Safeguarding

Safeguarding at the Parish of Shere
(incorporating the villages of Gomshall, Peaslake & Shere)
St James’ Shere & St Mark’s Peaslake

Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do at St James’ and St Mark’s. We want everyone to feel happy and safe as they participate in the life of the church.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility but it is overseen in this Parish by:

Rev Tim Heaney – Rector of Shere – contactable on 01483 202394 or rector@parishofshere.com
Helen Murray – Parish Safeguarding Officer – contactable on 07971 277163 or safeguarding@parishofshere.com
Jackie Broadfoot – Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor – contactable on 07918 559387 or jackie.broadfoot@cofeguildford.org.uk. Safeguarding matters will be forwarded to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (or the police if immediate action is required) and we will follow the advice given.

Church of England and Guildford Diocese Safeguarding Policy

The Church of England safeguarding responsibilities for parishes are outlined in the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance. A Parish Safeguarding Handbook has been published to support the day to day work of parishes. This Handbook can be found : Parish Safeguarding Hand Book

We adhere to the Guildford Diocese Safeguarding Policy which incorporates the House of Bishop’s Safeguarding Policy and Guidance. If you wish to see more detail of the Diocese Safeguarding policies please click here. We have adopted the Church of England’s House of Bishops’ Promoting a Safer Church Safeguarding Policy Statement, in our Parish of Shere Statement of Safeguarding Policy 2022, which can be found here

Safeguarding in our Children’s and Youth activities

Throughout work in our children’s and young people’s activities we adhere to strict guidelines in order to ensure the children and youth in our care are kept safe and are treated equally and with awareness of individual needs. This starts with the recruitment of leaders for all activities and continues within the organisation of the groups. All our leaders receive safeguarding training, in order to ensure they are clear on the church’s expectations in their roles, how they are to act with the children and what to do if they have concerns.

Safeguarding Adults

We understand that adults sometimes need extra support and we work with many who are vulnerable due to their circumstances, their age or their health. Our Ministry Team, which includes Clergy and Pastoral Assistants, visit and support many in our congregation, and all have a full DBS check and undertake regular Diocese safeguarding training courses.

Reporting a Safeguarding Concern

If you are concerned that a child or an adult is, or may be, at risk of abuse this should be reported immediately (and certainly within 24 hours) to the Parish Safeguarding Officer or the clergy listed above. If it is a non-emergency situation you can report this either in person to the Parish Safeguarding Officer by telephone, and they will then contact the Diocese Safeguarding Officer and ensure that we respond appropriately. We will do everything we can to support the person at risk. If it is an Emergency situation, and you believe the child or adult is in immediate danger of significant harm, then you should call 999 before reporting it to one of the Safeguarding Officers.

Support Helplines

If you wish to speak with someone outside the church the following helplines will be of assistance.

Support Is available here
Past Cases Review 2 – two dedicated local listening provision are available in the Diocese of Guildford or an independent NSPCC helpline for Children and Adults: 0800 80 20 20
SurvivorsUK: Tel: 0203 598 3898
National Rape Crisis Helpline:0808 802 9999 and is open every day from 12-2.30pm and 7-9.30pm.
National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (lines free and open 24 hours). Phone if you are experiencing domestic abuse
The Survivors Trust: 0808 801 0818 and is open Monday to Wednesday 10-7.30pm, Thursday 10-6pm and Friday 10-2pm.
Samaritans Helpline: 116 123 (open 24 hours). Phone if you feel you are struggling to cope and need someone to talk to.
Action on Elder Abuse Helpline: 0808 808 8141 (free phone Monday to Friday 9-5pm)
Stop it now!:Tel: 0808 1000 900
DeafHope (BSL):Text: 07970 350366
National Association for People Abused in Childhood:Tel: 0808 801 0331
Modern Day Slavery Helpline:Tel: 0800 0121 0700

Safeguarding Review

Are you a survivor or victim of church related abuse?
Could you help the Diocese of Guildford to learn from the past and protect the future?

The Diocese of Guildford is currently reviewing all its records, across all 162 parishes, to ensure that all safeguarding concerns and allegations have been identified, reported, and appropriately actioned. Critical to this, is the voice of survivors and victims. The Diocese of Guildford wants to listen to and to learn from your experiences and ensure that your voices are heard throughout this review process.

Coming forward

Anybody who would like to give information or make disclosures about church-related abuse is asked to contact Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, Jackie Broadfoot (jackie.broadfoot@cofeguildford.org.uk 07918 559387).

Support is available

The Diocese recognises that coming forward may be extremely difficult and dedicated support has been set up for you. Two confidential listening services have been set up, for those people who have experienced church related abuse but who might want to talk through their experiences and feelings before taking any next step.
To find out more about the support available click here

Building the safest community we can

Bishop Andrew, Diocesan Bishop for the Diocese of Guildford explains why we are doing this: “It is important we do everything we can to make our churches the safest places they can be. Safe means different things to different people but this review will help us to ensure that the concerns reported to our churches have been dealt with properly, and the care taken and the support given is of the high quality that people rightly deserve. We have learnt from a previous review that that survivors and victims’ voices are critical, and I would urge you to come forward.”