Safeguarding

St Francis Church - Valley Park are committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults.

We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO)

Linda King email [email protected]

Our Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSO): Jackie Rowlands, email: [email protected]: 01962 737317 and 07921865374.

The Diocese of Winchesters’ safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA.

If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police or your local authority Children or Adults Services.

Police 101 ( or 999 if someone is in immediate danger)

Hampshire Childrens Services 0300 555 1384

Hampshire Adult Services on 0300 555 1386 (out of hours 0300 555 1373)

Recognises the potential danger for harm to children or vulnerable adults. We understand there are some who deliberately seek out groups or organisations where they can meet children or other vulnerable people.

Creating and maintaining a safeguarding culture within our churches will discourage them from becoming involved for the wrong reasons and make it difficult for them to cause harm.

To foster a culture of safeguarding, we have implemented the following measures

1) Appointed a Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO)

2) Adopted appropriate policies and committed to the following practise guidelines:

Parish Safeguarding Policy Statement

Domestic Abuse Policy

The House of Bishops’ Safer Recruitment Policy

The House of Bishops Safeguarding Policy

St Francis is committed to safeguarding as an integral part of our ministry and mission, promoting a safe culture and the welfare of every child, young person and adult. As such, the Church has robust policies, procedures and guidelines in place, to ensure good practice throughout all of our services and activities.

St Francis will:

Promote a safer environment and culture

Safely recruit and support all those with any responsibility related to children and vulnerable adults within the Church

Respond promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation

Care pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons

Care pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons

Respond to those that may pose a present risk to others

Further information on detailed policies and procedures can be found in the Parish Safeguarding Handbook which is available here.

A hard copy of the Handbook is in the church office.

We especially ask our volunteers to read section 11 about how we can make sure our environment is as safe as possible - you can find section 11 here.

We especially ask those who administrate our social media channels to read section 12 which you can find here.

Church of England Safer Recruitment Video (click here)

We know that Safer Recruitment and People Management is an integral part of keeping people safe in our Churches. But what does this mean in practice? This short video features people on the ground talking in their own words about their experiences with Safer Recruitment and People Management – why it’s important to them and how they have gone about implementing the new House of Bishop’s Safer Recruitment & People Management Guidance. The video also features a survivor’s perspective on why this is important. If you are affected by this reflection, you can contact Safe Spaces.

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 or as a result of their relationship with the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales.