Safeguarding

Safeguarding Overview

How we protect and support children, young people, and vulnerable adults across our churches.
- Reporting a Safeguarding Concern
  
  If you’re worried about someone’s safety, find out how to report your concerns clearly and confidentially.
- Safeguarding Training & Events
  
  Stay up to date with training opportunities to help you and your church create a safer environment.
- Safeguarding Awareness
  
  Learn to recognise the signs of specific safeguarding issues, including different types of abuse, exploitation, and vulnerability.
  - Domestic Abuse
    
    Understanding the signs of domestic abuse and how to respond.
  - Exploitation and Grooming
    
    Information on how to recognise and report grooming and exploitation.
  - Financial Abuse
    
    Guidance on identifying and dealing with issues of financial abuse.
  - Honour-Based Abuse
    
    Advice to follow in the event of honour-based abuse or forced marriage.
  - Managing Risks & Safeguarding Agreements
    
    The formal process for managing individuals who may pose a risk to others within the church community.
  - Bereavement Support
    
    Coping with the experience of losing someone important to us.
  - Financial Hardship & Homelessness
    
    Understanding vulnerability and finding sources of help.
  - IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse)
    
    The findings from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
- Safeguarding Policies & Guidance
  
  Essential policies and best practice guidance for keeping people safe in our churches.
  - Core Safeguarding Policy
    
    The official Safeguarding Policy for Children and Adults for the Thames North Synod.
  - Guidance for Elders
    
    Guidance on the safeguarding responsibilities and duties of Elders as charity trustees.
  - Safer Recruitment and Volunteers
    
    The principles and procedures for ensuring only suitable people work with children and adults at risk.
  - Online Safety Guidance
    
    Best practices for safe online communication and ministry.
  - Activities in Private Dwellings
    
    Guidance on assessing and managing the unique risks of holding church activities in private homes.
- Safeguarding Resources & Forms
  
  Download essential safeguarding forms, templates and printable materials for use in your church.
- Safeguarding Contacts
  
  Get in touch with our Safeguarding Officers for confidential advice, support, or reporting.

Bereavement Support

Coping with the experience of losing someone important to us.

Bereavement is the experience of losing someone important to us. It is characterised by grief, which is the process and the range of emotions we go through as we gradually adjust to the loss. Losing someone can be emotionally devastating, and it is natural to go through a range of physical and emotional processes as we gradually come to terms with the loss.

Bereavement affects everyone in different ways, and there is no right or wrong way to feel. These feelings can also happen because of other types of loss, such as the end of a relationship or the loss of a job.

Useful Contacts:

At a Loss: The UK's signposting website for the bereaved. ataloss.org
Bereaved through Alcohol and Drugs (BEAD): Support for anyone bereaved through drug or alcohol use. beadproject.org.uk
Child Bereavement UK: Support for children facing bereavement. Phone: 0800 028 8840. childbereavementuk.org
The Compassionate Friends: Support for bereaved families after the death of a child. Phone: 0345 123 2304. tcf.org.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care: National support after a bereavement. Phone: 0808 808 1677. cruse.org.uk
Samaritans: Open 24/7 for anyone who needs to talk. Phone: 116 123 (freephone). samaritans.org
Sands: Support for anyone affected by the death of a baby. Phone: 0808 164 3332. sands.org.uk
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS): Emotional and practical support. Phone: 0300 111 5065. uk-sobs.org.uk