’s a safe space and to dealing openly and transparently with any issues raised.
This Safeguarding page sets out our approach to safeguarding and the policies and structures in place. If you wish to speak to someone or report anything that may be a concern then we encourage you to do so via one of the routes set out below.
St Philip’s Church in the Parish of Penn Fields is committed to Safeguarding and has adopted the National and Diocesan Safeguarding Policies.
In accordance with these policies, we are committed to:
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Promoting a safer environment and culture.
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Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church.
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Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation.
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Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons.
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Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concern or allegations of abuse and other affected people.
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Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others.
Safeguarding Officers
Our Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) is the first person to speak to if you have any concerns around the welfare of a child or adult at risk.
In an emergency where there is imminent risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult, please contact the police on 999 or your local social services department.
Contact details
Our PSO is Mrs Janine Wright
Contact Janine or call 07535 675 948.
Our vicar is Rev Nick Smith
Contact Nick or call 01902 341943.
Our PSO is responsible for our safeguarding and ensuring we discharge our statutory responsibilities. They work with the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to ensure safe and effective systems and processes are in place so that our safeguarding policy is effective and robust. They also support and work with local safeguarding officials to ensure safeguarding concerns are addressed and appropriate actions are taken when necessary. They also lead and work alongside other church staff to obtain DBS Certificates for volunteers as part of the safer recruitment process and to ensure volunteers have received the appropriate level of training
Other Contact details
For immediate response, these are the contact details of other agencies that are available to assist either on a 24-hour basis or through specialist helplines and services:
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline:
0808 800 5000 (lines free and open 24 hours)
Phone if you are worried about a child.
Child-line:
0800 1111 (lines free and open 24 hours)
Phone if you are a child or young person and are worried about anything.
National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (lines free and open 24 hours)
Everyone’s responsibility
Though particular people bear formal responsibility for Safeguarding, ‘the care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church (Promoting a Safer Church, 2017)’. We expect each member of St Philip’s Penn Fields to contribute to keeping one another safe and protecting others from harm and accidents, through our actions and behaviour, and to act if we see or hear something that causes a safeguarding concern.
