Safeguarding

Safeguarding at Holy Family and St Thomas of Canterbury

The Catholic Church takes Safeguarding very seriously - each Parish must have at least one Safeguarding Representative and a notice board in all buildings used by the church and its members.

Although our primary focus is usually on children and vulnerable adults, it should be remembered that all parishioners must feel safe at all times, whether at Mass or taking part in any other church activity. This means that Health and Safety concerns and Risk Assessments must be carried out for any activities which take place on Church property.

When renting out premises, we must be sure that the organisations have a Safeguarding Policy in place.

It is the Parish Reps’ responsibility to make sure that all, both clergy and volunteers, who have contact with children and vulnerable adults have the correct level of DBS, which is to be renewed every three years. The Safe Recruitment Process must be followed for all volunteers.

If there are concerns or disclosures of any nature, the Parish Rep must report these concerns to the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, who will set in train the necessary investigations and procedures.

However, if it is considered that a person is in imminent danger, the Police must be contacted at once and the Safeguarding Officer informed.

The Safeguarding Reps for our Parish are Bernadette Spence and Pauline Wilmot. Their contact details can be found on any of the Safeguarding Boards at both Holy Family and St Thomas of Canterbury.