ST. MARY’S PARISH CHURCH – SAFEGUARDING POLICY STATEMENT 2019

This parish church – part of the Benefice of Cloverfield – has formally adopted the Church of England House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy, “Promoting a safer church” which can be found on the national church website: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/PromotingSaferChurchWeb.pdf

A paper copy can be obtained from Church House Publishing.

More details of this church’s policy can be found at: https://stmaryschard.org.uk/safeguarding/safeguarding-policies/.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and here at St. Mary’s Church, Chard, we are working to ensure a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults. The main contact for any safeguarding issues in the first instance should be the Parish Safeguarding Officer.  If you believe there is a matter that requires immediate attention or you are concerned about someone’s immediate safety then call 999.

The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, Ben Goodhind, Tel: 01749 588917 / 07834 514842 and his team  are highly qualified and have vast experience in dealing with Safeguarding issues. Ben and his team are essential links in the chain and provide valuable advice and guidance to the Parish Safeguarding Officer, Rector and Associate Vicar. The Diocesan Safeguarding Team mentioned above, will also keep any information that is passed to them by the PSO confidential, and will only share the information to those persons that need to know to help to resolve any safeguarding issues.