A safe place for you
God created the human race in his image. An image that should be treated with dignity, care, compassion and value.
The care and protection of children, young people and adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of everyone who partiipates in the life of the Church. No one should have to deal with the trauma of abuse in all its forms. That is why safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults is a priority for us. We follow the Diocese of Guildford's Safeguarding Guidelines and Requirements and Promoting a Safer Church: The Church of England’s Safeguarding Policy for children, young people and adults.
Our Commitmnets
1. Promoting a safer environment and culture
2. Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults.
3. Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern and allegation.
4. Caring pastorally for victims/ survivors of abuse or other affected persons.
5. Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns/ allegations of abuse and other affected persons.
6. Responding to those who may pose a present risk.
Contacts for Safeguarding Concerns:
Our Parish Safeguarding Officer: Julie Gale 07761 666866 0
Vicar: Neil Hopkins 07557 908383
Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser: Jackie Broadfoot 07918 559387 (24 hours)
Local Authority Adults & Children's Social Care: 0300 470 9100
NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
Childline: 0800 1111
Stop it Now: 0800 1000 900
Samaritans:116 123
National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Mens Advice Line: 0808 8010 327
National Careline: 0800 0699 784
In an emergency, call 999
For further information, guidance and resources, please vist the Church of England website.
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
We want to be a place where people feel safe. Safe to talk about past trauma and seek help. 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.”