Safeguarding

A safe parish for everyone

St John Payne is committed to making the parish a safe place for children, young people and adults who may be at risk.

Safeguarding is not only a policy requirement. It is part of our Christian duty to protect the dignity, safety and wellbeing of every person.

Our parish is part of the Diocese of Brentwood and is also part of the life of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. We follow Catholic safeguarding procedures and work with the diocesan and Ordinariate safeguarding structures where appropriate.

If you have a concern, please do not keep it to yourself. Speak to one of the parish safeguarding representatives, contact Brentwood Diocese safeguarding, or contact the police if someone is in immediate danger.

Email: safeguarding-greenstead@brcdt.org

You can contact the parish safeguarding representatives if you have a concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child, young person or adult at risk. You can also contact them if you need advice about safeguarding procedures, parish activities, or DBS checks for a volunteer role.

If someone is in immediate danger

If a child, young person or adult at risk is in immediate danger, or if a crime is happening now, call 999 and ask for the police.

Please do not wait for the parish office to open, or for a parish representative to respond, if urgent help is needed.

If there is no immediate danger, but you have a safeguarding concern, please contact the parish safeguarding representatives or Brentwood Diocese safeguarding as soon as possible.

Brentwood Diocese safeguarding

The Brentwood Diocese safeguarding team supports parishes across the diocese and should be contacted if you need to raise a safeguarding concern or seek advice.

Brentwood Diocese safeguarding
Phone: 01277 265234
Email: simonmoules@brcdt.org
Website: https://www.brentwoodsafeguarding.org/

The diocesan safeguarding team works to make the Church a place of safety, dignity and respect. They can advise on concerns, allegations, parish safeguarding practice, DBS checks, training and support for victims and survivors.

Ordinariate safeguarding

St John Payne is also part of the life of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The Ordinariate explains that safeguarding is carried out in conjunction with the local diocese. This means that safeguarding concerns at St John Payne should normally be raised through the parish safeguarding representatives or Brentwood Diocese safeguarding.

The Ordinariate also has a safeguarding liaison contact:

Ordinariate Safeguarding Liaison
Fr Simon Ellis
Email: safeguarding@ordinariate.org.uk
Website: https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/safeguarding

The Ordinariate safeguarding liaison is there to support communication between the Ordinariate and diocesan safeguarding structures. He does not replace the local diocesan safeguarding route.

What should I report?

Please raise any concern that makes you worried about the safety, welfare or dignity of a child, young person or adult at risk.

This may include:

• a concern about the welfare of a child, young person or adult at risk
• something worrying you have seen or heard in a parish setting
• concern about the behaviour of an adult, volunteer, member of clergy or parish worker
• an allegation of abuse, whether recent or historic
• concern about online behaviour or communication
• a concern linked to a parish activity, group, visit, event or role
• a question about DBS checks, safer recruitment or safeguarding training

If something worries you, report it.

If you have experienced abuse

If you have experienced abuse within the Church, recently or in the past, you deserve to be listened to with dignity, compassion and respect.

You can contact the parish safeguarding representatives or Brentwood Diocese safeguarding. You can also contact Safe Spaces, which is an independent support service for adults affected by church-related abuse.

Safe Spaces England and Wales
Phone: 0300 303 1056
Email: SafeSpaces@Firstlight.org.uk
Website: https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/

Safe Spaces offers free, independent and confidential support for adults affected by church-related abuse. You do not need to have reported the abuse before asking for support, and you do not need to know what you want to do next.

DBS checks, volunteers and parish activities

Many parish activities rely on the generosity of volunteers. Some roles require safeguarding checks, DBS clearance, safer recruitment steps or safeguarding training.

This may apply to roles involving children, young people, adults at risk, visiting, pastoral care, music, catechesis, youth work or other parish activities.

If you are starting a parish role, renewing a DBS certificate, or are unsure whether a role requires safeguarding checks, please contact the parish safeguarding representatives.

Safeguarding procedures are there to protect everyone: those who take part in parish life, those who volunteer, and the wider parish community.

Online safety concerns

If you are worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with a child or young person online, you can report this to CEOP.

If you need to report child sexual abuse images or non-photographic child sexual abuse content online, you can contact the Internet Watch Foundation.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

Safeguarding links

Brentwood Diocese safeguarding
https://www.brentwoodsafeguarding.org/

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham Safeguarding
https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/safeguarding

Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency
https://catholicsafeguarding.org.uk/

Safe Spaces England and Wales
https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/

Please speak up

If you are worried, please speak up.

You do not need to be certain that abuse has taken place before you ask for advice. A concern is enough.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and the parish will take concerns seriously.