Safeguarding
At St Edmund's we care deeply about the well-being and safety of all our young people. Our safeguarding policy is below and the details of our safeguarding team are displayed at the back of church.
Our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Pauline Byles can be contacted by clicking here to email. The Diocesan Safeguarding Team can be contacted by email here.
Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal, and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church
https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
Childline telephone number is 0800 111
Hillingdon Multi agency safeguarding (children) hub can be contacted on 01895 556 633
For information, advice and support on Domestic Violence and Abuse, use this link: https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/article/13133/What-is-domestic-abuse
The following policy has been agreed by the Parochial Church Council (PCC)
of
St Edmund of
In accordance with the House of
Bishops’ Policy Statements ‘Promoting a
· Promoting a safer environment and culture.
· Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church.
· Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation.
· Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons.
· Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons.
· Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others.
The Parish will:
· Create a safe and caring place for all.
· Have a named Church Safeguarding Officer (CSO) to work with the incumbent and the PCC to implement policy and procedures.
· Safely recruit, train and support all those with any responsibility for children, young people and adults to have the confidence and skills to recognise and respond to abuse.
· Ensure that there is appropriate insurance cover for all activities involving children and adults undertaken in the name of the parish.
· Display in church premises the details of who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns or support needs.
· Listen to and take seriously all those who disclose abuse.
· Take steps to protect children and adults when a safeguarding concern of any kind arises, following House of Bishops guidance, including notifying the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and statutory agencies immediately.
· Offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred.
· Care for and monitor any member of the church community who may pose a risk to children and adults whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality and the safety of all parties.
· Ensure that health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments are in place and that these are reviewed annually.
· Review the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices at least annually.
· Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this policy and the guidelines established by this church.
Safeguarding SUnday 2025 sermon
Gospel Reading Matthew 18:1-9
In the gospel reading today the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
It is a question about who is in power, who is important, who has status. Jesus’ answer turns the disciples’ world view on its head. Because we know what he is gonna say, and because we live in a culture that has been influenced by this answer for 2000 years, the shock and surprise is perhaps lost on us. In a world where there was low life expectancy, high infant mortality; where a third of the population were slaves, there were no human rights and the strong took what wanted with impunity. Society had a very hierarchical power structure and at the very bottom of the pile were little children. BUT …
Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This deeply challenges our sinful human nature and desire to be better than others, more important, of higher status than others. As with all sinful desires, it is a corruption of a valid aim. The truth is that our destiny is to be powerful, important and of the highest status as royalty in the Kingdom of God – NOT so that we lord is over others, but so that we can be all that God wants us to be in the service of, and to the benefit and blessing of others.
Now churches are not immune to the temptation. But we need to have healthy cultures where authority is used rightly and can be challenged appropriately.
That is why the first of the National Safeguarding Standards is that of
1. Culture, Leadership and Capacity: Church bodies have safe and healthy cultures, effective leadership, resourcing and scrutiny arrangements necessary to deliver high-quality safeguarding practices and outcomes.
Some of the more high-profile historic abuse cases have arisen in cultures where the abuser could not be challenged about their toxic behaviour. So that has to change first.
I hope and believe that here at St Edmund’s we do have a healthy culture, where disagreement and challenge is welcomed and handled in love.
Jesus goes on to say:
5 And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
Our kids are so important, it is like welcoming the Lord Jesus among us. Welcome means being a safe space. The same word is used of Simeon gently taking the infant Jesus into his arms. It is used of Rahab who welcomed the spies into her home, provided hospitality and kept them safe, protecting them from harm.
The second National Standard is
2. Prevention: Church bodies have in place a planned range of measures which together are effective in preventing abuse in their context.
6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, [NIV]…
Puts a stumbling block in their way [RSV]; Offends them [KJV]; scandalizes them [lit GK]. [that is, who entices him or hinders him in right conduct or thought[ Amplified Bible],
… it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
Jesus takes this really, really seriously. There is of course forgiveness for everyone. All our sins are drowned in the sea. God says Micah 7:19 that he hurls our sins into the sea and that he will remember them no more – not because he has a bad memory but because he chooses to for only in Jesus are they dealt with
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Here Jesus is using hyberbole to emphasise a point. He is saying that we need to take precautions sometimes beyond what we think it strictly necessary in order to manage the risk. Even though we might be tempted to think, nothing like that would happen here; we nevertheless put in place the safeguards so that nothing like that could happen here.
3. Recognising, Assessing and Managing Risk: Risk assessments, safety plans and associated processes are of a high quality and result in positive outcomes. The assessment and management of risk is underpinned by effective partnership working.
SG is Everyone’s responsibility. Everyone alert. If you have a concern let me or the PSO know. If you see something that doesn’t look right, say something. See it, say it, sorted. Our Parish Safeguarding Officer is Mrs Pauline Byles. Our Children’s Advocate is Mrs Samantha Vaughan.
5. Learning, Supervision and Support: All those engaged in safeguarding-related activity in Church bodies receive the type and level of learning, professional development, support and supervision necessary to respond to safeguarding situations, victims and survivors, and respondents, effectively.
It is why we have safeguarding policies and practice in place.
Safeguarding at St Edmund’s
· The PCC reviews safeguarding at each meeting and our policy every year.
· All parish clergy have an enhanced DBS check and Leadership Level 3 Safeguarding Training (including training in Domestic Abuse).
· Your PCC members and those involved in children’s ministry have DBS checks every 3 years and Safeguarding Training.
It is not that we think they have done something wrong, it is a safety net.
They are things that you hope you never actually need but you have to have. Like Fire extinguishers.
We also want to be a safe space, and a healing place for victims and survivors of abuse.
4. Victims and Survivors: Victims and survivors experience the timeliness and quality of Church bodies' responses to disclosures, and their subsequent support, as positively meeting their needs, including their search for justice and helping their healing process.
Safeguarding and reporting links and details can be found on our website on the Safeguarding tab.
What we have put in place in the church applies to everywhere today. Schools, Scouts, hospitals, workplaces.
I know that over the last thirty years the church nationally and locally has grown and developed and worked hard to become a place that is, I believe, one of the safest places for children and vulnerable people. We also have healing, forgiveness, peace and grace to offer in Jesus’ name.