Safeguarding

At St Michaels we take the safeguarding of our children, young people and vulnerable adults extremely seriously.  Our policy is clearly published on the noticeboard, to the left of the entrance, inside the church. If you have any concerns, please contact our Parish Safeguarding Officer.

The Church of England's 'Safeguarding Policy for children, young people and adults' can be found here

We have a Parish Safeguarding Officer, Sharon Stirman, and a Deputy Parish Safeguarding Officer, Louise Richards.

Sharon and Louise ensure that all who work and volunteer in any role within our church do so in a safe and thoughtful way, undertaking any and all relevant training, as directed by Rochester Diocese and the Church of England, and are supported throughout this.  

Training can be done through the Church of England Safeguarding training portal, or through regular face to face training sessions held after our main Sunday services.  For more information, please see our dedicated Safeguarding Notice Board at the back of the church, or speak to Sharon or Louise.

As a church we agree to and follow the principals laid out in the Parish Safeguarding Handbook. You can view a copy of this on the Safeguarding Notice Board at the back of the church, or here.

Sharon is also our DBS Lead Recruiter, ensuring those who require a DBS to fulfil their role safely within the church have a check completed and then are sent a reminder if still in role when they need to be renewed, every three years, (usually regulated roles with children and young people).

Louise is also our Safer Recruitment Lead.  This means that she ensures that those who recruit volunteers, for things such as Coffee Pop-In, Sides-People or supporting the work with children or young people, and paid employees, follow a set of guidelines which include whether the role requires a DBS, safeguarding training, any specific training for that role and then also supporting the volunteer, or employee, so they know who to go to for guidance.  Each role also has a brief 'job-description' so volunteers know what is expected of them before they agree to the role.

If you have any safeguarding concerns please speak to Sharon or Louise or email our dedicated safeguarding email (viewed only by Sharon and Louise). 

You can also contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. 

Their details are as follows:

There is also support for Victims and Survivors here.